Had a very scary day today

[peacebird]

I am a healthy 58 yo woman, who needs no meds aside from vit D and calcium. Yesterday my heart started trying to escape my chest. Seriously, banging so hard I felt it. I got an appt with my doc for noon today. On the way it went completely freaking haywire... My Pulse rate kept climbing til it was 145 beats per minute, my blood pressure soared to 197/107, my body was shaking hard. I pulled over and called 911.
In the ER my blood pressure finally (2 hours later) returned to my normal (107/61) but my pulse was still 98. They discharged me, even though there was NO explanation why my heart had tried to leap out of my chest, or why my BP had gone from my usual fantastic to stage 2 hypertensive instantly, or why my heart rate went from my usual 68 to 145 and then was at 98 when they discharged me.
No explanation. Nada. I biked halfway across America last year, I am fit. i take no meds. And suddenly my heart goes freaking crazy & blood pressure goes through the roof? WTF?
My doc has me on a holter monitor for 24 hours.... Hopefully it can find what the heck is happening.
Sorry for the rant. But I don't understand why the hospital discharged me when there is no explanation for the sudden stage 2 hypertension BP and 145 beat per minute pulse rate...

[spanone]

1. ....

[uppityperson]

2. That sounds very scary. Hopefully it was a one time event or something easy to fix.

Hospitals would rather have you back in the er than give you a bed, often. With your age and good health, they probably consider you know w risk, though from your standpoint its a major wtf stress.

You did good n calling for help. Best wishes and too weird.

[peacebird]

3. Thanks, I was afraid that I would pass out and hurt someone else on the highway if I continued

That was my main fear. Driving at 65 mph and then having more heart probs which could cause me to lose control of the car.....
Very scary.

[Sienna86]

4. Hope you and medical pros can find the source of that incident

Thank goodness you are in good basic health. Please keep us posted. M

[NRaleighLiberal]

5. not sure if this is what you experienced, but it sounds very much like my first ever

true panic attack. I thought I was a goner - happened just after returning back to the place I used to work, but as a consultant. I ended up driving to an urgent care facility, but probably shouldn't have even driven - off the chart pulse, heart rate - even PVCs (which I tend to get under stress). I got fully checked out and a clean bill of health - but learned a bit something about the flight or fight reaction - which is really the basis of a true panic attack.

The important thing is that you got checked out, but it sounded absolutely frightening, and I am glad you are OK.

[mountain grammy]

34. The same thing flashed though my mind.. my first panic attack.

though I was dying. Terrifying.

[NRaleighLiberal]

38. there truly is no description for it. Once I did a little research on it, at least I could

try to talk myself through a few others I've had since then. Both of my daughters have experienced them as well. Utterly, absolutely no fun at all.

[Gloria]

6. MMM....

Any recent stressors recently...??? I was thinking of panic or anxiety as well..
One thing you should look into, beyond the usual heart stuff, is CAPNOTHERAPY.....it is basically biofeedback, but is based on training for proper breathing so CO2 levels are high enough. They probably tested you with a simple version of it in the ER....What were the CO2 levels. If they were in the mid to low 20's you have a real issue with oxygenation ....low CO2 can really affect all metabolic systems, blood levels, etc.

It's made huge difference to me. Luckily, here in Las Cruces, my physical therapy place was starting to do this when I was there last year and I was trained. I'm going back for a "tune up" in a few weeks. They are training 8 therapists in this now!
Also, their head, who has a Phd in PT, is part of a group that is now working to have this training for therapists across the country!!

It is not well known, but the guy who really did the research is in Santa Fe....Peter Litchfield....
Please do find out about capnotherapy.

It is the easist, clearest way to see the effect of stress on the body, across MANY parameters. Many people on pain meds and tranquilizers, Prozac, etc. WOULD NOT NEED to have pill shoved at them...it's that powerful.

I've gone back to a schedule of doing it after a break and my sleep is improving and my stress has diminished drastically again.

It's simple and really amazing!

Also, you know, that vagus nerve, I believe, controls heart rhythms...I would get it further checked out with a specialist.
Atrial fibrillation is a fluttter, and develops because the nerve doesn't work as well delivering electrical signals...

Please, got to a specialist and get a full workup.....I'm glad you're on the moniter...it may discover a rhythm disturbance, which then can be handled.

Keep us posted!

[peacebird]

13. Stressors? Since April my hubby has been diagnosed w afib, medicine can't control it, electric

cardioversion failed, he had ablation scheduled back in aug but after
Mother in law had hip replacement, father in law had stroke, then discovered bleeding ulcer was cancerous and had esophagus & part of stomach removed, then a week after discharge he was readmitted for fluid in chest cavity. We were out on west coast w the in laws for over 2 months which meant hubbys ablation had to be moved. Now it will happen in a couple weeks. No stress there... LOL!
Sorry, i don't mean to be flippant, it is just, good grief, it is past time for some GOOD luck for us....

[Gloria]

19. I did not know about all this....but, I CAN say

that last year, when my 93 year old mother (now in hospice) was in a MESS, hospitalized, etc.

It had been at least 4 years of dealing with it all BEFORE that even happened, ...I was running on sheer nervous energy and finally...the day she was released from the hospital to "rehab" half dead....I became violently ill after a colonoscopy, my blood work went NUTS...all of it, for no dietary reason, and I started bleeding without an explanation...I thought I was having a heart attack at times, my chest would hurt...

It took MONTHS to settle things down...had problems keeping food down, etc. I cut back on visits, etc. and gradually, I got back to some normalcy...

SO, I DO understand the stress you are under, having heard what you are going through! You deal with and then suddnely, the body just says ...NO MORE!

Please, take care of yourself! Do start to do some diaphgramatic breathing, but breath out very slowly and silently...SLow down how fast you take another breath....It is not quite like the breathing we often see in various classes.

If your body was out of whack the electrical signals may have gotten out of whack as well....but it may be only a one time thing if you can deal with the underlying issues...which is why capno is so valuable! It really helped all my numbers, got and has kept things in BALANCE, and it's such a simple tool!


Here's some info on capno and a link to an interview with Peter Litchfield is on the page, too..

http://www.distincttouchbodywork.com/capno-therapy.html

Here is the direct link to the interview...

http://www.betterphysiology.com/BetterPhysiology/Litchfield%2002-01-2012.mp4

[peacebird]

21. We took care of my mom for 3 months before she died in Aug 2013.

It was wonderful to be with her, and awful at the same time. Then this year happens, where it seems everything is against us.... Thank you for your links. I will look at them. I appreciate it!

[Lifelong Protester]

25. My spouse has afib

and is living with it. They tried cardioversion on heart twice, worked both times, but the heart went back to on again, off again afib. A doctor put him on a blood thinner, a BP med, and a heart rate med. Heart goes in and out of rhythm. He takes the meds and is doing fine. Medicine will not stop the afib, but make it something one can live with (I guess it's common-who knew?)
Oh, did I mention spouse had a heart valve replacement? I think it is directly related to his afib.
Spouse goes to Mayo Clinic, and I think they know what they are doing. Have your husband's doctor contact them. If he is willing to live with afib, he can. My spouse decided no more cardioversion (anytime they did it, we had to pay for an expensive ambulance ride) and he was not doing ablation.

I am sorry about your frightening event. Sure sounds like a panic attack (My family is prone to them, so I have been witness to a few).

[artislife]

44. Oh peacebird

just send a cyber hug and great wishes for a peaceful time for you and yours.

[Ace Rothstein]

7. That is scary, especially when it is your heart.

In that situation you want them to find out what is going on so they can come up with a treatment plan. Hopefully the docs can figure it out for you.

[procon]

8. There's a difference between the care you get

in the ER and what your doctor does. Usually the ER will work to get you stabilized and discharge you to be followed up by your own doc, or admit you if your condition doesn't improve or gets worse. Your own doc will work up a treatment plan with you to reach a diagnosis, or refer you to a specialist if necessary. Since your own doc already has you on a holter monitor, he should be able to explain more and answer your questions about a diagnosis, meds and what's next for you.

[virtualobserver]

9. you sound as if you do all of the right things

I had an experience like that. It happened 2 or 3 times. When I thought about it, it seemed that it happened when I wasn't keeping myself properly hydrated (excessive coffee and only about 32 oz of water in a day).....I upped my hydration to 128 oz of water a day and it hasn't happened again

[MannyGoldstein]

10. Did they do an EKG while your heartrate was elevated? nt

[peacebird]

16. They did one, decided it wasn't afib and disconnected the leads.

They did one bp test when I arrived in the ER, it showed me as stage 2 hypertension, then it was only two hours later they decided to check it every half hour

[MannyGoldstein]

18. That's good to know.

Maybe a panic attack?

Good luck

[peacebird]

20. In general, I am the family rock. Have never had a panic attack, & don't believe this was one

But i have no explanation why my heart suddenly went off the tracks. All i do know is it felt like my heart was breaking my ribs trying to escape.

[Art_from_Ark]

57. WEll, according to this information, it sounds like it might have been a panic attack

A full-blown panic attack includes a combination of the following signs and symptoms:

Shortness of breath or hyperventilation
Heart palpitations or a racing heart
Chest pain or discomfort
Trembling or shaking
Choking feeling
Feeling unreal or detached from your surroundings
Sweating
Nausea or upset stomach
Feeling dizzy, light-headed, or faint
Numbness or tingling sensations
Hot or cold flashes
Fear of dying, losing control, or going crazy

http://www.helpguide.org/articles/anxiety/panic-attacks-and-panic-disorders.htm

[Warpy]

22. SVT (supraventricular tachycardia) is the most likely

For a lot of people, it's one of those problems that goes away as soon as they hit an ER or doctor's office, very frustrating. You know it's not a panic attack because you don't think you're going to die, you just think you're going to fall over.

I tried for years to get appropriate medication until last spring I did fall over and broke a leg on the way down. That's when they took it seriously I hope the Holter shows a few short runs of it while you're sleeping so you don't have to be that drastic. Treatments are any of several classes of drug that regulate heart rate or zapping the pathway via heart catheterization.

The medication is cheaper than dirt if you go that route.

[peacebird]

47. Thank you! I researched SVT because of your post & apparently it is commonly misdiagnosed

as a panic attack! I wasn't afraid of dying, just of passing out and hurting someone as I was driving. Hoping the Holter monitor caught something, this morning my heart is still having palpitations and my pulse rate is still high for me (84 instead of 68), but my heart rate isn't spiralling up like it did yesterday....

[Warpy]

64. Right, women get patted on the hand and given Valium.

If I had a nickel for every woman who was admitted with sustained SVT or A fib. with a fast ventricular rate who'd been brushed off as an anxiety neurotic with panic attacks I'd be a very rich broken down ex nurse.

That's the diagnostic differential: if they think they're going to die, panic attack; if they think they're going to fall over, check that heart out. I wish they'd start teaching that one in medical school.

If you're feeling your heart doing funky things, that Holter should pick it up.

[Tracer]

55. ... or it could have been Paroxysmal Atrial Tachycardia.

Sez me, who ain't no doctor, but have had PAT all my life.

[Warpy]

63. You're not a doctor, but read this and maybe you can pretend to be one

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supraventricular_tachycardia. My own variation is POTS, rarer and a little more miserable. Then again, all I had to do to get into a slower rhythm is sit down or lie down.

The problem with SVT is when it moves in to stay. Then it needs more aggressive treatment.

[Samantha]

65. Anxiety attack was my first reaction to your post as well

I had my first one at 32. The back of my neck started sweating, I had irregular breathing and my heart too felt like it was going to pound itself out of my chest. I do have a history of heart problems in my family, so I thought that must be it. Over time, I learned it was panic attacks.

One thing that will definitely set one up for a panic attack is too much stress, too much caffeine and not enough rest. We all have that tendency when things are tough and we are overworked to keep ourselves pumped up with sugar and caffeine. That can backfire. Try to get your stress under control (I know it is really hard, get more sleep, limit your caffeine and sugar, and if you think it is necessary ask your doctor for a prescription. I have one I keep handy just for this, and when the warning signs hit, I take one and immediately calm down. Then I review what I have been doing lately to bring it on.

All of this should not discount getting your heart checked out thoroughly. I did not know until this week that a person can experience a heart attack and not even know he or she has had one.

Sam

[restorefreedom]

11. sorry to hear this

i hope either the monitor or another test finds the problem so they can deal with it and give you some peace of mind

and for what it's worth, a few years ago after having a very large caffeinated beverage earlier in the day, I spent the night in the hospital because my heart rhythm was screwed up. They had me on an EKG all night and there were no abnormalities in my heart rate and pressure returned to normal. i've never had caffeine since.

[niyad]

12. I am so sorry to hear about this truly frightening experience. sadly, the doctors' cavalier

treatment of you is nothing new. women presenting with heart problems are often not taken seriously at all. I hope that they can find the cause very quickly. please keep us informed, and know that our thoughts and prayers are with you.

a friend just went through a very similar thing today in the ER--and it is known that she has heart problems!!

[TheProgressive]

14. By chance, were you...

in proximity to some sort of unusual smell/odor? Like laundry detergent or something?

Or something else you might be allergic to?

[peacebird]

17. No, but I will keep that in mind

[Hortensis]

56. Glad you're doing okay. Regarding why they let you leave,

did the ER by any chance know that you have a physician you were going to see right away? Did you come across as competent to care for yourself and understanding of the need to follow up immediately with your own doctor? This kind of information will influence an ER's decision to keep or release when keeping is not clearly medically necessary. Hospital beds are not exactly the safest places to hang, you know, and are hideously, even for some ruinously, expensive. Home's a much better place to be for those who can go home.

BTW, these days, thanks to Obamacare regulations, hospitals can actually get in trouble for using their profit-eating ERs as intake funnels for the money-making beds upstairs. Business as usual is no longer allowed -- at least not nearly as much...

[villager]

15. glad you're taking care of yourself and are okay now....

But hospitals are generally discharging everyone they can now as quick as they can....

Post back and let us know how it's going...

[frogmarch]

23. That happened to me about 10 years ago

when I was around 60. Turns out it was my thyroid causing it. Tests showed a goiter, but my thyroid was only borderline hyper. I take a beta blocker to keep my thyroid from pumping bad enzymes into my bloodstream. That's it except for blood work once a year to keep tabs on my thyroid. I haven't had a problem since that one epidsode with high bp, rapid pulse or pounding heart.

I hope you have no more scary days, peacebird, and that your problem, whatever its cause, is fixed as easily as mine was.

[HassleCat]

24. For me it was GERD

Gastro-esophigal reflux disorder. Not sure I spelled that right. The little valve that keeps the acid in your stomach leaks, and some acid makes its way upward. The symptoms are similar to those of a heart attack -- pain radiating down the left arm and up the left side of the neck, pain and pressure in the chest, spikes in blood pressure and pulse rate. It took several visits to the doctor and three trips to the ER before someone figured it out.

[flamingdem]

26. Afib?

That can make the heartbeat increase rapidly. I'm not sure if or how they test for this.

[HereSince1628]

27. I had an axiety/panic attack that went much that way...

but there was nothing that I was consciously worrying about...

The docs settled on anxiety/panic attack because they had no better w.a.g.

[Liberal_in_LA]

28. That is a scary experience. It is good u are on a monitor

[marym625]

29. I'm so sorry.

That's incredibly frightening. I'm glad things went back to normal.

I don't know where you live but if you're able to go to a teaching hospital, probably a good thing. Especially being a woman. Most regular doctors don't understand that women have different symptoms than men when it comes to heart problems.

After nearly dying due to incompetent doctors, on a few occasions, I'm a firm believer in not settling for anyone but the best.

Sorry for the lecture.

I hope they find out what it is and it Never happens again!

Take care, Peacebird

[snagglepuss]

30. Two things. 1 -Ask your doctor if this could be related to calcium intake as some studies have

shown a correlation between heart attacks and calcium supplements.

snip


Reid and colleagues in Britain and the United States conducted a meta-analysis encompassing 11 studies that tracked nearly 12,000 elderly people over four years.

Half of them were given calcium supplements and the other half placebo or dummy pills with no therapeutic content. The results were published in the British Medical Journal.

“What we found was a 30 percent increase in heart attacks in the people who were randomized to take calcium,” Reid said.

snip

People have always focused on fat levels in the blood as driving that process (plaque formation) but there is increasing evidence now that calcium levels in the blood might drive that as well,” he added.

http://saveourbones.com/calcium-heart-attack/


2 - I once woke up with tachycardia (racing heart beat). Horrible experience so I have a good idea what you've gone through. It turned out that I had a very rare response to Tagamet, a very common heart burn medicine.

I mention this because rare reactions to commonplace OTC or prescription drugs do occur. Millions of women take calcium supplements without a problem but maybe your body is different.

Wishing you all the best.

[peacebird]

45. Interesting, I have just started taking calcium recently (starting in late August)......

[ecstatic]

51. Wow! I started the magnesium, calcium, zinc combo

based on internet advice. I'm wondering if the zinc and magnesium balance out the calcium?

[Laffy Kat]

31. Did they put you on metropolol?

I am 58 and same thing happens from time to time. I'm suppose to take metropolol but usually don't unless I get symptoms; I don't care for the side-effects--makes me sleepy. Anyway, it is treatable. Try not to worry too much, just stay on top of it like you are already doing. Why are you taking the calcium? Is it just to help metabolize the vit. D? If you are taking it for osteoporosis, talk to your doc about discontinuing it. Latest study says it does NOTHING to help strengthen bones and can cause more harm than good. Thoughts and hugs are with you.

[840high]

33. Excellent suggestion on calcium.

[catchnrelease]

42. Do some reading on vit K2

Research is showing that K2 is required to get calcium into the bones, in conjunction with vit D3. Without the K2 the calcium will just stay in the blood and causes atherosclerosis, kidney problems etc.

[peacebird]

46. Good info, thank you! I will ask my doc about the calcium & vitD.

[WillyT]

32. Please Take Care... I Know YOU Have... So Kick Them Square In The Rump...

Might have a positive benefit.

[mountain grammy]

35. Hoping for the best..glad you're getting checked out.

Keep us posted.

[question everything]

36. Scary. And a 24 hr monitor is the way to go

I am not a health care professional, but these days, it you can avoid hospitalization, it is better. Too many infections originate from hospital.

Good luck.

Let us know the outcome.

[airplaneman]

37. Sounds to me like you had a panic attack.

Related to stress and comes with a feeling like you are going to die right now. The answer is to learn to be nice to yourself and realize it is not life threatening. Best of luck to you. I have experienced them myself and know a few others who share the same experience.
-Airplane

[SoapBox]

39. Yikes!

I'm sorry you had such a scare...hope you can get into your doc soon and discuss what happened.

Keep us posted.

My best.

[erlewyne]

40. I was pounding gatorade

I jog and I bike.

I didn't feel right but I had a VA (Veterans Administration) check
up that day. Didn't say a word to my wife who drove me there.
The Doctor took my blood pressure (190 something) and the
next thing was an ambulance ride from the VA. I didn't feel that
bad. The wife was totally surprised (so was I). The Doctor
did not mess around. I was taken to the hospital and had
all kinds of tests ... they put me in a cylinder and radiated
me ... I think? Found nothing. Doc said never drink gatorade
at my age and if you ever come into my clinic again with a
190 you are going to the hospital immediately. Oh yeah, I
was in the hospital for two plus days and that really sucked.

[blue neen]

41. Another poster mentioned the calcium supplements.

You have to be careful with Vitamin D also. It is fat-soluble, and you can get too much of it which would also affect your calcium levels. Your doctor could do a simple blood test to check your D levels and your calcium levels.

Good luck.

[peacebird]

60. I have stopped taking my calcium & vit d until after I talk to the doc.

Think I will up the yogurt and calcium rich foods instead.....

[shenmue]

43. Hugs!

Dr. Tinycat prescribes ice cream and naps.

[Enthusiast]

48. I wish you the best, peacebird.

[Vinca]

49. Yikes - that must have been terrifying.

I know of it happening to a woman I used to work with, but the cause was quickly determined to be the 16 cups of coffee she drank on a daily basis. I doubt that fits you. I know some supplements can build up in the system, but whether or not either of yours can cause any harm I couldn't say. Hope you get it figured out.

[B Calm]

50. Sounds to me you suffer from high blood pressure. Not unnormal for your age.

[peacebird]

58. My usual bp is 106/61, i am very fit. Bicycled from yorktown, va to the colorado border in 2014.

That's part of why it's so weird. My resting HR is 68 usually. For both to suddenly spiral up was bizarre. I have been reading about SVT because another poster suggested it. Describes exactly what happened to me.
Hopefully tomorrow my internal med doc will have some answers....

[GreenPartyVoter]

52. How scary! Hope it was just a bizarre fluke.

[lonestarnot]

53. Hope you are doing better today. I am sorry you are going through this.

[Stellar]

54. I've had heart palpitations off and on for years...

Mine started years ago. My husband rushed me to the hospital and they put me in intensive care and ran all kinds of tests on me and could find nothing wrong. In the end, the doctor, with a heavy accent, kept asking me at least three times a day, "how much coffee you drink" or, "how much tea you drink"? I suppose he was looking for my caffeine intake. At that time, I didn't drink coffee or tea, but I was drinking a whole lot of Pepsi Cola's...at least three-four 16 oz bottles a day (the Doctor never mentioned that nor that he was looking for caffeine). There were no caffeine free soda-pops back then.

With the heart palpitations, I was also hyperventilating, difficult breathing. So, when I left the hospital they just prescribed phenobarbital tablets that knocked me out. I took those for a day...every three hours, and when I woke up, it was always time to take another and I felt drugged out of my mind. I just stop taking that medicine. I found that if you try to stay calm (and I would take Excedrin PM's to help me to relax), that would shorten the heart palpitations.

ETA: I went home with a heart monitor that I had to where for a couple of days also and they found nothing wrong.

[peacebird]

59. I read on the mayo clinic site that holding my breath and straining can force a reset on heart rate

Sometimes when in palpitations. I just want to know why I suddenly started having them. Feels like my heart is trying to escape my chest....

[PasadenaTrudy]

61. Just because you're healthy...

doesn't mean things aren't lurking. My sister was a little older than you, vegetarian, long distance runner. Lowest bp and body fat her doctor had ever seen. One week she did an 18 mile run, the next week she was diagnosed with advanced stage pancreatic cancer. She lived another month. She was 62 and she really had it in her mind that she'd live to 100. Just sayin', you can think everything is fine but so many illnesses can be unseen. Hope you find out what is going on and it's not anything serious!

[bunnies]

62. I get panic attacks just like that.

But they also involve dizziness, tingling and blurred vision. And usually it happens when Im driving. Its awful!

[Rex]

66. Sounds like a panic attack, my cousin gets those really bad and even his chest will hurt.

It FEELS like a heart attack according to him. I don't know if the same thing happened to you, but it sounds like it. Do you have something causing a massive amount of stress right now in your life?

Marthon runners sometimes kill over after having heart attacks...it is wrong to assume just because you are in great shape, it means you are healthy. That is ignoring your DNA and heredity.

[Vincardog]

67. Was there a an wearing a goalie mask carrying a chain saw chasing you? The only explinatin I can

think of for your symptoms. Sorry it happened and I hope an explanation is found ASAP