Guest guest Posted April 5, 2004 Report Share Posted April 5, 2004 > Normally i suffer from chronic af. > Very irregular beats and all that. > However over the last 2 nights I have been woken only to find that I > can feel my heart going at between 3 and 4 beats a SECOND!! > This time very very REGULAR, not normal irregular. > Legs feel tired even though laying down. > > Seen Doc today and I have appoointment with Cardio on 15th. > Does anyone have any experience of this and should I try to get seen > earlier than the 15th?. Are you actually taking your pulse when you wake up? I had a thing where I would wake up certain that my heart was similarly racing, but the pulse was not. I eventually caught it on a monitor or heart card a few times, and there was nothing going on with my heart. I don't know what this was, some muscle spasm, I suppose. Hopefully your doc today can say something useful. He might put you in a 24 hour monitor to catch whatever it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 5, 2004 Report Share Posted April 5, 2004 yes i did feel my pulse, it was its usual irregular self, running at about 80 bpm. i have since looked on the net and my experience seems to very similar to atrial flutter in that the heart then beats very rapid at up to 300 bpm but that they are very regular, exactly how i exlained it. also as my thyroid seems to be a bit on the underactive side its odd that the other site says that a thyroid prob, either way, can be a cause of atrial flutter as well as af normal. i`m going to get some thyroxine to start with at 100 mg day to see if that stops the prob. funnily i have some sense that says my af is more to do with a thyroid problem that went without diagnosis for many years. > > Normally i suffer from chronic af. > > Very irregular beats and all that. > > However over the last 2 nights I have been woken only to find that > I > > can feel my heart going at between 3 and 4 beats a SECOND!! > > This time very very REGULAR, not normal irregular. > > Legs feel tired even though laying down. > > > > Seen Doc today and I have appoointment with Cardio on 15th. > > Does anyone have any experience of this and should I try to get > seen > > earlier than the 15th?. > > > Are you actually taking your pulse when you wake up? I had a thing > where I would wake up certain that my heart was similarly racing, but > the pulse was not. I eventually caught it on a monitor or heart card > a few times, and there was nothing going on with my heart. I don't > know what this was, some muscle spasm, I suppose. > > Hopefully your doc today can say something useful. He might put you > in a 24 hour monitor to catch whatever it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 5, 2004 Report Share Posted April 5, 2004 In a message dated 4/5/2004 5:58:43 AM Pacific Daylight Time, bbbbbbb_b@... writes: << Seen Doc today and I have appoointment with Cardio on 15th. Does anyone have any experience of this and should I try to get seen earlier than the 15th?. I recently had Thyroid tests done which are showing I am probably now underactive. >> BBBB, (I couldn't find a name on your post.) I have experienced what you describe: 240 regular beats per second. In fact, that pulse was measured by a Holter monitor, so I am certain it was factual. It inspired my doctor to prescribe Atenolol for me for the first time 14 years ago to slow the rate. She was afraid that I could faint while driving or at some other inopportune time. However, that type of pulse was not afib. According to the Holter monitor readouts, I was having sinus tachycardia. This is not meant to be a diagnosis of your problem because your experience could be entirely different from mine, and only an EKG and doctor can tell you for certain what is happening. However, if the pulse can't be captured on EKG or Holter monitor, it might be difficult to tell whether it is afib or sinus tachycardia. Making the distinction more difficult is the fact that afib has often been triggered for me by sinus tachycardia, which I have actually had since childhood, I think, although it was never measured because my doctors wouldn't take seriously the report of heart sensations by a ten year old child. If you do indeed have sinus tachycardia, it probably won't kill you, but according to my doctor it can cause some very inconvenient events, like fainting while driving, so you definitely should pursue this. Medication can really help the problem by putting a governor on your pulse rate. Also, hypothyroid as well as hyperthyroid can cause afib but by different mechanisms. When your thyroid hormone is too low, the brain triggers the adrenal gland to secrete more adrenaline which can over stimulate the heart, causing afib, as I understand it. The treatment is usually a prescription for thyroid hormone. If your doctors are not aggressively pursuing thyroid diagnosis and treatment, you might want to give them some encouragement. I have fought the thyroid battle all my life and have finally achieved some stability both in the area of afib and thyroid adequacy. Good luck. in sinus in Seattle (after four hours of afib this morning, my seventh episode in two years since giving up dairy and caused, I think, by an extremely stressful week) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 5, 2004 Report Share Posted April 5, 2004 In a message dated 4/5/2004 5:58:43 AM Pacific Daylight Time, bbbbbbb_b@... writes: << Seen Doc today and I have appoointment with Cardio on 15th. Does anyone have any experience of this and should I try to get seen earlier than the 15th?. I recently had Thyroid tests done which are showing I am probably now underactive. >> BBBB, (I couldn't find a name on your post.) I have experienced what you describe: 240 regular beats per second. In fact, that pulse was measured by a Holter monitor, so I am certain it was factual. It inspired my doctor to prescribe Atenolol for me for the first time 14 years ago to slow the rate. She was afraid that I could faint while driving or at some other inopportune time. However, that type of pulse was not afib. According to the Holter monitor readouts, I was having sinus tachycardia. This is not meant to be a diagnosis of your problem because your experience could be entirely different from mine, and only an EKG and doctor can tell you for certain what is happening. However, if the pulse can't be captured on EKG or Holter monitor, it might be difficult to tell whether it is afib or sinus tachycardia. Making the distinction more difficult is the fact that afib has often been triggered for me by sinus tachycardia, which I have actually had since childhood, I think, although it was never measured because my doctors wouldn't take seriously the report of heart sensations by a ten year old child. If you do indeed have sinus tachycardia, it probably won't kill you, but according to my doctor it can cause some very inconvenient events, like fainting while driving, so you definitely should pursue this. Medication can really help the problem by putting a governor on your pulse rate. Also, hypothyroid as well as hyperthyroid can cause afib but by different mechanisms. When your thyroid hormone is too low, the brain triggers the adrenal gland to secrete more adrenaline which can over stimulate the heart, causing afib, as I understand it. The treatment is usually a prescription for thyroid hormone. If your doctors are not aggressively pursuing thyroid diagnosis and treatment, you might want to give them some encouragement. I have fought the thyroid battle all my life and have finally achieved some stability both in the area of afib and thyroid adequacy. Good luck. in sinus in Seattle (after four hours of afib this morning, my seventh episode in two years since giving up dairy and caused, I think, by an extremely stressful week) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 5, 2004 Report Share Posted April 5, 2004 In a message dated 4/5/2004 5:58:43 AM Pacific Daylight Time, bbbbbbb_b@... writes: << Seen Doc today and I have appoointment with Cardio on 15th. Does anyone have any experience of this and should I try to get seen earlier than the 15th?. I recently had Thyroid tests done which are showing I am probably now underactive. >> BBBB, (I couldn't find a name on your post.) I have experienced what you describe: 240 regular beats per second. In fact, that pulse was measured by a Holter monitor, so I am certain it was factual. It inspired my doctor to prescribe Atenolol for me for the first time 14 years ago to slow the rate. She was afraid that I could faint while driving or at some other inopportune time. However, that type of pulse was not afib. According to the Holter monitor readouts, I was having sinus tachycardia. This is not meant to be a diagnosis of your problem because your experience could be entirely different from mine, and only an EKG and doctor can tell you for certain what is happening. However, if the pulse can't be captured on EKG or Holter monitor, it might be difficult to tell whether it is afib or sinus tachycardia. Making the distinction more difficult is the fact that afib has often been triggered for me by sinus tachycardia, which I have actually had since childhood, I think, although it was never measured because my doctors wouldn't take seriously the report of heart sensations by a ten year old child. If you do indeed have sinus tachycardia, it probably won't kill you, but according to my doctor it can cause some very inconvenient events, like fainting while driving, so you definitely should pursue this. Medication can really help the problem by putting a governor on your pulse rate. Also, hypothyroid as well as hyperthyroid can cause afib but by different mechanisms. When your thyroid hormone is too low, the brain triggers the adrenal gland to secrete more adrenaline which can over stimulate the heart, causing afib, as I understand it. The treatment is usually a prescription for thyroid hormone. If your doctors are not aggressively pursuing thyroid diagnosis and treatment, you might want to give them some encouragement. I have fought the thyroid battle all my life and have finally achieved some stability both in the area of afib and thyroid adequacy. Good luck. in sinus in Seattle (after four hours of afib this morning, my seventh episode in two years since giving up dairy and caused, I think, by an extremely stressful week) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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