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Heart Disease  (Expert Forum)
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Tachycardia after eating a heavy meal?
Answered by
Cleveland Clinic -
Cleveland - OH
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MedHelp Member's Question

Tachycardia after eating a heavy meal?

by antsypants, Aug 25, 2004 12:00AM
Please explain why I sometimes get tachycardia within a 1/2 after eating a heavy meal?  The heavy meal usually causes bloating and indigestion, then tachy.  This doesn't happen all of the time, just when the meal is particularly rich with carbohydrates and/or fat.



Thanks
Doctor's Answer

by Cleveland Clinic, Aug 25, 2004 12:00AM
thanks for the post.



There a several possible mechanisms as to why you experience the increase of the heart rate with swallowing.  Both increased heart rates and decresed heart rates have been reported with the ingestion of food and liquids.  The occurance of tachycardia from this process is rare and I would be interested to know exactly how fast you mean by tachycardia...a small increase in heart rate can be seen from the changes in blood flow as you begin to digest a meal.



If by tachycardia you mean an marked increase in heart rate, I would want to document this with holter, or personal diary of your heart rate during the episodes.  Frank tachycardia brought on by the process of swallowing has sever suggested mechanisms including parasympathetic and sympathetic changes in activity from the process of eating to mechanical stimulation of the atriaum as food passes through the oesophogus.





hope this is a start
Member Comments (27)

by arthur, Aug 25, 2004 12:00AM
To: antsypants
great moniker...



If you had a focally-driven tachycardia, then it's quite possible that the upward change in the autonomic tone that occurs when digesting could allow the focal signalling to get through and spur on a tachy episode.  I had a similar situation with the tachy taking on the form of a brief atrial fibrillation event triggered by digestion (the focus has since been 90% removed by ablation and these types of events have ceased to occur anymore).



As the good doc here just about suggested, an event monitor could document the tachycardia and help a cardiologist diagnose the problem.



-Arthur

by pandora9048, Aug 26, 2004 12:00AM
To: antsypants
Hi,

   I have often experienced a higher heart rate after eating, sometimes over 100 bpm. It got to the point where I was literally afraid to eat and lost 30 pounds in about 2 and a half months.  That was a year ago.  I still get it now and then and my doctor has given me no real answer as to why this happens.  He said an increased heartrate after eating is normal.  But my heartrate doesn't just increase. it races.  Ive had echo, event monitor and stress test that were interpreted as normal, but it's still a scary feeling.

   Hope u feel better soon.

Pan

by netrox, Aug 27, 2004 12:00AM
"This doesn't happen all of the time, just when the meal is particularly rich with carbohydrates and/or fat."



I get that a lot. I find that if I drink green tea with the high fat meal, it somehow helps minimize the increase in heart rate.



-jeff

by jdm, Sep 03, 2004 12:00AM
My pulse will run "normal" in the 65 to 72 range prior to meals.  Within 15-20 minutes of a meal it begins to increase and reaches 100 to 110 within 30 minutes.  It stays there several hours and then gradually declines.  I take 1/4 of a 25 mg attenolol 4x a day and this tachycardia is reduced to increase to 75 to 80.  I understand that 100 pulse is "not medically dangerous". However, the up and down all day following meals drives me nuts and has resulted in severe anxiety.  When my pulse is elevated due to eating a meal that is my baseline...any normal activity such as climbing stairs starts from that level.  Therefore my heart will race with just minor exertion until the meal tach has worn off.  I am very sensitive to the attenolol and it works to reduce pulse rate following meals.  I have posted about this in the past as it began with my pulse remaining elevated for many hours following even moderate aerobic exercise.  The doctors say that I am not a candidate for ablation to correct this that my heart is just "sensitive" and the pacing is coming from my sa node.  I too lost weight and feared meals due to the constant up and down during the day.  Very ( for most people ) low doses of attenolol 15-30 minutes prior to a meal may help you.  I also see inceases in tachycardia rate if the meal is larger and contains more fat.  My doctors say that I am normal in terms of endocrine function.  It's a rare condition and the present state of diagnosis and medical science apparently cannot correct the problem.

by Feathan62, Sep 11, 2004 12:00AM
After eating something with sugar or a heavey meal my heart pounds... sometimes more than 100 bpm. I have shortness of breath with it on occasion.  Sometimes it is so bad I can't go to sleep at night.  It is like I get an adrenaline rush that won't stop!  It lasts up to 6 hours sometimes. I have never been to the doctor for it. Should I?

by HPC, Sep 21, 2004 12:00AM
Hello!

I have also experienced an increase in my heart rate after eating.  Sometimes it will happen when I just sitting and watching TV.  It also happens when I lay down to go to sleep or just walk up the stairs in my house.  My heart will race and it feels like I have just ran a marathon!  I've had several EKG's, worn a halter monitor, had an echocardiogram and blood work to check my thyroid.  The doctors can never find anything wrong.  They always say that I'm perfectly healthy...which I guess is good, but it's still very frustrating not knowing why it's happening.



The feeling when my heart is racing is very uncomfortable.  It makes me feel very anxious.  I'm 39 years old and have been dealing with it for over 10 years.  Anxiety can be a trigger as well.  Sometimes relaxation techniques such as slower breathing can help, but it's hard to do when your heart is racing.  Also, believe it or not, drinking lots of water can help too.  I'm not sure why, but it does (sometimes).



It is a great comfort to know that there are other people out there who are dealing with the same thing.  I thought I was the only one.



HPC

by sherma, Oct 23, 2004 12:00AM
Hiya,



I also experience this after eating, strangely enough only after lunch and not in the evening, but I do agree with other postings that I have found that I skip lunch now, because I cant stand the pounding and racing heart.  My pulse rate will go to about 100 and I just sit down and rest until the episode passes.  I am really scared about this, and I thought (as you do) that I was the only person in the world who had this problem.  I am 40 shortly and only about 10 pounds over my ideal weight, I also smoke approx 20 a day, which i really want to pack in, but at the moment i feel in a vicious circle because quitting smoking makes you eat more.  2 years ago i had a full heart inspection and nothing was found to be abnormal (this was when I was about 7 months pregnant and found breathing very difficult and massive bouts of tachy)  



I am too scared to see the Doctor about this, even though I probably should because after reading other postings it is probably treatable.  But I have Multiple Sclerosis as well so it has made me very frightened indeed.

by bellison, Oct 25, 2004 12:00AM
I cant believe I have come across this thread. This has been my main issue over the past 6 months and now it seems I am not the only one confusing the Docs. However I can add more weight to all the issues. Currently my main one is the rapid increase in heart rates after eating. However, initially I couldnt swallow and we looked at my espophagus. I have GERD (long term damage) so I was put on Protonix to reduce stomach acid. The lump in the throat sensation started to pass but then one day I had the most unbelievable panic attack after breakast. Heart rate was crazy and I couldnt breath right and became a real mess quickly. I am only 27 years old so it was unexpected to have heart issues. Anyway, my reasons for mentioning the GERD is becuase my GI Dr has noticed that my stomach doesnt empty correctly. Consequently I have Gastroparesis, although not as bad as it could be. This means my stomach doesnt contract and squeeze its contents through. Some people cant eat at all and a lot of people have it and their stomachs just work slower than usual. My GI doesnt understand the anxiety and heart