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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
Laxatives abuse/Rapid Heart Rate
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Laxatives abuse/Rapid Heart Rate
by rosetoes, Jul 30, 2006 12:00AM
I experienced a rapid heart rate some months ago of 190 to 225 bpm which landed me in an ambulance and ER. I was given beta blockers to reduce my heart rate. Additionally, several test were ran, ie. echo, ekg, stress test, xray of my heart and all came back normal. I was diaganois with sinus tach.
In my 50 years of life, I never had this type of heart rate, I have experienced panic attacks and sometimes this would cause increased heart rate but not to this degree.
I recently thought about that day and it dawned on me that one thing that I did that morning of my episode was insert a suppository (laxative). I have been doing the laxative insert for 4 years at least 2 to 4 times a week. I wonder if this could have caused my sinus tach. Needless to say, I have not used a laxative since that episode.
Any feedback is welcomed.
Thanks!
In my 50 years of life, I never had this type of heart rate, I have experienced panic attacks and sometimes this would cause increased heart rate but not to this degree.
I recently thought about that day and it dawned on me that one thing that I did that morning of my episode was insert a suppository (laxative). I have been doing the laxative insert for 4 years at least 2 to 4 times a week. I wonder if this could have caused my sinus tach. Needless to say, I have not used a laxative since that episode.
Any feedback is welcomed.
Thanks!
Doctor's Answer
by CCF-M.D.-MJM, Jul 30, 2006 12:00AM
Hello,
That is a pretty fast heart rate even for a panic attack. I do not think routine laxative use would case sinus tachycardia, especially that fast. The key questions are:
1. was the onset sudden like a light switch
2. does it happen often and if it does, how often
3. did they capture an ekg of this?
4. when it terminated, did it decrease slowly or turn off like a light switch
sudden onset/termination suggests a reentry mechanism, possibly amendable to ablation. Sinus tachycardia and a panic attack cannot be ruled out, but other causes should be evaluated first. If the symtoms are frequent (every day), a holter would suffice. If they are less frequent (once or twice per month), an event monitor is appropriate. If it happens several times per year, an implantable loop recorded is probably best. A local electrophysiologist should be able to help you determine the cause or at least determine if it can be fixed.
I hope this helps. Thanks for posting.
That is a pretty fast heart rate even for a panic attack. I do not think routine laxative use would case sinus tachycardia, especially that fast. The key questions are:
1. was the onset sudden like a light switch
2. does it happen often and if it does, how often
3. did they capture an ekg of this?
4. when it terminated, did it decrease slowly or turn off like a light switch
sudden onset/termination suggests a reentry mechanism, possibly amendable to ablation. Sinus tachycardia and a panic attack cannot be ruled out, but other causes should be evaluated first. If the symtoms are frequent (every day), a holter would suffice. If they are less frequent (once or twice per month), an event monitor is appropriate. If it happens several times per year, an implantable loop recorded is probably best. A local electrophysiologist should be able to help you determine the cause or at least determine if it can be fixed.
I hope this helps. Thanks for posting.
Good luck.
Erik
Anhy thoughts?
I went to many doctors, OB, GP and a Cardio. The GP put me on a beta blocker (Toprol, 50mg), my Cardio doctor says my test were all normal and agreed that Toprol was a good idea. I went to my OB because of hot flashes and my heart rate would increase when I was hot (mostly at night, but occasionally during the day).
I was having more palpitations with the the Toprol and I started to stutter and be loss for words when holding a conversation. This started a month after I started taking Toprol. I started to wean myself off of them after a few months and have now been off of them for 3 months. No stuttering, head tightness! I feel a whole lot better now. But sometimes I wonder why this rapid heart rate happened. I'm 50 and never had this happen before. Hopefully it was isolated. I don't drink coffee or pop now. I only drank de-caf, but I did drink pepsi like water. NOw I drink 5 to 8 glasses of water now.
I plan to see my cardio doctor within the next few months for another checkup. I have been feeling great, but sometimes what happend looms over me and I get uncomfortable wondering if it will happen again. I have been reassured that if it does, it is not life threatening, so I do keep that in mind.
Thanks for responding to my message.
can someone please put my mind at rest. My father is very critical in hospital and stupidly took a sleeping tablet 3.75mg zopilicone the night before at 11 and then starting drinking 2 glasses of wine the following day at 10am . I did this on to nights on the trot until i realised my heart beat was racing. Could i have done some damage.
At the moment my blood pressure is fine but my resting heart