Sudden onset of tachycardia

[Concerned28277]

3 weeks ago while at work, I developed sudden onset tachycardia, dizziness and I felt somewhat disoriented. I felt fine one moment and the next moment I felt acutely ill. I was working at my desk the entire time. I have a history of idiopathic cardiomyopathy. My symptoms lasted about four hours, resolved for a couple of hours, and then returned for an additional 45 minutes.  I have not had any symptoms since the last episode. Last summer an echocardiogram did show some type of abnormality with the apex of my heart, so a cardiac cath was ordered, which came back normal. In addition, I was diagnosed with Type I DM 10 years ago (at the age of 38) as well as hypothyroidism.  I work in a doctor's office as a CMA so I do have a medical background.  After an EKG was performed, I was sent to the hospital via ambulance.  While in the ambulance, after the administration of a bag of fluids, my BP dropped to 76/48.  My blood sugar rose to 500 for no apparent reason and it did take 24 hours just to get it back down into the 200 range. At the hospital, I was tested for a pulmonary embolism and my cardiac enzymes were checked.  Everything came back negative.  The only rationale they could come up with was that my TSH was low (0.04) which was probably due to a recent increase in my Synthroid dosage (interestingly enough, one doctor thought the symptoms were all muscular related - I do wonder where she earned her medical degree).  However, my endocrinologist does not feel this was a cause for my symptoms as they were of a sudden onset.  My cardiologist has no explanation either.  Unfortunately, while in the hospital, he was not contacted and therefore, he was not able to review my EKG.
Is this something I should be concerned about? I am far from an anxious person and it is very unlikely that I would ever have a panic attack. This has never happened to me before and I am concerned that this may happen again.

[jhn447]

palpitations
Sent by jhn447  less than a minute ago
This goes out to all of you who have experienced palpitations.

I first developed tachycardia about 7 years ago while under anesthesia during bladder surgery.  Following this episode, I continued to have palpitations off and on for at least 5 years.  At first they were infrequent and for brief periods.  Later, the episodes became more frequent until they were occurring every day, 3 or 4 times a day.  Very scary!  I ended up in the emergency room once when the palpitations wouldn't stop.  (They did stop, just as I arrived at the ER where my heart returned to a normal rhythm.)  After this I had numerous medical tests and my problem was diagnosed as, to put it in layman's terms, an electrical short circuit in one of the heart's chambers.  It was recommended that I undergo a procedure during which a surgeon would attempt to induce the palpitations and do a catheterization to try to eliminate the short circuit.  I declined to have the surgery and have since eliminated the palpitations completely.  Mind you, they had been occurring daily, multiple times.  This is what I did.

I completely changed my diet.  I now eat a vegan diet (plant-based, whole foods, no animal products, no meat, no dairy).  I also started taking a whole foods supplement called Cardio-Plus by Standard Process that my chiropractor recommended.  (Standard Process is sold through chiropractors, but you can buy it through Amazon online.)  I don't know if it was the change in my diet or the Cardio-Plus supplement or both, since I made both of these changes at almost the same time, but my palpitations have stopped--completely!  I haven't had an episode now in at least 5 months.  I am 73, walk about 3 miles a day, and feel great.  If you consider taking a supplement, I believe it is important to take a whole foods product.  There are many supplements with similar sounding names that are not whole foods products.  I also would strongly recommend that you read a book called The China Study by T. Colin Campbell & Thomas Campbell, M.D.  I hope this helps.  

[LindaTX]

Yes, I also hope since this is the expert forum a Dr. will come on here and address this issue.  I have had 2 episodes of this sudden tachycardia.  The last was 3 weeks ago and it lasted 3 1/2 days straight.  I checked my pulse constantly and it was 140bpm. If it hadn't resolved itself when it did I was planning a trip to the ER. Is that too long to wait?

Mainly, I'm curious to know the best way to bring it back down quickly.  I have to be careful with beta blockers because of my BP running low.

Concerned, if you hear anything other than from here, could you pm me the info?  I feel like I'm definitely in the same boat.

[homer1231]

if u hear anything plz let mr in on it. i do have simular problems and am getting my thyroid takin out soon.