new heart symptom or panic attacks while sleeping

[PennyGirl2]

I have been diagnosed with PVCs, PACs, mitral valve prolapse.  In the last year I have been experiencing a new symptom...Some nights after I go to sleep I am awaken by a fast pounding heartbeat that also causes me to feel short of breath when it happens.  I have been able to make myself lay there and relax and can sometimes (not often) go back to sleep.  But last night it happened and I went back to sleep and then it happened again so I panicked and got up.  I usually feel short of breath for several hours after I get up or if it happens just before I get up in the mornings, I feel like I can't get a good breath all day and usually later on in the night I feel better and can breath again.  I have anxioty disorder, mild OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), and suffer frequently with migraines.  I will be 45 this month.  Am I suffering anxiety or panic attacks in my sleep or could this be a new symptom of something else going on with my heart?  I was told in my early 20's in the ER that I have tacycardia.  I should add that I have these same "spells" when I'm awake from time to time and I feel faint, nausea, and the dreaded feeling of impending doom.  After the innitial "rush" feeling it takes about an hour before I feel OK again.  I hate this.  It often causes me to be homebound and I hardly go anywhere alone anymore.  Anyone familiar with this?  Thanks in advance.    

[SillyHeart]

I've had these night spells for 15 years.  I can't get rid of them.  They are some sort of night terror or panic attack, yes.

Mine ALWAYS happen within 30-90 minutes after I fall asleep, and the vast majority happen when I am PMSing.

[PennyGirl2]

At what age did you start experiencing these and are they bad enough to keep you from sleeping some nights?

[SillyHeart]

I started experiencing them in my early teens.  I've never, ever been able to completely get rid of them.  They may increase or decrease in frequency, but never disappear altogether.

In the past they did keep me from sleeping some times because they really scared me.  By now I'm pretty used to them, so I get up, panic for a few minutes, and then just go back to sleep.

[PennyGirl2]

What does your doc say about these?  
...get up and panic.  I am definitely in touch with that feeling.  Some nights I just stay up till I'm so exhausted that I have no coice but sleep.  I sure appreciate you responding.  It's just really scarry.  How often do you have these.  Mine seem to happen during mentrual cycle and ovulation time.  Notice the PVCs more then too.

[SillyHeart]

Yeah there's definitely a hormonal connection with these things, and for with the PVCs.

My doctor calls them night terrors and doesn't seem concerned about them.  Offered me sleeping pills but I refused them.

Sometimes I have several a week, and other times I'll go a whole month with none.  If I'm more stressed than usual, I tend to have more, but sometimes even when I'm not stressed they happen.  Drinking plenty of water before bed and not eating for an hour or two before sleep seems to reduce them a lot.  But, like I said, I can never completely eliminate them.  I hope you are more lucky.  :)

[stevie_wonder]

When was the last time you had a cardiac checkup? If it has been awhile then it would probably be a good time to get one. What you are describing is a classic panic attack but sometimes the impending doom feeling can be related to heart problems as well so it is best to check it out. Better safe than sorry. Panic attacks can cause physical symptoms and can take alot out of you for quite awhile after it stops. I think they are quite common during sleep.

[Dootles]

[Dootles]

WOW!! I thought i was the only one in the world that experienced these god awful attacks during sleep. Ok so this is what happens to me! I fall asleep then wake up several hours later and go straight for my pulse, cause i know its racing. I get all the way up to heart rate of 200 for sure. I panic and pace around like a fish out of water. I dont normally get short of breath but notice a huge sweaty palm response. It has been happening for a couple of years now and i am in my 40's to. I suffer from panic attacks, major pvc attacks "every other beat" and anxiety as well.
NOW I have some advise for you. First get a full check up from your Doc. When he tells you all is clear, then start taking Magnisium. This helps with arrythmia's in general. Then get out! Out of the house i mean. Try Yoga! Try a craft that you like to do out of the house. You have to fight! If you dont fight it and show it whos boss, you will surrender to a terrible glitch that is in your brain that is controlled by the way we think and the way we respond to life situations. I have so many reasons to stay home. I have chronic pvc;s I have the fear of dieing or embarresing myself in public from maybe having to dial 911 because of a panic attack or something more serious. I have obsesive behaviors. And with all this i teach areobics in a gym. Scared to death at first but allowing others to help me get through. Im telling you FIGHT!  Life is so so short and for all we know we may live to be 100, do you want to be laying on your bed at 90 saying o my gosh i wasted all my life in fear and here i am anyway. Forget it im going to fight with all my might everyday and every night. I know  you hate I do to really it sucks! But we have it and its not going to go away unless a solution is made. YOU have to be the one to find. YOU have to be the one who decides you are going to take the control back because this is your life and you want more. So now that ive given you  my suggestion i wish you all the joy that life has, go for it.
Deb in calif

[PennyGirl2]

Deb,
I woke up early this morning and found your response.  It just seems so unfair that on top of everything else I now seem to be having some type of panic attack at night while sleeping.  I have been under the care of a cardiologist (10 yrs), therapist (3 yrs), neurologist (1 yr).  My therapist keeps telling me these are panic attacks and that a person can have them while sleeping.  I am convinced that it is something to do with my heart, I think mostly because of the fear I live with already from the PVCs, PACs, anxiety and pamic attacks.  

I am a single Mom and when these "panic attacks" happen, my first thought is something is going to happen to me and my children will be left alone which thows me into more panic.  

When these attacks happen to me during the day, a feeling comes over me like my whole body is shutting down, like the wind is being pushed out of me (let me clarify here that this is not a tightening of the chest feeling) and then I panick, my heart races, I think something is going to happen to me and I am pacing, can't be still, in constant motion.  After awhile, I start to calm down and my heart rate starts going back to normal and I feel like myself again.

Like everyone else in here, I am told not to worry but that is hard to do when it is happening.  And now it is happening in my sleep.  

I think the same thing you said above...that one day I could be 90 looking back at all I was afraid to do and missed out on because of this fear I live with.

I know that I am magnesium deficient.  I was tested and it came back deficient.  I never knew how important magnesium was until recently when I started reading up on it and realized a deficiency in it can cause arrythmias, anxiety, panic, migraine, the list goes on and on.  I will start taking it today.  

Thanks for responding.  I never thought I'd be so happy to hear someone tell me to "get out!"  HA!  

Penny

    

[lanakaye]

Panic attacks began for me when I was thirteen years old.  I had no idea what they were and they scared me so badly, I was terrified .  They would happen and embarrass me  .  It could look pretty strange to be freaking out when no one around you could see the reason.  My parents who loved me anyway and some really good friends and neighbors were very supportive.    I actually lost the use of my legs for awhile these attacks were so bad.  Three people I was very close to in my family had died that year and then the attacks began.   My parents had me checked out medically and nothing was found of any significance.   The panic lasted a few months and went away for seven years.  Then I married and after a year and a half the love  of my life just left and they began again.  I went for counseling, went back to college and the attacks disappeared altogether for years.  I think feeling secure goes a long way in getting rid of the these attacks.

I also have pvcs, pacs.  I had had a-fib recenly.  I know how fightening this can be.  I can really sympathize with you about all of these things.

I have had these panic attacks off and on for about 46 years !     I have also been the single Mom.  My twins are grown now and married.  I have three grandchildren at this point.   As for being the single Mom , I had the children alone since they were eight.  It was wonderful , but sometimes a scary responsibility knowing that all is dependent upon you.   You are still very young and this is just a natural response.  You need to get out definitely and enjoy life to the fullest.   These attacks disappeared for twenty years the last go round for me.   A lot if not most of it has to do with getting your mind off them by activity and a feeling of security.

Get checked out medically as much as possible for reassurance.  I am sure that you will be just fine.  You deserve to enjoy things and I know that you will!
A close friend who knows and encourages you helps a lot as do all of these folks on the forum.


lanakaye

[Ginasouthcarolina]

Im not sure if i need magnesium...can i take it anyway will it hurt me?

[Dootles]

You can take magnesium it will not hurt you at all. You can take a slo release as well of it. I have a great m.d. who's wife has pvc and of course he was going to find the answer for her so he shared it with me as well. Magnesium helps your entire electrical system. Take it! :)
Deb

[PennyGirl2]

Deb,

Did you happen to see the post where I asked the dr a question?  If not, please go read it.  He says that my symptoms sound more like a tachycardia.  Hmmm...  Back to the cardio.

Thanks for all the info, especially on the supplements.  There are so many different mags to take, it's confusing.  

Like most in here, when you try to discuss all this with people who have never experienced it, they think your nuts.  The sweetness of technology that allows us to be in touch with people that live so far away and yet are faced with the same challenges.  I love it!

Penny, Mississippi (yessss, a southern girl...hehe!)

  

[anniess]

I bought a sleep CD that synchronizes with your Delta brain waves (deep sleep waves) to help you sleep; it stopped my panic attacks 100%,which I had for decades.