Rapid heartrate/high blood pressure after eating

[budgetguy]

For the past several years I have noticed that after eating food (which ranges from just a cup of milk to a full meal) that my heart rate and blood pressure increases significantly about 30 minutes after eating, and it lasts for about  one and 1/2 hours to two hours.  This occurs about 50% of the time after eating.  My heart rate goes from ~75 bpm up to 140 bmp (max todate), and the blood pressure goes from 130/80 up to 180/102 (max to date).  Note: I am borderline hypertensive and take 20mg of lisinopril a day. I have attempted to determine if there is a particular type of food, or food additive that might trigger the symptoms, and have noticed the symptoms always occur when I eat peanut butter or the snack crackers that are sold in vending machines, and will occassionally happen when I eat homemade macroni and cheese.  Other that these foods, I can find no relationships.  I can have a cup of milk one morning and get the symptoms, then have a cup the next day from the same gallon and have no symptoms.  I have had several tests in the hospital - stress test, sonogram of the heart, gastronomic tests - with no results.  Of course the tests were not conducted just after eating, so I was not exhibiting the symptoms.  Do you have any thoughts on what might be causing this?

[busybeess]

After seeing a  few doctors two , allergist  and two cardiologist,  I was fed up  I knew something was wrong, The MD said oh you have no allergies I knew for a fact I was allergic to oranges and dairy  I had  a reaction as soon as I ate them 30% of people have citrus allergies, I was fed up I  went to alternative chinese  medicine doctor, and figured this out that allergy tests are only 50 %  accuarate! So that explained a lot .  I had blood allergy test and scratch test , So the  I went on a elimination diet this is the diet that was researched and my doctor told me get on it , I could early chicken, turkey and lamb , rice all vegetable EXCEPT nightshades. I could eat, Blueberries, pear,  drink water, have  olive oil also I could eat  garlic onion were okay i did  this for two weeks then  I introduce for 1/2 a day wheat, then go back on diet for 3 1/2 days then do the same thing with corn, dairy,  sugar, citrus, soy, nuts etc....you will figure it out pretty darn fast  

[SandyPR]

So interesting!  I've been concerned that my heart thumps rather hard and fast after eating certain meals.  I'm female,  64, have rather low blood pressure, gym two to three times a week, but remain about 10 kg overweight, and have tested insulin resistant. Two years ago, I had treatment for Graves' disease - that's too much thyroid.  I thought the one advantage of Graves' would be that the weight would just drop off: not when you're on the medication!    I've recently been trying the paleo diet (no carbs) and my heart rate is much improved. I've lost 4 kg. in three months (and I don't get hungry all the time, yay!). If I cheat and eat carbs, I have the heart rate issue again.  Thanks for the tips - I'm going to try the cumin treatment and see if I can find an ayurvedic doctor  here in Cape Town.  

[MarsGofW]

I was having the same issues of increased heart rate that made me uncomfortable after eating. It was happening after every meal. It was making me quite anxious everyday.

After lots of research I came upon some info about low stomach acid. It turns out that if you have low stomach acid you can develop many digestive issues. From what I understand from the info is that if you are having digestive issues , the Vagus Nerve, which connects your brain, heart and stomach together can trigger your heart and body to work harder to compensate for your poor performing digestive system. This can cause your BP to rise and heart to beat faster.

Some of the info I read suggested taking a supplement called Betaine HCL, which is an acid that will increase your stomach acid levels so that your stomach can perform the way it should. There are some things that you should be careful for if you take certain medications or have stomach ulcers. This supplement can make them worse.

I personally have tried it following instructions I found on the net on how to find the right dose and have good results so far. Now after i eat my heart will beat in a normal range and my stomach feels good. This might not work for everyone here suffering from these symptoms, but it might be tied to some of your digestive systems.

I'm just throwing this info out there in hopes it might help some of you. I highly suggest you google the info I provided and see if this might apply to you. Consult a doctor if you need to make sure your health is up to it. I will say one thing though, most doctors are not educated on this and over prescribe anti acid medications to treat the problem which makes the problem worse. Low stomach acid can cause similar symptoms to high stomach acid.

Good Luck Everyone!

[Aj1409]

Have the same condition as yours and i too suspect its protein (mutton, chicken) which increases the heart rate. I am going to get a BP check this evening :P

[Mirasdad]

Hi everyone,

I have the same BP increase and dizzy feeling after I eat.  I have borderline hypertension (though I think I will be going on some sort of medication after I see DR. next week) and this condition is extremely stressful which makes things way worse.  After about 2 hours the BP goes back down but the dizzy feeling continues. I also have Ringing in the Ears (Tinnitus) associated with this. I am pretty sure that salt causes this for me.  Even a very small amount causes me to feel weird.  I am so glad I ran across this post and found that others have the same problems and  I am not just crazy (as some have suggested I may be...TBH that could still be true haha).  

[Lavondag]

You might have your thyroid thoroughly checked out then.  I have thyroid issues and take meds for it, and the same exact thing happens to me when I eat salt.  It's really strange.  Iodine affects the thyroid and I think that's my issue

[Mirasdad]

Awesome!  I am inspired