Sudden Drastic Rhythm Changes

I've had my heart rhythm drastically change a few times but can't figure out what it is.

It all started one night after drinking very large amounts of caffeine then sitting down to watch a movie.  My heart rate slowed down (over a period of 5-10 seconds) from 70 to 50 or 55, then suddenly it felt as if my body became completely calm and still, and by head got fuzzy, like the feeling people sometimes get from standing up too fast.  It startled me so I stood up, but I didn't get any sort of jolt I usually get when something suddenly startles me.  It probably lasted for 8 seconds, then instantly it went away and my heart started beating fast at 170 BPM.

The second time this happened was 1-3 weeks later.  After putting it in the past and drinking lots of caffeine again, then sitting down at the computer for a while to get some work done, I felt the same exact feeling come back, putting me in a cloud but I was still able to stand up and walk around without affecting the feeling at all.  This time the episode lasted for 8-9 seconds.  When it ended, my heart rhythm just went back to normal again.

The final time it happened, again 1-2 weeks later, I had not drank any caffeine in a day or two and had just sat down after walking around for a few minutes.  I had one hand on top of the other and was unintentionally able to feel each heart beat from the arteries in my hand.  Spontaneously, the feeling came back again for roughly 4 seconds, and during the episode I lost a palpable pulse in my hand.

I've asked about this, but with no thought about it and no explanation (as if they weren't even paying attention to my question) they told me it couldn't be a problem.  Has anyone here ever felt this before or does anyone know what this could be?  I have slight benign arrhythmias, with no structural cardiac problems, and a stress test came back without even a hiccup in the results.  Any help is appreciated.

[Staplator]

Bump

[acjviolin]

Maybe you should avoid caffeine from now on.

[underinformed35]

I have had these sudden changes in rhythm also and my cardiologist can not find a reason. They said it could be due to constant PVC's making it seem like my rate was low, but I don't think that is what was going on. Maybe you should ask to wear a heart monitor.
If you find out, please let me know. I am concerned also.
Good luck.

[Staplator]

If it's possible this is caused by some form of serial PVC's, can anyone here describe what ventricular bigeminy or something similar feels like?

[Staplator]

I've seen that me and underinformed35 aren't the only ones who have had this happen, so I'm bumping this in hopes that someone who knows what it is or someone else who has had it happen will see it.

[dolfnlvr]

I'm sorry that not many people have answered your post.  First and foremost let me give you some unnecessary and fairly common sense advice.  You need to cut out ALL caffeine...at least for awhile.  When you say "lots of caffeine" a few things spring to mind these days.  Either a huge pot of coffee...all to yourself :-) or one or more of those "energy" drinks.  America has become enamored with our latest "safe" and legal drug and it has become common place to overmarket and overconsume caffeine at levels that are borderline toxic.  

There is a common misconception that the only thing caffeine will do to your heart rate is increase it.  This is not really true.  Caffeine initially induces an increased heart rate and increased neural transmission, but it's after effect is depression, lethargy and often arhythmias or "out of sync" heart rhythms.  In high doses, these "after effects" can be dramatic.  

Funny thing is that you mention that a few days later, having "not drank any caffeine in a day or two," you experienced a similar situation.  IF (capitalized for emphasis) you are a regular caffeine drinker and you regularly consume exceptionally large amounts of caffeine, this is not a surprise to me.  Caffeine is addictive, though less addictive than many drugs, it has physiologic as well as psychological withdrawal symptoms.  Psychological aside, if your body is experiencing frequent yo-yo doses of high levels of caffeine then the dramatic "lack" of the drug could easily cause the arhythmia to "flare" when you were "off caffeine."

Your best bet is at least two fold.  Drink only non caffienated beverages (water, sprite, kool-aids etc.) for at least two weeks.  Cut out chocolate, which contains a compound similar to caffeine and can cause not only similar but more profound effects than caffeine in a sensitive system.  Keep in mind that "decaf" coffee can contain as much as 55% caffeine and still be classified "decaf," so your best bet is to avoid all coffee if possible.  

At the same time, you should consult a doctor.  Just in case there is something more pressing going on (which I doubt) you should probably be hooked up to an event monitor for a few weeks.  They are tiny, about the size of a medium MP3 player, and easy to conceal.  When you experience an event you record it and call a company, then play the recording over the phone.  They let your doctor know the results and your doctor figures out what is going on.  Just be HONEST.  If you've had caffeine or run a marathon or been asleep for 24 hours straight you have got to tell them so they can figure out if the episode is a "natural" phenomena or if it should be a concern.

Good luck to you.  I hope this helped a bit.

[jkfrench]

Hi there
I commented last night about this on another thread.  I'm not sure if my episodes are the same as yours or not.  First of all, I don't drink anything with caffeine in it.  (I do eat too many M&M's but that is another story)..anyway, my heart beat doesn't jump around.  It just feels like I get a rather strange flutter and then nothing for several seconds.  Not like the pause between your normal PVC.  I feel as if I am fading away when this happens.  There is no other way to explain it.  I jump up and try to get my heart started again and that is usually when it takes off into a PAT episode.  A few times it just went back to a normal rythym.  I'm not sure how long the pause is.  Maybe it is 4 seconds or so.  It does scare me to no end.  Unfortunately or fortunately however you want to look at it, it only happens 2 or 3 times a year.  But I know when it is coming because I get a very unusual feeling and flutter.  Someone on this board once told me it is an extra long pause that triggers the PAT.  But these pauses are nothing like the normal pause between pvc's.  Those types are just seconds or less.
Frenchie

[Staplator]

dolfnlvr:  That info does help, I never realized a lot of the things you said.  I'll keep all of that in mind.

jkfrench:  It sounds like the same thing.  Is it a "fading away" where you feel like you're fading away from/out of reality but it doesn't keep getting worse the entire time (it gets to full strength fading away in about 1 second then remains there)?  I never feel any strange flutter before hand, but other than that it sounds like the same thing.  It's an unmistakable feeling; the instant it happens, you know exactly what's going on.

[debola53]

Ventricular bigemeny feels like missed beats. You only feel half the beats and therefor you think your heart rate is slow, when actually it will be doulbe that. It is not dangerous, per se, but you should definitley get a holter. I have had lots of documented bigemeny, and unless it is continous, it doesn't bother me. Hope this helps.

[Staplator]

What about Adams-Stokes syndrome?  There doesn't seem to be a lot of information about it on the internet, but the information available seems like a plausible possibility.

Here's the Wikipedia article on it:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adams-Stokes_syndrome

[Staplator]

Sorry for the double post, I would also like to draw attention to Second Degree AV Block for people to look at.  I'm particularly looking at Type 1 Second Degree.  What do all of you think about the correlations between everything so far in this thread?