Wake up suddenly in night

Hi there
I was wondering if anyone else wakes up suddenly in the night with a pounding and racing heartbeat, that slows down and then pvcs kick in...
It usually happens within the first hour of sleep and its really effecting my sleep, as i now do not enjoy going to bed...
Any feedback would be great
thanx sarah x

[Rosemary349]

In the last month i've started getting a racing heart on waking in the morning.....I'm really panicking about it due to various things that have happened in my life (causing maybe more anxiety than would be usual).

I'm wondering if REM sleep can do something?

[Jerry_NJ]

Can you remember a dream when you wake up?  Could be a "bad" dream that gets you heart cranked up and then wakes you.  We have to think about dreaming immediately when we wake up to get the dream recalled clearly.

[jpek]

This used to happen to me all the time. In my case, I would experience Palps then wake up startled due to the palps.  The sudden wake up caused a fast pulse.  Then the palps would continue.  
I have since concluded my issue was caused by stress.  Anxiety followed, causing more stress.  Then interupted restless sleep and stomach issues.  All those contributed to more stress.  A ruthless circle.
Stress manifests itself in so many ways.  In these forums I contunually read about combinations of stress, anxiety and palps.
If you suspect stress plays a part, go after it aggressively.  Read all you can on the net regarding relaxation techniques, meditation, etc.  It really helped me. It took 1 month to make a noticeable difference.  The more I read, the more I understood, and the better I felt.  I have now been palp free since July 1, and feel like my overall health is still improving.
I will post some of the reading material I have used on my personal page if you are interested.

Best of Luck.

[tom_h]

Have you ever been checked for sleep apnea? Low O2 saturation will cause your heart to pound.  I know because it often happened to me.  That was usually followed by clusters PVCs the next day.  I unknowingly had severe, chronic sleep apnea.

[sas12358]

Hi
Thank you for your comments, i dont wake up breathless which is usual with sleep apnea (i think) and it only started happening this week, but every night. im now at the point where i am scared to go to sleep.
I would appreciate any material you have cos believe it or not im a nurse and i need to get back to work. i had a heart ablation 8 weeks ago and im not sure if all the stress from that is causing me heart to have extra beats constantly, when i get even slightly stressed they start and hurt.
thanx sarah xx

[rtl123]

this happens to me too, i have other symptoms though with my health problem ive been having. im only 15 but i have woken up a bunch of times lately where my heart is not necisarly beating fast but it is beating very hard, shaking my whole body, i can eel the pulsing in my head and down my neck.

[cindy707]

Hi been there done that one two...i think the most important thing here is that it goes back into rhythm on its own Sarah.....i did have an issue about six months ago where i woke up out of a dead sleep with that and my heart wouldn't snap back so i had to take that dreaded ride to the E.R. and they converted me within about 45 minutes but mine may have been different.  I had the real feeling that sometimes when we are sleeping that our hearts may sort of get stuck in a bad pattern of electrical firing and because we aren't awake to help it out it just does its own dance to the sound of a different drummer....i think as long as it corrects itself tho..................i like Jerrys idea when he says that basically everyone needs to take an aspirin a day as most docs say too as long as you can tolerate it ...it at least thins our blood enough so that issues w. clots can be minimized......its my opinion Sarah if you just went thru an ablation eight weeks ago you are just going thru what we all did when we had ours..those stupid random runs while our hearts heal...i know isn't it funny that medical professionals make the worst pts????  I think it may be cause we know a little two much and the what could happens....hope you are doing well after the procedure....

[georgec34]

I have had exactly the same symptoms, with 6 episodes, approx. 4 weeks apart. I am usually woken by my irregular and fast heartbeat within the first couple of hours of sleep. After 6months on bisoprolol (beta blocker) I am now on 50mg x 2 Flecainide since Wednesday. Even though I have taken extra tablets at the time, I have been hospitalised every time. My heart usually goes back into sinus after about 8 to 14 hours on its own. I find it most frustrating. I have a 'nervy' history, so I have started this week, stress relieving my body before I go to bed. I am trying to be very positive and not let the 'b------' get me down. I am going to my GP to ask him about my early sleeping 'nerve' problem. I will keep you informed.

[cindy707]

I would love to hear what your doc says George...so many members write on this site about this issue....so many questions.....for sure post and let us know what your doc says...maybe do a new post because you are going thru what alot of members do and it might really be helpful to everyone...good luck w. your appt. and i'll look for your post....

[rilesnic]

Many nights I wake up gasping and my heart is completely out of rhythm. Nocturnal panic attacks...maybe? Sleep apnea? My heart has been recorded at its fastest at 160 at 3:00am. I have very vivid nightmares and many times my husband has to wake me. I also feel like my brain is falling asleep, will feel like I'm asleep for hours and I look at the clock and it will be 6 or 7 minutes. It is extremely exhausting. I feel like I never rest. I also have been waking up with vertigo, which I also have. I know true vertigo affects you when you're lying down, but it has actually woke me up twice in the past month. Anxiety or heart?? The docs say it's anxiety but I don't know how convinced I am. Hard to believe anxiety causes PAC's everyday. Makes for poor quality of life.