Heart races at night

[beki]

I am a 43 year old active female. Last year went through non Hodgkin

[fearfactor]

Actually, magnesium supplements work well for my PACs/PVCs.  My mag level was low-normal in blood testing and I started taking 400 mg per day of magnesium glycinate (very absorbable form by KAL).  My PACs/ PVCs have decreased.  I ran out of the supplement a couple weeks ago and while I was waiting to get a new shipment I started having worse palps so I know it works for me.  I eat an orange a day for potassium and don't take that in supplement form.  I also take Toprol XL, 12.5 mg a day, which helps with fast heartbeat (I have anxiety issues and it prevents my heart from going out of control when I have a panic attack!).

[veryanxious]

Mag supplementing does tend to help me a little as it soothes the entire nervous system. Another good supplement for me is Taurine, an amino acid byproduct, found in any GNC, which works pretty good for me. Its supposed to calm the nervous system. Also , vitamin E works pretty good.

I have noticed that for me personally, b vitamins and flax oil seem to aggravate PVC's and PAC's big time, as well as Niacin (a b vitamin) the niacin REALLY made them bad.

The truth is NOTHING is a panacea for these things, and modern medicine still doesnt appear to know too much about them. With my limited layman knowledge, I am convinced that different neural pathways must be activated to activate the right circuts. I think different things such as panic, anxiety, depression, and stress can activate the bad ones, and it may take a long time (even after the anxiety and depression are not present) years, even, to get the healthy ones firing again. My theory isnt based on any science, just an instinctive feeling I have, as i have studied these things and observed them in myself to the point where it has consumed me....because they, basically, already have.

[Hally123]

Hi, I was so happy to find this sight, and read all the posts. I ended up in the er 3 weeks ago with atrial fib. my heart was staying at rate over 200, and my blood pressure was also in the 200's over 160's. i ended up being cardioverted. Then a week ago, i went to the er again after I lay down to sleep for the night, and all of a sudden by heart started racing  My blood pressure was up also., my face became flushed, I was shaking all over, and my mouth became totally dry. I had 2 more spisodes of the same thing in the er, but they don't do anything about it. I am on cardizem 180, for high bp, and to help my heart rate. I was on metoprolol before , which I think startd this whole problem to begin with. I was normal, and fine till starting bp meds. I again last night had 3 episodes of the racing heart, high bp, flushed face, shaking etc. It happened when I just lay down to sleep. It's driving me crazy. I'm worried about it all the time, I'm wearing an event monitor for 4 weeks, so I can catch the episodes, and send them. I'm having an echo cardiogram tomorrow, and seeing a cardiologist this week. I'm thinking of trying maganesium after hearing all the success with it. Thanks for all your posts!!!!!

[Fran71]

Thank you to everyone who has replied to my questions on supplements. I guess we all react differently to them, as we do to any situation and meds. For instance, why do betablockers reduce PVCs in some people and do nothing or even make them worse in others? Does it mean perhaps that there are different mechanisms that activate these naughty cells that fire uncontrollably?
I usually have sinus tachy and PVCs simultaneously, so I guess my arrhythmia is basically related to catecolamines. Maybe that's why, for now, betablockers seem to work, not just for the tachy but also to some extent for the PVCs.

Have a nice day all

Fran

[tickertock]

Funny , my symptoms are very similiar to yours , sinus tach and PVCs occuring simultaneously. I take atenolol 50-75 mg daily in divided doses depending. The atenolol works great for the sinus tach and does help to reduce the pvcs, even though I rarely have either one anymore. Funny thing is that I have always been very aware of my heartbeat from time I can remember whether fast or slow , regular or irregular, however for the about the last 2 weeks is the first time in my 41 years that I am hardly aware of myy heart beating, even if I exert myself or feel a bit anxious my heart is very quiet and I'm barely aware of it at all. I must say it's a good feeling but also strange, I wonder if these palpitations especially when afflicted with them from childhood get better in middle age, I must after all these years( don't know how long it will last)but it sure is a relief for now at least. Good luck to all.

[Fran71]

Hi tickertock!
I loved your post!! I love to hear when someone is feeling better! And it also gives me some hope that my palps may not get worse...I guess the prognosis - I mean the frequency, not the fact they're benign - may depend on the characteristics of the PVCs. My cardio just told me last Friday that his general impression is that PVCs usually get better with age. Maybe since sinus tachy sometimes improves with time, PVCs may improve too when they're associated with sinus tachy.
OK, let me hope, at least!! Nobody can tell...Let's just enjoy the breaks our palps allow us LOL.

Since we both have sinus tachy along with PVCs and the BB kind of helps us with both symtoms, I guess we're having the same kind of problem...Do you have thyroid disease? I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's, but my thyroid function is still OK so it's hard to say whether the thyroid is causing this.

Ps. 41 is not really middle age yet! LOL

Take care everyone