Tachycardia Episodes

[Sharon110]

I'm a 43 year old female with some major issues going on with my heart.  I've always had episodes of Tachycardia since I was about 27....those stopped over the years but now they've returned out of the blue.  I'm typically a nervous person who had many phobias and general anxiety until I was 30 years old.  For the last 13 years, I've had a handle on that.  One night about 2 months ago, I awoke to a racing heartbeat.  It threw me into a panic and took almost an hour to calm down.  From that night on, I'm afraid to go to sleep.  I'm worried it will happen again.  Naturally, because I am consumed with this fear, the tachycardia episodes happen over and over each night.  I will wake up a few times naturally during the night and will be fine and then I can't help myself...I put my hand over my heart to check on it and it is beating just fine but within 15 seconds, it begins beating out of control.  Can your mind/emotions literally cause your heart to escalate at top speed like this?  I had an EKG at my doctor's office and she said my heart sounded fine.  I also wore a 24 holter monitor and turned that in to the doctor over 2 weeks ago and haven't heard back from them....hopefully no news is good news or I might be in trouble.  Today, I was having my hair highlighted at the salon, during the highlighting stage where you are sitting under a hot dryer, the tachycardia started and I began to panic.  I couldn't get my heart to calm down until my hairdresser finally rinsed the solution off my hair and I no longer felt trapped in that salon.  I believe I had a terrible phobic attack in which I felt I was going to die, I needed to leave the salon and get home and away from everyone but I was trapped there with dye in my hair and wasn't allowed to leave.  As I said, the moment all the dye was out and I no longer felt trapped in the salon, amazingly, my heartbeat was much calmer and I felt so much more relaxed.  Can this be hormonal?  I am in the perimenopause stage right now.  

[Cleveland Clinic]

It may be hormonally related, but more likely than not you have AVNRT. You need an event monitor to record any episodes you may have and in addition maybe a beta blocker may be a useful medication. This problem has been discussed many times both in this forum and in the heart arrhythmia forum.
If you have an atrial arrhythmia, and still have symptoms despite a good dose of a beta blocker, you may benefit from an ablation, which is an invasive procedure which can be useful in deleting these circuits that cause the SVT.

[oneil420]

It sounds like major panic attacks, ive been there and yes your mind does/can control your body ive had my HR measured in the er at over 285 bpm when i first started getting them (panic attacks), not to say you dont have a arrythmia it took over a year to capture my pacs/pvcs , once i got diagnosed my anxiety is 99% gone every so often a bad episode of pvcs will send my adrenalin and my heart racing but it is a double edge sword that is different for everyone for some the anxiety causes the arrythmia and vise versa. Also no news is good news in the medical world if there was a problem they would contact you right away, not so much because they like you but the lawyers:) Regardles of what it is there is a medical problem you need to address with either a cardiologist or  a psyciatrist or both? One thing i do know is browsing the internet for answers will just add to your frustration and anxiety, step up and take responsibility for your health, call your primary care , make a appointment and be honest about your issues, thats what they do, and your not alone like i said ive been there and until you face your fears and get your answers all you will ever have is questions. I hope you get some answers soon, also you can request a copy of your holter there your medical records they just hold them for you:)

[erijon]

Could have been an SVT episode or a panic attack. Our minds can play terrible tricks on our bodies, I've felt exactly as you have described as trapped during meetings and when out to dinner, I get the same symptoms. In either case, it's best to mention it to your doctor.

Jon

[go_to_guy]

This could actually be an SVT you have and you could benefit from an EP study,  but there are several things to consider before going that far - like making sure it's not IST (which my gut tells me it is)

[go_to_guy]

I am sure you've had TSH and T4 levels checked.  DId you have an episode while the Holter monitor was on and recording?      When you wake up at night with your heart racing,  do you feel short on breath?   Does the fast pulse subside one you wake up good?