Arrythmia and Shingles

[jpek]

Is there a relationship between irregular heart beats and shingles?  I had shingles a couple months ago.  I am now waking up with my heart skipping beats.

[Vicvicvic01]

I am also having the same symptoms.  I am 32 and was diagnosed with shingles 2 weeks ago. While the first 2 weeks I had mainly the most annoying itchy rash with burning,  I had no other symptoms.  A week later my left arm has been going numb and I've had some chest pain. Went to the doc and they did an EKG and said I need to see a cardiologist since my heart was pausing while beating. Idk what else is going to happen. Since this, my left arm goes numb and pain in my heart continues. That's all I know so far. Waiting on a call from the cardiologist.  

[Missymeg]

Hi
This has made very interesting reading for me as I ve just recently had my first ever bout of shingles and having completed the course of treatment remain off sick from work due to extreme tiredness.

Interestingly I ve noticed an increase in the amount of palpitations I ve been getting and googled to see IF there is a link.

There is  some research to suggest there is an increased risk of heart attack or stroke post shingles!!!

Albeit a small increased risk still a cause for concern. My shingles was only very small but on my head so now I m worried. A check up is required I think.

[maric1977]

I am a 38 year old male. I had shingles 3 months ago when I was very stressed at work and home. since then I suffer from bouts of intense heartburn and wind, and take omeprazole.
When I have a gas build up my heart rate shoots up to 180bpm and stays there until I belch or otherwise regain my panic.  
I also suffered an enlarged thyroid, although live and tyroid tests came back as okay.

[klutzer25]

It's weird that I had the same thing happen as you did.  About three months ago I had a horrible case of shingles. The doctor put me on the Acyclovir . After about a month the shingle pain subsided but now I have had irregular heart beats for the past month.  My unique situation is that I was diagnosed with this arrhythmia 35 years ago and have been dealing with the uncomfortable feeling it causes on and off all those years. It's benign and meds didn't help much. But it was in what I call a "rest" period of hardly a single irregular beat for the past 7 months or so. So it could be the drug I was given that just caused an increase of my pre-existing condition, or it could be overall stress that triggered the shingles and subsequent arrhythmia. I am prone to stress and depression.  I'm going to a cardiologist just for a check up to be sure that the palpitations are the same old (miserable) thing and not something from a new underlying condition. Don't know if this helps at all. Hope it does.

[jpek]

The one connection between shingles and palpitations is stress. Stress is a trigger for shingles.  Stress is tightens up the body, and pulls the stomach up, which in turn affects the vagas nerve, which is a heart rate regulator.  In my case, I was diagnosed with a hiatus hernia, another result of stress, which is known for causing palpitations.  
Looking back it was quite obvious that stress was adding up, but at the time I thought I was handling everything well.  I guess I could fool my mind, but not my body.  There is a spiraling effect when stress takes over.  The degradation of sleep quality can be a main factor.  Restless legs, interrupted sleep, wake up tired, etc.  The body starts to run on adrenaline (literally).  When I went through my tests when the palps began, they did thyroid testing.  My thyroid was fine, but I had high levels of adrenaline.  
If any of this sounds familiar, take steps to reduce the stress.  There are many many sites on the net to help.  Also, if you have stomach related issues, you may want to read up on hiatus hernias.  Treating for stress and the hernia has zero downside, and may give you positive results.
Good luck,
Jpek

[Vicvicvic01]

I can agree. I was going through major amounts of stress right before and during shingles diagnosis. I have lost literally days of sleep going through a separation of a 12 year realization. I do think lack of sleep has increased my symptoms and no exercise no good nutrition has taken its toll. I recommend to take a day off work to just sleep. That has helped me soo much.

[Vicvicvic01]

Relationship *** not realization

[ireneo]

Put on meds for. . . .?  The shingles - no. I thought it was just a nasty case of eczema that kept spreading all the way around one side of my torso. But when I went in, the doctor stepped back and told me it was shingles. I didn't have extreme pain; it just felt like hundreds of needles pricking my skin over and over. Very irritating. I joked about how it felt like getting a tattoo and that explains why I never got one;  very uncomfortable.

Heart meds - I do have a medication I take (reluctantly) when my heart acts up too much and slows me down.

[samhillb]

Thanks!  Were you put on any meds for that?

[ireneo]

My situation is the reverse: I've had arrhythmias for decades then recently developed shingles (interesting experience). But my heart never acted any differently, no increase in arrhythmia activity. So I'm not sure if there would be a connection between the two unless it caused some inflammation in the heart tissue itself. Only a doctor could check that.

[samhillb]

regarding your question about the connection between Shingles and Cardiac Arrhythmias.  I'm curious what you found out.  I got Shingles about 3 months ago.  At that time I was not having heart arrhythmias.  I saw the doctor and he prescribed Acyclovir.  I now have irregular heart beat every night.  I don't know if there's a connection to either the Shingles or the drug.  I'm very curious to know

[Jerry_NJ]

I understand shingles are very painful, something I don't need to tell you, so it would not surprise me to hear that shingles caused a unusually high HR and/or BP, but I have never read anything that would suggest a relationship to the development of heart problems.  

Hope someone with specific knowledge will help - this post will bump you back to the top of the list.