NIght Palpatations

[Triles]

I am 40, in good health, fit and normal weight. I rarely drink and am a non-smoker.  I eat healthy and only drink 1-2 cups of coffee in the early morning.
While training for a marathon last year, I started having dizzy spells.  I was misdiagnosed with Vertigo and eventually ended up in the ED after passing out.  I had every test in the book done and all came back normal with the exception of a resting heart rate between 110-125.  I wore a monitor for a month. I was placed on a beta blocker, which lowered my already super low blood pressure to a point of causing dizziness and increased palpitations.  I am no longer taking it, a BP of 75/40 feels worse then the high heart rate. Now, 7 months later, I wake up in the night with a racing heart and palpitations, I do notice this increases when laying on my left side.  I rarely experience this when I am active throughout the day, nor does it happen with exercise.  Needless to say, I have another appointment with my Cardiologist in a couple weeks.  But this is really effecting my ability to sleep therefore my quality of life. Has anyone found a way to manage this effectively without medications???  I can not imagine this continuing on for years.....I am beginning to fear sleeping.

[DeltaDawn23]

A sleep test can turn up many abnormalities besides sleep apnea.  There is another sleep apnea that is not obstructive, but has a neurological basis -- can't remember what it is called.  I had my last sleep test at a cardiac sleep center and they were much more thorough than tests I'd had before.  I think it wouldn't hurt to check it out and might help.  

[Triles]

Thank you for your thoughts.  I have had every test in the book, to include wearing a monitor for a month.  It seems my SVT has turned into something different as I was not going through this prior to the original diagnosis and beginning the beta blockers.  I have yet another follow up in 2 weeks, hopefully they have some answers for me.
Do you think sleep apnea could be possible?  I weigh 125 and am 5'5.  I am in top physical condition.  I do not believe I am a candidate for this, however, I will mention it to my Cardiologist  I just want to sleep again!

[itdood]

I had this happen to me back in 2009.  I was averaging 2-3 hours of broken sleep per night.

I just kept trying everything I could.  I'm not even going to go into what I think helped because everyone is different, and I'm not sure if what I did helped or if it was just the natural progression of the problem.

Beta Blockers were horrible, made it worse.

Calcium Channel blockers were worse than Beta Blockers for me.

Eventually it calmed down after about 8 months.   It took quite some time to get near normal.  I have no idea what happened to cause it.  I had every test imaginable, including a cardiac MRI.

[DeltaDawn23]

I have Afib and sleep apnea.  I was told that 1/3 of Afib cases are due to obstructive sleep apnea.  The symptoms you describe sound exactly like when your airway closes and you stop breathing until your brain wakes you up.  This happens many times during the night and since you go right back to sleep, you are unaware of it.  I would request a sleep test.  Also, has this been caught on a monitor?  You might want to ask for a 30 day event monitor.  Good luck.

[jlollar]

Ive been having the same problem at night. I just cant seem to fall asleep while my heart is pounding. I usually get told to take deep long breathes and close my eyes til i fall asleep, but then im trying so hard to breathe correctly that i cant fall asleep. It's a vicious cycle.

[jlollar]

Ive been having the same problem at night. I just cant seem to fall asleep while my heart is pounding. I usually get told to take deep long breathes and close my eyes til i fall asleep, but then im trying so hard to breathe correctly that i cant fall asleep. It's a vicious cycle.