Rapid Heartbeat at Night

[apwsat]

I'm a 40 year old male 5'11" 165 lbs. I've noticed in a past few months that I will sometimes lay down to so to sleep or wake up from a dream to find my heart beating very fast. If I'm lying on my stomach, it feels like the bed is vibrating as if the house was shaking or something.

I feel fine when I experience these rapid heartbeats (no sweating or shortness of breath, etc), it's just an odd sensation when I realize it's happening.

The only condition I have is GERD/acid reflux, but otherwise pretty healthy I believe.

Is this something I should be concerned with?

thanks!
Andrew

[shaky_in_pa]

I live in Fairless Hills, PA and have experienced the feeling that I awaken at night in my bed and I can feel a slight vibration, it's usually what wakes me up because I am a light sleeper.  I don't feel like I am shaky or shaking, (and my heart isn't beating abnormally that I can tell, not racing or anything) but that the bed is and I have reached out and put my palm down on the bed and can feel a light vibration.

I thought it was a tremor or very small earthquake or possibly the nearby loading facility for the freight cars.

[CCFHeartMD 12]

Dear Andrew:  your symptoms are suspicious for an arrhythmia.  From what you describe, I think you might have a supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), which is a broad term that covers many different types of arrhythmias.  If you do not feel poorly during these episodes, then it is not an emergency to get seen by a doctor right away.  However, I would strongly recommend that you make an appointment with your doctor to get an “event monitor”, similar to a holter.  It would monitor your heart beat and rhythm whenever you experience these symptoms and push a button to activate it.  Your doctors can analyze the report and recommend next course of action.   Good Luck!