Tachycardia in sleep

[jcheng1956]

I am a 56 yr. old 66" 125 lb nonsmoking female who exercises 4x/wk.  For years I have experienced tachycardia in sleep which wakes me (unless I take a beta blocker).  Have seen 2 cardiologists and ECG, continuous monitoring, echo, stress tests, etc. are all normal.  Have been told I do not need the beta blocker but when I stop, symptoms recur.  Should I see a sleep specialist?

[jossranch]

I do the same thing and it scares the crap out of me. I take Toprol and Florineph, two opposite meds but take one away and it messes me up. Ask your dr about those. It keeps my heart at a happy medium with me having tach, brady, syncope, skipping, and all those other rythem issues

[tom_h]

The term "tachycardia" unfortunately is vague.  It simply means an increase heart rate.  We all experience "tachycardia" daily by cimbing steps, jogging, etc.  So my question to you would be how fast was your heart pacing during these events?  If it was so fast that you had a hard time measuring it, I'd say you had some sort of SVT event.  If you felt your pulse and it just seemed "really fast" for someone who was just sleeping, I'd say that perhaps you have some sort of sleep apnea.  I experienced this first hand as I was unknowingly suffering from very severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).  My blood oxygen levels were dipping into the mid-70's while I slept, and my pulse would quicken to move the available oxygen around.  It was so bad, that I was producing an excessive amount of red blood cells; a condition known as Secondary Polycythemia.  My condition was revealed in a sleep study done at my local hospital.  I can say that without a doubt, it saved me from an early death from a stroke or enlarged heart.

Now.....that said, you body characteristics don't fall in line with someone who would have OSA.  That's not to say that you couldn't have it.  If your sleep partner ever reports that you snore, or if you ever awake suddenly with a loud gasp for air with your pulse pounding, if you often feel dead tired during the day, these are all signs of OSA.  My wife and I would laugh about it:  I'd scare the heck out of her when I bolted upright in the dead of night with a loud snorting gasp.  Little did we know the severity of my condition.

[MichelleP_3811]

Seeing a sleep specialist may be a really good idea.  You could have some sort of apnea or something that is kicking in your tachycardia at night.  At least you would know one way or another.  Good luck.