Tachycardia with increased WBC

[rowdytavern]

Hi there,
A friend of mine is having stranged "attacks" Dr.'s say their not heart attacks, but his HR gets in excess of 160bpm
blood work revealed elevated WBC but nothing else.  Heart monitor caught an  attack but Dr.'s still can't pin point whats causing the "attack's" or how and if it's linked to the high WBC.  Has anyone heard of anything like this before?  He's had appx. 7 attacks all seem pretty random, not after any exercise....
If anyone has hints that would be great!

[rocksRcool]

I have had elevated WBC with a high heart rate (~130-160bpm).  The first time it happened I was hospitalized b/c they thought it could be luekemia.  But the next day my heart rate was back to normal and WBC was lower.  I have had 2 of these attacks and each time I get a high heart rate for ~4-8 hours and a high WBC during the attack.  Many Docs have evaluated and the best they can come up with is that my "trip wire" for fight or flight is going off for no reason.  I guess they see these kinds of reactions in people who have been in serious car accidents or burned in a fire (almost like your body is going into early stages of shock).  So the remedy was to try taking xanax (very low dose of .12mg-.5mg per day) for a few weeks to help keep my system from "freaking out".  With this treatment I have not had an episode like that for 4 months now.  So they are thinking it is some kind of adrenaline/anxiety issue.  

Is your friend's WBC returning to normal after the intial attack?

[crystalhanzelka]

Could this be anxiety attacks.  When I have them my heart rate has gotten to 176.

[amyrose0123]

High WBC count is usually a good indicator that the body is/was fighting an infection, MDs can usually tell if a disease process is going on by the specific WBC #s that are high. For example wbc's "eosinophils" are specific to alleries and parasites.

[amyrose0123]

White Blood Cells. = WBC

[Jerry_NJ]

Looks like our "team" needs more information.  I haven't looked up WBC, spelling that out will help those of us who don't know the abbreviation.

Are there other symptoms?  Is the HR regular or irregular at rest and at 160?  Any pain, information like that will help us better relate our experience/knowledge.