TACHYCARDIA/EJECTION FRACTION

[OCEANS5]

WHY DO I GO FROM SINUS RYTHM TO TACHYCARDIA EVEN IN MY SLEEP? IN MY SLEEP I'VE GONE FROM 67bpm TO146bpm WHILE SLEEPING. MY AVERAGE RATE IN 24HOURS IS 107. MY EJECTION FRACTION IS 70%. ALSO I BECOME MORE TACHYCARDIC ON ACTIVITY.

[dancingheart]

A related discussion, Tachycardia and sleeping, dangerous? was started.

[Michaelccc]

someone told me that tachycardia can sometimes be caused by sleep apnea. ever been checked out for this? or do you suspect you may have it?

[Celeste77]

I have IST and my heart rate has rarely exceeded 170. According to my Cardio/EP, 140 to 150 is the average bpm seen with IST, but some people can have rates as low as 120 and still fall under the diagnosis.. Shortness of breath is common with IST. The gold standard is a 24 hour holter that shows a resting rate above 100 that increases rapidly with activity, and a heartrate that falls under 100 (usually 70 to 80 bpm) while sleeping. The mean heart rate during 24 hours should be < 95 bpm with no other signs of underlying arrhythmia's like SVT or disease.

Waking up with sinus rates of 150 is normal for me. It oftens bounces from 80 to 150 all night, even slight movements can get it going. Your sub-conscious never "sleeps", so it's reasonable to think that IST can be triggered at any moment...awake or asleep. Remember, people with IST are hypersensitive to adrenaline, and the triggers are not just physical, but psychological as well.

PS. IST can come in episodes, be continuous, or go away over time. Beta blockers work for some, but I hate how they make me feel, so I use a high sodium diet with lots of fluids to increase my blood volume and decrease my symptoms when I'm having episodes. It works for me.

[OCEANS5]

THE PROBLEM IS I HAVE SHORTNESS OF BRATH. IT TURNED OUT MY HEART RATE JUMPS TO OVER 130 EVEN AT REST. I HAVE TACHYCARDIA THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT SO I DON;T THINK IT'S RELATED TO MY DREAMS. PHEOCHROMOCYTOMA, HYPERTHYROIDISM, ANEMIA, AND PULMONARY PROBLEMS HAVE BEEN RULED OUT. MY H/H AT TIMES IS SLIGHTLY ELEVATED. I HAVE HYPOGAMMAGLOBULINEMIA AND EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS. THE TACHYCARDIA AND SHORTNESS OF BREATH HAD A SUDDEN ONSET.  IF IT WAS MY NORM IT WOULD HAVE BEEN TACHY FOR A LONG TIME AND I WOULDN'T HAVE SHORTNESS OF BREATH. ONE DOC SAYS I FIT THE PROFILE OF INAPPROPRIATE SINUS TACHYCARDIA ANOTHER SAYS SINCE THE HIGHEST MY HEART RATE GOT WAS 170 I DON'T HAVE INAPPROPRIATE SINUS TACHYCARDIA. IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE A MILD CASE OF IST? IT ALL STARTED RIGHT AFTER I SUFFERED A COLD AND SINUS INFECTION IN AUGUST 2006.

[Michael J. McWilliams, M.D.]

It sounds like you are on the higher end normal for average heart rate with an average in 107 range.  It is possible to increase your heart rate with dreams.  I assume the 146 bpm is sinus tachycardia and not some other arrhythmia.  

Everyone should increase their heart rates with activity.  You might be more sensitive to increase in exertion and respond with a greater increase than most.  Beta blockers or calcium channel blockers are currently the only medical threat to treat this.  There is a new drug under investigation that might lower resting heart rate called ivabradine, but it is not on the market yet.

Hope this helps.