Racing heart at night
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Anonymous
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For the last few nights I’ve gotten in bed and I’m quietly lying down trying to sleep (or in one case woke up from this) with my heart pounding and pulse in mid 70s (my baseline is 56-60). I’ve changed positions, had water, deep breathing etc. just feels weird and I have never had palpitations before.
Menopause is entirely possible but I don’t get hot/sweaty (I’m 53 and get occasional spotting on mirena). Anxiety? I had some upsetting news at work and maybe was thinking about going g back to work the past few days (high stress job). The only other thing is that I felt a bit of chest tightness yesterday, like pressure on breastbone but I think it’s because I was thinking about this ! I just had full blood work up done yesterday including thyroid so if it’s that I’ll know soon . |
Anonymous
| This started happening to me late 30s whenever I had a drink with alcohol in the evening. I’d wake up around 2am with a racing heart and feeling like I was having a panic attack if I had two drinks…stopped altogether when I stopped drinking. Now at 42 can tolerate one, early in the evening with lots of water throughout the day and food to slow digestion process etc. |
Anonymous
| Peri menopause. Have a hormonal panel done. |
Anonymous
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Just tweaks that will help in the moment. Take 2 regular strength aspirin immediately (if the RXs you take allow that) Step outside into the cold air or if it's not cold outside, put your head in the freezer. Lying on your right side is better for your heart though lying on your stomach is easier to breathe.
If you go to the ER with concern for a heart attack, you have lots of company - many who likely, instead, had a panic attack. Shouldn't prevent you from going. |
Anonymous
| This used to happen to me and I cut back my coffee consumption to 2 cups before 10 am, no matter what. Solved the problem. |
Anonymous
| A HR in the 70s is not palpitations or cause for concern in general. It sounds like anxiety to me. |
Anonymous
| Happened to me. It ended up being a congenital defect (I was born with it) in the anatomy of my heart. I suggest you see a cardiologist. |
Anonymous
+1. This isn’t that fast of a HR. I thought OP was going to say above 100. |
Anonymous
NP. I think I have this. Haven't always noticed it ever so slightly. Never really caused any problems through sports, running.... But as I've gotten older it is a bit more pronounced. What did they do for this? |
Anonymous
| You could wear a monitor taped to you that records your heart rate for a week. If it’s in the 70s that’s not even tachycardia. But it would be helpful to know what’s going on. |
Anonymous
| YES ITS HORRIBLE it's been bad for me the last few night, deep breathing nothing helps. |
Anonymous
I am this poster. I also had arrhythmias my entire life and thought it was normal. Come to find out I was born with a defect in my mitral valve which also caused a severely enlarged left atrium. All my life this condition was dismissed as anxiety or hormones. Well when you have varying heart rate and irregular beats you inevitably get anxiety! I know I was dismissed (not taken seriously), even though I presented with these concerns, because I am a woman. Please see a cardiologist who takes you seriously. You want to not just get an ECG but also an echocardiogram and a calcium score. It’s a good idea to wear a 30 day heart monitor. Oh how I wish every woman would take their potential heart problem seriously. I ended up having open heart surgery in my 60’s to repair the defect. |
Anonymous
| Sleep apnea is also another possibility |