Last night...

Hopefully image comes through ok. These EKGS are taken in the space of 2 minutes. I woke up to my heart doing this again. I can feel my bowels moving when this is occurring - it's as though each movement of my intestinal muscles triggers the fast heart rate, that's why it goes from NSR to 250+bpm to NSR. The fast heart rate is only while the muscles are active. Within 30 minutes I finally had to use the bathroom - then perfect NSR and back to sleep till morning. Huh.

[Hidden]

Posting that first one larger so you can see the clear p-waves etc. The smaller image seemed to wash them out. There are also p waves in the rest - barring being unable to see any waves other than one big one when its going 250+bpm.

ekg

[Hidden]

Can I suggest you read up (if you haven't already) on the Vagal (Vagus) Nerve. Its like an information super highway between brain, heart and digestive system. Google "schematic diagram of the vagal nerve" for a clearer understanding. Could it be , I wonder, that food you have eaten the night before has triggered some aggravation/inflamation of the vagal nerve which is proceeding to react in your body in this way ? I can't read the time but could these readings have been timed at between 2 and 3.30 am ??

John

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

2:04 2:05 and 2:07

[Threecats]

Hi Aoxomoxoa,

I have had this too, although my heart rate wasn’t as high as yours, I have certainly been woken by my heart galloping away, only to realise that I needed the bathroom. Afterwards peace descends once more.

Looking into the reason why this was happening, I came across some studies that showed how both heart rate and blood pressure increase during the colorectal distension phase of a bowel movement. Apparently, stretch in this part of the colon also produces a response from the sympathetic nervous system. The greater the amount of stool causing the distension, the higher the heart rate. I suppose it makes sense really, in that an alert needs to be sent to prod us into action to do something about the imminent departure from the rectum😳😄Amazing things our bodies, aren’t they!

I’ve managed to resolve the problem with the judicious use of prunes to promote bowel activity before bed. I hope you also manage to find a solution.

[Ppiman]

I would say that the intestinal movement are pushing the diaphragm against the base of your heart - a natural thing to happen - but, in your case, this is setting of tachycardia. I think this is well documented. I had similar occurrence once and this showed on my chest X-ray. Sometimes this can also set off ectopic beats that can, themselves and in prone individuals, trigger AF.

I asked the cardiologist I see about the possibility of irritation of the vagal nerve as I was convinced this was the cause of my cardiac troubles, having read about it on various web sites. He told me this was a far more unusual event than social media sites would suggest and that although far from unheard of, it causes severe bradycardia with swings of tachycardia along with several other notable disturbances as the nerve innervates a wide range of organs.

Steve

[Adalaide2020]

like another post I would suggest looking at the vagus nerve and its links to heart and gut health. Good luck

[Hidden]

I know all about the vagus nerve. My fear is that I’m going to be one of those people who dies of cardiac arrest in the bathroom. The pain was unbearable at one point - I couldn’t even manage to take an ekg so I am certain it was going even faster. It’s my understanding that 300bpm territory is dangerous.

[SeanJax]

your extremely high heart rate is very dangerous for your life. Fortunately it lasted two minutes your episode. Please see with your ep to adjust the treatment. Look at your ekg, it was a mixture of Afib and atrial flutter. In my opinion, consider an ablation with a highly experienced ep. Who cares if it is vagal or not. Such high heart rate is not compatible with life if it lasts long enough to starve your heart from oxygen. Such high heart rate blood does not have enough time to oxygenate your heart muscle. A lack of oxygen will cause vtach and vfib. Your worries are very justified.

[Hidden in reply to SeanJax]

I called this morning and have an appointment on the 3rd, my former EP no longer is in this office and for some reason they are passing me on to a cardiologist with specialties that are associated with cholesterol and such rather than arrhythmia or electro - so I hope he can help me and I'm not waiting longer for him to pass me to someone else.

There have been times where the extreme rate goes on for more than a minute at a time - last time it did so I almost lost consciousness. It usually revs down and gives me a breather for a minute or 2, then back up. This episode was actually about 30 minutes - the longest I've had is about 2 hours back in January.

I am back on my beta blocker for now for safety, but they need to give me something else. I hear beta blockers are bad for vagal AF and it seems to be the case for me - the beta blocker seems to make me have episodes more often, just at a slightly lower rate. In the beginning of the year they had upped my dosage, and I had more episodes than ever right after the up in dosage (3 in 3 weeks), and those episodes were still reaching nearly 200bpm. I weaned back down from them, and then I had no episodes at all from April until now, while off the beta blockers. There has to be something better for me.

[SeanJax in reply to Hidden]

it is urgent to control your high heart rate. They can try rhymodan or cardiazem or other drugs. Even calling 911 when they arrive, bad things can happen before they arrive. If you were in cardiac ICU, your scenario would require an emergency cardio version with or without anesthetics because you about to crash. You can choose your ep from Cleveland clinic or Austin Cardiac institute and send them your medical records, they will let you know if they can take your case or not. Your case is above average as complexity. In my opinion I would prefer a highly experienced ep. It seems you are still young and don’t be afraid of ablation when you are in the hands of highly experienced ep. Medication in your case is to give you time to choose the right ep. Hope it helps.

[Autumn_Leaves in reply to Hidden]

I agree, these high HR episodes are of concern and I don’t think it’s wise to “self medicate” in the absence of an opinion from someone qualified to give advice. Everyone here is very generous in sharing their experiences and thoughts around the causes of their arrhythmias, but it can’t take the place of medical advice from someone who’s looking at your test results and is in a position to diagnose, treat or order more tests to understand what’s going on.

Vagal theories are all very interesting but it’s impossible to ascertain how much any of this is contributing to any one individual’s condition Many people with arrhythmias for whom vagal explanations make sense will almost always be treated with meds and/or ablations, in addition to whatever self help measures work for them.