Is a fast heart rate common with low thyroid?

[ColdBanana]

After having a look online, the general consensus seems to be that this is more the case in hyperthyroid people. But I still wonder; since I have heard stories of thyroid hormone actually having a stablizing effect on the heart.

My heart rate after breakfast can reach as high as 105-110, even at complete rest. I will also feel uncomfortably warm with a temp of 37.3-37.4c. However my temp in the morning is usually around 36.2.

I'm not diagnosed hypothyroid, but my TSH was 4.19 (0.27 - 4.2) - up from 3.3 a few years ago, and I have all the symptoms. Strangely, towards bed time I sometimes feel the complete opposite. My heart will beat rather slow and sluggish-like, and I sometimes feel a sensation of it skipping a beat. Right now, I can feel a pressure over my heart and I feel generally unwell because of it but I was never diagnosed with a heart condition. I know something is wrong though just based on how I feel. Really makes me wonder if it could be thyroid related, since its the only test that came back at the top of the range. Its quite an awful feeling and its definitely more pronounced when standing up, or when sudden changes in my posture occur. Sometimes my HR comes back as irregular when I take my BP as well. Has anyone else had this before? Thanks!

[FancyPants54]

Hi. I live with permanent atrial fibrillation so I'm used to fast heart and skipped beats and weird feelings. But I would say that if your BP checks come back with some evidence of arrhythmia, you need to go and talk to your GP about it and get checked out properly.

[ColdBanana in reply to FancyPants54]

Could it really be something like AF? I honestly don't know why I'm having this issue at all since I'm 24. But I will definitely contact my gp tomorrow. Thank you

[helvella in reply to FancyPants54]

Agreed. They should offer ColdBanana both a full ECG and the use of a portable monitor for some time so that they can see what is happening.

(Even if you have a measuring device of your own, it might be a good idea to get it done by their equipment. They can never then point a finger at you and say it was your device.)

[ColdBanana in reply to helvella]

Is the irregular beart beat detection on a bp monitor similar to an at home portable ecg device please? That is a good point thank you

[helvella in reply to ColdBanana]

As I understand, no. I'd check whatever you are using and see what it is approved to measure/detect.

Devices like Kardia and (some) Apple Watch have sophisticated algorithms and are approved by FDA, MHRA, etc. But the home monitor (Holter) that a GP might be able to offer is a multi-lead device.

An easy summary:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holte...

I've attached what I can see as an illustration of how much heart rate can vary. An ECG can show far more.

Heart rate monitor today - so far

[ColdBanana in reply to helvella]

The bp monitor that detected the irregular beat was a Braun exact fit 3 if im not mistaken. I was looking at this: anawiz.com/products/portabl... but those devices you mentioned look better

[helvella in reply to ColdBanana]

I can't comment on that device as I know nothing about it.

The UK's MHRA has a search facility which allows you to check what devices are approved. Just because it was easy, I have left the link pointing at Apple's entry:

pard.mhra.gov.uk/manufactur...

Obviously, you can change the search.

[ColdBanana in reply to helvella]

Yes i SEE! That is kind of you, thank You

[GlowCoach Administrator]

A raised heart rate on standing can be due to changes in the autonomic nervous system. Certainly mine are magnified by low thyroid hormone levels and I have had a faster than usual resting heart rate whilst hypo.

I do have a condition called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) where my heart rate raises & sustains more than 30 beats a minute from lying down resting to standing.

Slow, sluggish heart rate skipping beats sounds very hypo.

[ColdBanana in reply to GlowCoach]

I really hope it is just related to the potentionally low thyroid, and not something more serious. The slow beats are really noticeable at night before bed, and create a horrible sensation in my chest, but right now my HR is 104 after food again!

[GlowCoach Administrator in reply to ColdBanana]

What food were you just eating. Carbohydrates can be particularly bad offenders for raising my heart rate.

[ColdBanana in reply to GlowCoach]

Chicken tortilla wraps with potato + cheese! I hope it is not the carbs lol, although it seems to be bad after porridge too. But it seems worse with porridge more than anything else.

[GlowCoach Administrator in reply to ColdBanana]

It's the carbs, I do hate to tell you.

Try eggs for breakfast. Flourless banana pancakes are yummy and very good for you too. sarahremmer.com/3-ingredien...

[FancyPants54 in reply to ColdBanana]

I wouldn't worry about food yet. If you were optimally treated for your thyroid you wouldn't have that problem. I had those issues with carbs too, but once on enough meds it stopped. I can't say your heart issues are Afib, but any disturbance needs checking as there are many. But mostly, they settle with better thyroid meds. GPs seem to think hypothyroid is always slow heart and hyper is fast. It's not. Neither is atrial fibrillation only associated with too much thyroid medication. It's indicated for too little as well. We have to know more than they do. Happily it doesn't take too much effort to get to that point!

Your heart will be strong because you are young. Try not to worry, but do get it checked, so that you know what's going on.

[Barrister]

I had sinus tachycardia for years - long before I became hypothyroid. Once it got to 150 plus at rest, ( years after hypo diagnosis) was given beta blockers because it was just too uncomfortable. My heart now chugs along around 79 beats per minute.

[humanbean]

I developed sinus tachycardia when I had a chronic GI bleed and extremely low iron. Despite both problems having been fixed now I still have tachycardia quite often and take bisoprolol (a beta blocker) to treat it, as and when necessary.

I've never had hyperthyroidism, I've always been hypothyroid.

[Pearlteapot]

I had palpitations while under medicated. They put a holter on me and found nothing. It resolved with sufficient thyroid replacement.

[ColdBanana in reply to Pearlteapot]

Did it ever beat fast? Yeah I can relate very much with the heart palpitations too.

[Pearlteapot in reply to ColdBanana]

I had a couple of very fast spikes 130ish and went to A&E but that was connected with dose increases I think, even when the dose was far too low, the increase was a shock. I didn’t have consistently high hr as you do. But we are all different, getting ill in different ways. I had been bradycardic for years before diagnosis so probably unlikely to develop consistent fast heart like you.