bluefoxicy

So I woke up at like 6:30 and couldn't get out of bed.

Come 8:30 I'm wondering why I'm so damn wasted, and every time I try to get up I just collapse back down. Scanned myself once over meditatively and ... found my heart rate was extremely high.

I woke up with a heart rate around 130-150. Purring like a kitten.

Sat up, did some deep, slow breathing (this will usually slow your heart down), and it tapered off to something normal.

What the hell?

DataJunkie

This has never happened to me even after very difficult rides. That would freak me out.
If it were me I would be hightailing it to my doctor.

oban_kobi

Strange, and probably not a good thing. I'd see a cardiologist.

bluefoxicy

Yeah this doesn't seem to be an after-riding thing, it seems psychosomatic or nerve based or something. The heart will launch into a vastly-accelerated heartrate for any number of reasons, including hormonal stress (i.e. bad dreams or even no emotion but some brain chemistry imbalance triggering an adrenal release or a CNS message that raises heart rate), elevated/depressed breathing (demand for oxygen raises heart rate to get more blood to the lungs, too much oxygen causes a feedback loop), or a small infarction of the coronary arteries (i.e. a miniature heart attack; heartrate goes up when the heart needs oxygen, so when your body over-consumes oxygen or when the heart fails to get oxygen to itself it will speed up).

That's all well and good, but the short version is "it could be anything." A heart attack, a bad dream, sleep apnea (not breathing while asleep), stray nerve impulses, bad air circulation reducing the amount of oxygen in my room, etc.

This is why doctors tell you to not self-diagnose huh :/

valygrl

Go to the ER, now. It might be nothing, or you might be about to drop dead. Seriously.

Carbonfiberboy 

Most likely is A-fib. If that's it, the ER/doc won't show anything. Unusual, though, for it to come on in bed. The usual etiology is during a harder than normal ride.

bluefoxicy

I haven't ridden since ... Thursday. Was going to ride in today but eh. I've got a (slightly longer) trip across town after work, I'll ride that.

I have no idea what A-fib is.

I'm sure my heart is getting stronger; I just find it weird that I'd have ... cardiac abnormalities ... a few months after I started with cardiac-demanding exercise. I mean the first day, yeah ... I went from sedentary to 8 miles each way, and when I got to work I was ungodly exhausted (I could not walk, my legs refused to move much... stairs were no go, it wasn't happening) and my heart (or the area of my chest around it) felt like a brick, like an overworked muscle that's cramping. The ride home was, interestingly, much easier than the ride to work (hey, I adapt fast).

As much as I complain that I didn't ride this day or that for whatever reason, I do that 3 days a week and without feeling like my heart is going to blow a valve; my heart is definitely stronger than it was back then, I should not be having problems.

electrik

Don't internet diagnose... you'll never get to the bottom of it. Go get a little help from some medical experts.

bluefoxicy

The nurse in this building says it's likely the absolutely massive amount of salt I consumed the night before without any physical activity to induce sweating. When I sweat, it's like the Dead Sea; that fluid is corrosive and acrid. I should have done some stuff on the Wii Fit or played Punch-Out or something, or biked out to my parents' house but it was a little late for that ... any of that stuff gets water moving through my body and out every orifice it can find an exit through, carrying tons of salt with it.

Of course, the nurse also tries to tell me that sudden temperature changes--both the weather fluctuating between 85F degrees one day and 101F degrees the next and the sudden temperature change from 70F indoors to 90F outside just minutes before I begin my bike ride home or to work--makes it much more difficult for me to bike because my body has trouble adjusting to the weather/temperature changes. Apparently pre-industrial-revolution Arabs living in open stone buildings without air conditioning have it easier than modern American, European, and Asian societies living in high-tech housing, because it's easier to deal with constant desert temperature than with fluctuating AC inside and ungodly heat outside... right, okay, sure.

Oh well, there's something I need to retrieve from 9 miles away from my house tonight, so I'll be trying to do an 18 mile trip in under an hour and a half. That should clear everything out. Guess I should take a couple liters of water for that trip, too.

electrik

Electrolyte imbalance causing tachycardia is pretty dangerous... i'm not going to buy into the Arab/ etc reasoning... Europeans are very close to Arabs and East-asian genetically. It probably has more todo with your body needing more time to be acclimatized to the heat(or cold). Just keep drinking water that is room temp, you're probably thirsty and not listening the cues.

bluefoxicy

It was a joke. She said the temperature going from 101F one day to 85 another day would be stressful on my body, making it difficult and exhausting for me to bike; and also that walking out of 70F buildings into 85F-95F weather would put major stress on my body, which would then be compounded when I hopped on a bicycle...

Before the industrial revolution and the invention of electricity, that whole north africa/south europe desert region was inhabited by either nomatic desert folks in tents or settled desert folk in stone huts, neither of which had AC and thus had to rely on turbans to keep their heads cool.

The natural synthesis of these two bits of information is, of course, that the desert folk struggling to find water and salt (oh, yes, by the way, salt is more valuable than gold in the desert) are better off than lazy Americans lounging around in their air conditioned apartment units and office complex. As the Russians may say, you are all soft, and would not last a day in Siberia!

Carbonfiberboy 

Atrial fibrillation. Quite common among older endurance athletes. I know at least two with this problem. Exhibits as very rapid HRs, 140-170 at rest not uncommon. Accompanied by feeling of weakness, lightheadedness. I don't know of an instance of it being diagnosed when it was not actually occurring. Doc usually attaches a Halter recording device to the patient for 24 hours, instructing them to attempt to repeat whatever it was they did that prompted them to come in. I had that done for a different problem, a heart that would just stop beating for a bit while resting. The device is not uncomfortable. If you experience it again, do call 911 and maybe the medics can get a recording. This link might be edifying: https://europace.oxfordjournals.org/content/6/3/222.long

And teh google is always informative.

bluefoxicy

ah, yeah, the nurse said they can attach a recording device to you to monitor your heart rate and anomalies, pick up on weird crap like arrhythmia and heart murmurs if you have them. Some people carry them at work from time to time but you can't tell who; a few people here have them permanently for one reason or another, but of course the medical office here won't disclose any information aside from that there are such people in this building.

valygrl

Look - if you have even the slightest suspicion that you are having a heart problem - whether an exercise induced arhythmia, an electrolyte imbalance, a reaction to a temperature or hydration situation - Go To The Doctor.

Saying something is an arythmia or a fibrulation does not mean that it's OK to have those. Some of them are OK, some of them lead to something called "Sudden Cardiac Death." I'm totally not making this up, I learned it from my cardiologist.

I just went through this a couple months ago. I ride 8000+ miles a year, am not overweight, and have minimal cardiac risk factors apart from family history - and the second I said "chest pain" the advice nurse told me to come to the ER. I don't want to share all the details, but it did turn out I had some test results that were worth knowing.

Any doctor will take this very seriously, and the first round of testing can be non-invasive and relatively inexpensive. It's just not something to screw around with - there are conditions that can make you literally drop dead, with no or almost no warning. At any age and at any fitness level.

Anyway, My $.02, it's your life.

DataJunkie

Self diagnosing on the internet is for the foolish. Once again, go to the doctor.

Carbonfiberboy 

I wish you were right, I really do. Unfortunately, in my wife's and my life experience, over 50% of the diagnoses and/or treatment regimens we've had from doctors have been completely wrong, to the point of being life-threatening, though usually merely irritating and wrong-headed. In today's American medical climate, there is no substitute for patient involvement, research, and advocacy for their own viewpoint. The days when we could depend on our medical establishment to do the right thing by us are sadly past.

electrik

Sadly, one really does need to get involved and push if they want somebody's actual attention. The healthcare environment is quite toxic and breeds a lot of apathy. Saying all that, getting your gp working for you is far more useful than the internet... there is a reason why good doctor's won't diagnose themselves.

DataJunkie

Fortunately my experiences do not mirror yours. Thank goodness.
It is a good idea to be informed to facilitate the discussion between patient and doctor but this is what I pay my doctor for. His expert opinion or at the very least a recommendation to see a specialist.

gregf83 

One of the benefits of America's litigious climate is it tends to weed out the crackpots. Your anecdotal experience is not the norm.

There's nothing wrong with doing your own research but for heart problems it's best to get checked out by a professional.

Ranger Dan

Some advice from someone who does this professionally:

As several have said, you need to see a physician. You may have experienced sinus tachycardia, supraventricular tachycardia, WPW, atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter or some other rhythm. You won't find out on the internet. If you are currently having symptoms, go to the ER. If it's something you had a few days ago, follow up with your family doctor soon. You may well be referred to a cardiologist. You may end up with a Holter monitor or an event monitor after having an ECG and some basic lab work. You may need a stress test and an echocardiogram.

Good luck to you.

koffee brown

I agree- go to the doctor if you're feeling that concerned about it.

A few months ago, I had some kind of issue where I woke up and was extremely lightheaded. Every time I lifted my head off the pillow, I would literally feel dizzy and just lay back down. I thought I was at the end of life or something. It was seriously scary. Did I go to the doctor, though? No. I wanted to see if it was a regular occurrence or a once in a lifetime thing. I was finally able to get up, drink my water and have breakfast. Well, it never did happen again. I have to attribute that to being dehydrated and probably not having a good dinner the night before, which probably made me hungry. All this probably made me dizzy. BUT- if it happened again, I would have hightailed my butt to the doctor- not went on bikeforums to ask for help!

See a doctor if you're that concerned!

koffee