# Waking up from racing heart in the middle of the night



## skimordiegirl (Mar 10, 2011)

I posted this in another forum, not sure where it was best to be put.

Since my graves has been in a flare I have been waking up every single night with a racing heart. I don't think this has anything to do with not breathing because I don't wake up gasping for air... it's just simply that my heart is pounding out of my chest. It takes about 3 hours for it to calm down.

I have to prop myself up with pillows to help, it seems laying flat or on either side makes my heart race when I go to bed. I just had an echo done 2 days ago and when I was laying on my left side my hart was pounding.

Has anyone experienced this before? I keep thinking the worst, like heart failure at 30 years old. My thyroid has been under control, I have never let myself run hyper without knowing and would increase my meds immediately through my Dr.

Thanks,
Candi


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## jsgarden1 (Aug 29, 2009)

Candi, I woke up to that a few times, thought I was going to die. I kept thinking I was dying, and had to wake up hubby before I passed out. It passes, but it's a scary situation. I recently had my thyroid out, so hopefully will never happen again. I'm sorry you are having this problem wish I had some wisdome for you.


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## JPGreco (Mar 2, 2012)

Are you on any beta blockers? If not, you definitely should be. I had a racing and POUNDING heart rate when I was very hyper and the beta blockers helped a lot. I always made sure to take one before bed to keep my heart rate stable overnight, otherwise I could hear it in my head and it would keep me up.


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## webster2 (May 19, 2011)

Yes, beta blockers are a must. My heart palpitations were always worse at night. Hang in there!


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## skimordiegirl (Mar 10, 2011)

Hey!!! Thanks so much for both of your replies~!!

I spoke to my cardiologist today and he said he reviewed my eco and it looked good, no signs of any problems.

I am allergic to propranolol and he said he wants to try to refrain from any beta blockers because my blood pressure is very very low naturally.

I ordered something called Lemon balm from vitaminshoppe, it's supposed to help block thyroid hormone naturally and help to calm you down... I am hoping this may do the trick.

I've gone 11 years with hardly ever needing to increase my meds and then a simple sinus infection did this to me.:confused0024:

I also have costochondritis where the muscles between my rib cage and around my sternum get inflamed from things like massage, stretching, etc. and I had a massage last Saturday that really set me off. Stress makes it worse and last nights episode..... well... I really thought that was my end. I woke up my husband just so he didn't have to find my body in the living room lol. :hugs:


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## JPGreco (Mar 2, 2012)

I had a lot of luck with atenolol as far as beta blockers go. It worked VERY fast on me though and didn't last particularly long if I only took a small amount (can't remember how much I took at once, but I think they were 20 or 25mg pills I had to take at least two for them to last any decent amount of time. One would barely do anything. The propanolol as well, worked very well.

I do believe that atenolol isn't the same exact family as propanolol, so you may have better luck with it. Also, they act differently. I was told to take almost 100mg of atenolol at once, but I took it twice a day at about 50mg each time. The propanolol my doc was very explicit about taking it at the widest intervals, in my case 8hrs apart each dose and now i'm at 12 hours each pill. So they do act differently. I would ask about it and get a few days supply of atenolol to try out.

Neither medication affected my blood pressure. No matter how fast my heart was racing, my blood pressure was always in a good range. When I first went in, i had 120 bpm and really good blood pressure (130/80ish). Now I'm 70ish bpm with 120/70 blood pressure.


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## pandatx (Mar 27, 2013)

My normal blood pressure is low but they put me on Atenolol for the heart rate. It worked well (I took half a dose) but then my blood pressure got way too low so they took me off of it. They told me to take a 1/4 when my heart rate is too high but not take it otherwise. Problem is, like you, I'm waking up with it racing first thing in the morning.


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