Heart pounding and elevated every night as I try to sleep?

Mental health
1

Three weeks ago before I went on holiday I experienced a suspected panic attack. I went to see the doctor who checked my heart, blood pressure, oxygen levels etc and all seemed normal. She put it down to my anxiety, however every night as I get into bed after about 5-10 minutes my I can hear my heart get louder and pounding in my ears, it feels faster. This has been happening for 3 weeks, so I'm not getting much sleep each night. I went back to see a different doctor who ran tests and she seemed to believe it's all anxiety related however has asked for an ECG next Friday just for piece of mind. What I don't understand is that I'm fine during the day and it only happens at night? My mind is recked with thoughts of undiagnosed heart disease, over active thyroid etc I've had blood tests a year ago and they were all perfectly fine. Drs don't seem too concerned but I am!

Any one else?

Matt

2

Sounds like you associating and reinforcing going to bed with anxiety and panic. Each time you do it it is becoming worse. Maybe try some relaxation exercises, stretching or yoga before going to bed.

3

I agree, Matt.

You have time to be more aware of your heart beating when you get into bed. Try some deep breathing exercises when it happens.

I am sure that this is anxiety and I am also sure that there is nothing wrong with you.

Your ECG will be normal when you have it.

You do have a tendency to dwell on things like this, Matt. You also have thoughts in your mind that the doctor is wrong  and they have missed something.

Don't let anxiety control you. Learn to control it.

Best wishes,

Tess.

4

How do I know it's not a thyroid problem or something else?

I struggle with the believe that this is all anxiety based...

Matt

5

Have you had a recent physical exam? usually they would catch that stuff in your bloodwork or in an exam. Since you said a year ago you did maybe go back for another exam. That makes sense then you wouldnt have ro second guess it. 

6

Hi this sounds just like me ive always being confident and last last year i suffered a panic attack for the first time. Heart beating fast sweating shaking. It took over my body . I ended up in hospital too after my heart rate jumped to 145 beats per minuite. It also was alot worse at nite just like you. I dont belive in medication but at this point i gave in and im now on propranolol which has stopped the crazy heart racing. I want to tell u it will get better. I nwver thought it would and still struggle but talking helps alot too. 😊x

7

I had a test around 9-12 month ago lots of blood work, 4 or 5 different blood tests. All came back totally fine. Doctor said they don't need to do anymore tests.

8

Because if you had a thyroid problem it would happen 24/7.

Thyroid problems are very easily treatable - but you've been tested and your thyroid function tests were  normal, so you haven't got a thyroid problem. You can cross that off your list.

9

It can't be heart disease, Matt, because that too would cause problems 24/7.

What arre your plans for dealing with this anxiety after you have your ECG, which will be normal?

I think you should be trying techniques to control anxiety, not going from doctor to doctor and not believing what they say, which is a waste of everyone's time.

10

If you want to know FOR SURE that you don't have a heart problem, schedule an echocardiodiagram. That way they can see all structures of the heart through ultrasound waves. I guarantee its anxiety though, and its hard to get rid of. I had a bad panic attack 3 months ago, thought I was having a heart attack or something. I went to the ER did all of the tests you can imagine. All results came back fine. My anxiety will come and go but whenever my heart skips a beat or beats fast and forcefully, I know there's nothing wrong with me.

11

So either you get panicked every night before bed because you expect to hear your heartbeat and have an attack or maybe you have SVT (basically fast heart beat that comes and goes) or something similar and not dangerous. If you want get a holter monitor done so they can catch what your heart is doing before bed.

12

Hi, Matt,

I'm a Registered Nurse and I understand that you are having difficulty believing the results of your tests. That in itself points to the OCD Health Anxiety diagnosis.

If you had a thyroid problem it would be obvious during the day as well as during the night. And, as I already said, thyroid problems are not life-threatening and are easily treated; also, you had blood tests done a year ago and your thyroid function was normal. Why have you got into such a state of anxiety about a thyroid problem, anyway?

I really do understand how you are perceiving what is going on. You are very frightened that the doctors have missed something major. The ECG on Friday will, I hope, calm you down. Ask for a copy and if they give it to you, email it to me if you want. Send me a PM and I will give you my email address.

I am 100% sure that because this only happens at night, it cannot be a problem with your heart. All heart problems manifest themselves all day long, not just at night. You are lying in bed after a busy day and hoping to drop off to sleep, when suddenly you can feel your heart beating. This scares you, your body releases adrenaline, and your heart beats faster and you can feel it pounding away, which terrifies you into believing that you're about to have a heart attack.

I honestly believe that you are suffering from severe anxiety. I know that you find it difficult to believe, but the many people on this forum who suffer in the same way are trying to help you.

Please let us know how your ECG went. It can be read immediately so there shouldn't be any delay in finding out if it's normal or not. I have already said that I believe it will be normal.

The problem, though, is this - will YOU believe it's normal when they tell you that it is? Because you don't seem to have any faith in test results so far. That in itself, is an indication of Health Anxiety Disorder.

We can and will help you through this, Matt. At least we understand what you're going through and have felt the same sensations ourselves.

Love Tess xx

13

That's a really encouraging answer, jj.

Glad you're doing better now.

14

So you don't need to worry about this, then. All your tests were fine. Be glad!

15

Hey Matt!

I feel your pain but mine is in the morning, I lie in bed and my heart is pounding and for weeks I was certain something was happening I.e s heart attack etc.

I've been diagnosed with anxiety disorder and panic disorder - which is sometimes harder as you cannot fix it over night.

What your doing is something that I do called 'ruminating' 'free floating anxiety' which is your brain over thinking.

For e.g I would panic and think every morning this would happen to me when infact it was just my anxiety doing it. Viscous circle.

I hope you feel better soon!

Do things for you to relax,

and it will get better

Grace

16

Hello there,

I've had anxiety for a few years now and just this year did this problem start happening to me too. I'm wondering if anything has to do with laying down. Because often, I'm not even thinking about anything stressful and my heart does this. Even though I'm going through a lot in my life right now. Sometimes it gets so bad I drink chamomile tea or even a bit of alcohol to slow my heart rate down. It pounds so bad it hurts! Sometimes even on a full stomach my heart will pound.

So you said you had several blood tests, and I'm wondering if your doctor checked your vitamin D. I also have depression, and my doctor just found a month ago that my vitamin D level is 11, and supposed to be 50-80. I seem to be improving with the vitamin D prescription if 50,000 IU once a week (for 12 weeks).

Depression and anxiety go hand in hand, and can be caused by the same brain chemical imbalance. I would highly recommend getting that checked. I've had my thyroid checked several times in the past 3 years because I read a lot about the thyroid and it too scares me, but my TSH levels are good.

I also wonder if our bodies are reacting to subconscious stress. Does this happen every night for you? Mine isn't every night but when it hits, it's uncomfortable. It's almost like i don't even want to lay down to sleep. (I'm not a good sleeper as it is.)

I hope you get better soon, it's rough going through it but you're not alone.

17

Hey, yeah this happens every night, some nights it's worse than others. I do sleep but I'm waking up earlier than usual. Now I have something else to worry about, Vitamen D. Maybe I should have the doctors check that. God it's horrible.

Matt

18

Just go to the pharmacy and buy some!

Also get your levels checked by a blood test.

And don't worry about Vitamin D deficiency - it is very easy to treat.

19

Ahh! Not to scare you or anything. Because yes, believe me we anxiety-ridden folks don't need much more to worry about. But at least you'll know where your at level-wise, and you'll have it for peace of mind. Do you live in the northern states? I'm from the Pittsburgh, PA area. Several doctors and my counselor said that a lot of people around here are deficient! Most of us in general, unless you get sunlight everyday. I've been trying to sit outside or go walk during my breaks at work, and believe me walking and listening to music helps with worrisome thoughts (I feel like I'm obsessively worrisome). Though it has started pounding at work and i sat so I wouldn't elevate the rate any more by walking.

Yes it's horrible. Then there's those people who are all sleeping peacefully and don't have this problem and I'm all like GAHHH you're lucky! I never had this problem when I was younger!

Maybe try looking at your diet too. I'm trying to get more vitamins and minerals by incorporating more fruits and vegetables, and taking a multivitamin. It's like my health is so touchy I've got to baby it so bad. And I'm experimenting because I'm so desperate.

I stop drinking coffee after say 11:AM or so or caffeine will stay in my system until bed. But I need it to wake up because I'm so groggy in the mornings. Even though I've been waking up before my alarm too. Which leads me to tell you another story about losing sleep for 2 weeks from a concussion that aggravated the pounding heart thing violently. Talk about feeling delirious.

Overall this night time pounding problem has diminished for me, so I'll try to think of all that I'm doing differently now so you can experiment to see what's helping.

20

Before my blood test, I've been on 400IU which is listed as 100% of daily value.

My counselor suggested I have my levels checked, despite my supplements. After my blood test, I was scared to take the high amount my doctor prescribed me, at 50,000 IU once a week for 12 weeks. Apparently it's safe, and because my levels were so low, the doctor said it was necessary. I don't get a whole lot of sun. Winters where I live are cold, cloudy and I barely go outside.

I'm looking forward to getting my levels back up, and it's good to know that it is easy to treat.