Some days my heart rate goes up to 90 or so and stays in this range for hours other days it is just fine. My cardio. suggests a beta blocker. Usually when I am in one of these modes it will slow down to 80 something if I remain seated. Just wondered if hormones could be doing this. Of course the Drs. don't recognize this possibility. Could it be a function of general anxiety?...or does it just cause anxiety.

Just curious if anyone else experiences elevated heart rates other than in short bursts.

I connect mine to anxiety! I can have anxiety attacks that last for days!

I'm not so sure what mine are related to. I started having problems with high heart rate and high anxiety that started the second I woke up and started to move. I've been through three different AD's because all the doctors I've seen are convinced that it's just my anxiety disorder and that the paxil I was on had "stopped working". Now I've been on zoloft 100 mg for six weeks and I still have some anxiety, some depression, and bouts of high heart rate and palpitations but none of them seem to be connected. It's like the hormones are triggering different things at different times because I can have heart symptoms with no anxiety at all! Just wish I knew which hormones were doing what.

What symptoms do you experience with your anxiety? I just wonder whether mine is anxiety. Today my heart rate is up, I feel like I need to keep moving, can't concentrate, bp is slightly elevated, but it's not unbearable. So I guess I wonder if this is what others experience with anxiety.

Hello,
My heart rate will peak at 130 when I'm anxious. I had a bad habit of checking my blood pressure/heart rate. My blood pressure would be low and heart rate high. I would totally freak out. My doctor wanted to put me on a beta blocker but decided it would lower my blood pressure even more.
My therapist told me to throw out the blood pressure machine because that was making me even more crazy. I am having a really bad couple of days so I know my heart rate is up there. But I will not check it! So I do believe anxiety has something to do with it. Although I don't know why I've been feeling this way lately. I HATE IT!!

I, too, have tachycardia (fast heart rate). Sometimes it's up, sometimes not. Other than anxiety, I think that eating too much sugar can contribute. I don't do caffeine (except chocolate) but that might, too. My blood pressure is also low. I find that there are periods when my heart is racing and acting up, and periods when it's not bothering me as much (usually something else is, though .

I think drinking camomile tea once or twice a day helps, too.
Missy

My husband wants to throw out my blood pressure machine so I know what you mean. Sorry you are having a bad time. My day was mostly a waste today because when my heart rate is up I don't feel too great and don't want to venture too far. I tried some L-Theanine, but that didn't bring the rate down nor did the camomile tea. That is why I wonder if it is anxiety or something else driving it. Does anyone know if low thyroid can cause heart racing?

Don't you wonder if the high heart rate causes the anxiety? Have you ever tried any anxiety meds and do they bring down the heart rate? It would be interesting to know how many of us with this problem have and thyroid condition, either hyper or hypo.

The funny thing is I take 800 mg. of magnesium each day. Go figure.

definitly throw out the machine, it can only cause more harm than good.....

Blood pressure machines cause anxiety - full stop!
The thyroid gland is intimately involved with control of heart rate.
An underactive thyroid causes everything to slow down and an overactive gland will speed everything up. An overactive state can mimic a mental disorder because it will cause acute anxiety.

Have a quick look at this:

http://www.mentalhealth.com/mag1/p51-thyr.html (Copy and paste into your browser)

I would always get myself checked for Hashimotos thyroiditis if my heart rate were abnormal. It is a simple blood test that looks for antibodies.

XIII

If I recall, Hashimotos can cause sudden rushes of thyroid hormone when the thyroid gland starts to breakdown. That could explain the sporadic tachycardia along with low T3 and T4. Humm, that is something to consider. Does anyone know what blood tests they use to dignose Hashimotos? I know they are thyroid antibody tests, but which ones I haven't a clue.

The test for antibodies is all you need. Your doctor should be able to guide you. If the thyroid is being attacked by your immune system antibodies will show up. It is one of the more simple tests and quite definitive.


Patients with Hashimoto thyroiditis have antibodies to various thyroid antigens, the most frequently detected of which include antithyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO), antithyroglobulin (anti-Tg), and, to a lesser extent, TSH receptor-blocking antibodies. Nevertheless, a small percentage of patients with Hashimoto thyroiditis (~10-15%) may be antibody negative.

Other antithyroid antibodies found in AITD (including Hashimoto thyroiditis) include thyroid-stimulating antibody and cytotoxic antibody.




Antibodies to thyroglobulin can be detected in 40% to 70% of patients with chronic inflammation of the thyroid gland. Antibodies may also be present in 70% of hypothyroid patients, 40% of patients with Graves' disease, and smaller numbers of patients with other autoimmune conditions, particularly anemia that worsens over time. Normal individuals, especially elderly females, may have some antibodies.
Of course I had every symptom in the book including a swollen painful thyroid yet my anti-bodies were negative! I was obviously pleased but no less confused........... Perhaps I was one of the 10% who remain anti-body negative. Things are never simple when it comes to menopause!
Since becoming 3 years post all the thyroid symptoms have gone away; so I guess that the antibody test was correct........................


XIII

Well that certainly is a ray of hope.

I am on a low dose of extended release T3 and my dr. wanted me to double it because my free T3 was slightly outside the normal range on the low end. My heart was doing all sorts of crazy things last Fri. A-fib, flutter, tachycardia through the roof. I was beginning to wonder if I should be supplementing so I stopped for a couple of days. The first day was a really good day but yesterday the heart rate was through the roof. Since I had went a couple days without my thyroid meds. I decided that it probably was not the cause because T3 has a rather short life in our system. So late in the afternoon yesterday I took my dosage of T3 and in about an hours time my heart rate come down to a more reasonable level. When I got up this morning I checked my heart rate and it was 105. It stayed high for a couple of hours until I took my T3. Isn't that interesting?

Another thing I have noticed is that my sitting heart rate is around 85, but standing it is 96 or on those bad days 100++. I've been told by my Dr. that a diff. of more than 10 bpm between sitting and standing can indicate dehydration, but I know I am not dehydrated. Has anyone else noticed this difference between seated and standing heart rates on a somewhat regular basis?

If you have bp problems, you do need to keep your machine. I have to keep track of mine.

I have the heart rate change from sitting to standing. My chiropractor put a finger moniter on me when I was laying on his table and my rate was about 75, then he tilted the table up for me to stand and it shot up to 105. So he let me walk around wearing it for a while. I would sit down and it would go back down to the 70s, and the minute I stood up it would go over 100. Very strange.
He thinks it's probably adrenal in nature. He said my blood pressure probably drops so my heart speeds up to compensate. I see the endocrinologist tomorrow, I'm very interested in what she will have to say about all of this.
The chiro didn't think it was a big concern, but he did mention dehydration, even a little can cause it, and that Mitral valve prolapse can also cause it, and I do have that. I sometimes feel light headed when I have to stand in one spot for any length of time, probably the same issue.

Have you had your thyroid function checked?

I believe 90 bmp is in the range of normal - 80 to 100 is within range.

I believe 90 bmp is in the range of normal - 80 to 100 is within range.

I believe 90 bmp is in the range of normal - 80 to 100 is within range. If you are
I believe 90 bmp is in the range of normal - 80 to 100 is within range. If you are a conditioned athlete, your pulse would probably be 60 something. Mine runs in the high 80's at rest and my physicians isn't concerned. If you let it bother you, of course it will go higher because of the adrenaline your body is releasing from anxiety.

R2

Yes, I am slightly hypo and am on T3.

Then that might be the first thing that you need to investigate. Are you on T3 alone? Cytomel or compounded/sustained release? Does the HR and/or anciety surge coincide with when you take your T3?

It is extended release T3. I went off it for a few days and my symptoms were worse. The funny thing is my Dr. just increased the dose and I was afraid to take the second dose later in the day, but when I finally did it seemed to bring my heart rate down. This happened 2 days in a row so I am assuming it was not a coincidence. My worst days seemed to be at the end or my cycles and the first five days after. So I guess I see if this repeats next cycle.

Hormones can cause a higher heart rate. that was one of my first peri symptoms. It can still go up at times. i can have a high heart rate and lower BP too

If it makes you feel better, look up the 34 peri symptoms and you will see that fast heart rate is one of the symptoms. anxiety most likely is the cause, but who knows? Not even my gyn knows, so how are we?

Mine runs like that too.....even on a beta blocker. I think 60 - 100 bmp is considered normal depending on your fitness level and age.

R2