Was this a Hypo?

Community Share Your Stories
1

I had the strangest thing happen to me at work today.

Before I start, I want to note that I have been checked by EKG 4 times in the last year, so the docs think my heart is great. In fact, they say that it is really healthy…

So, I am sitting down, piling through some paperwork, and I feel like my heart just… well… stopped. It started going again, but it was like a car with no gas. That happened for a second or two, then my chest felt warm.

I breathed deeply, then my heart began racing. Now, I have a heart monitor watch, and I took my pulse. It was at 155 BPM. I immediately checked my blood sugar, and it was 4.2 mmol.

So, I get up, and I am shaking a bit, and my heart is beating like crazy. I go to the washroom, relieve myself, meanwhile trying to deeply breathe and calm my racing heart.

I washed my hands, and dried them and took my BG again. 5.2 mmol. I had no pain, just a rapid heartbeat.

After 5 minutes, my heartbeat went down.It was a little fast, but good.

I read somewhere that when you have a hypo, you could have palpitations. Is that maybe what happened here?

I am not afraid of a heart attack - that has been ruled out so many times. I have no risk factors (other than being diabetic) and I keep tight control.

I also wanted to note that I did feel really hungry about 1/2 hour before this incident. I ignored it, and I didn’t check my BG at that time.

Thoughts?

2

If I were you I’d call my friendly GP or cardiologist. You could have a-fib, or you could be dehydrated, or your electrolytes could be messed up. 155 BPM is tachycardia if you are not exercising.

Causes of atrial fibrillation include:

Alcohol use (especially binge drinking)
*

Congestive heart failure
*

Coronary artery disease (especially after a heart attack or coronary artery bypass surgery)
*

Heart surgery
*

High blood pressure (hypertension)
*

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
*

Medications
*

Overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism)
*

Pericarditis
*

Valvular heart disease (especially mitral stenosis and mitral regurgitation)

3

I have gone to the ER 6 times in the last 2 years and I have been told that I have panic disorder. I was put on Paxil, (which I am trying to get off of.)
I have had blood tests, XRays, EKG’s, and all is normal. When I suggested the cardiologist, the response is, why?

My heart rate usually sits around 70 to 90, depending. Right now it is 89, but I feel dizzy. (I just got over being sick, super sick with the big bad D-ruh) so maybe it is dehydration.

Come to think of it, all I really drank today was a large coffee, a cup of lemon tea, and another cup of lemon tea. I don’t think there was much water in there.

4

Do you have or know if you have mitral Valve Prolapse? not sure if you have had a ECO…but mine does that, and I have MVP…
if your trying or slowly going off Paxil, be careful, it can cause strange things to happen, higher bp, and racing heart.

Weed everything out, drink lots…tea can cause you to become more dehydrated, so drink some gatorade and hydrate yourself with some electrolytes.

I hope you feel better…Debbie

5

Another possibility is Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia. When I was in my early 30’s I used to lie down to go to bed, and all of a sudden my heart rate went up into the 130’s. VERY uncomfortable, to say the least. After a while, it would go down again, but I talked to the doc about it, and got a small dose of atenolol, a beta-blocker, which did the trick. It also tends to lower BP, but that’s not the primary reason I went on it.

At any rate, your doc should be taking you seriously, because that kind of tachycardia is NOT normal!

6

I think that your blood sugars were dropping rather fast, or that you are used to being high, so therefore felt low, even at 5.2. When you are, or feel hypo, adrenilin kicks in to keep you going and yes, you will have a faster pulse when you are going hypo or actually are. Nothing to worry about, but I know it feels horrible. I get it a lot.

Another thought, you might have had an anxiety attack, I find it happens when I am concentrating a lot or forget to breathe! It is a common problem. But, the fact that you felt hungry just before is more likely that your blood sugars were dropping quickly. Do you take insulin? Do not ignore the hungry feelings. It is generally a sign that something is happening with your blood. You NEED to check. It only takes less than a couple of minutes and keep a few snacks in your desk drawer to deal with it. I usually make a quick calculation. If for example I start the day quite high, namely at 12.6, and the sugar is down to 5.1 I know that it has dropped significantly and fast, by 11am, and unfortunately it is not going to stop dropping. It will go down faster when it is lower, so the time between 12.6 and 5.1 is a lot slower than 5.1 and officially hypo once the insulin kicks in.
If you tend to be so busy that you forget to check, it would be worth setting the alarms on your mobile phone for a set time, say every two hours and deal with it before it gets too low. Note to self. Set alarm!

Since your heart has been checked several times (as has mine) it is far more likely to be blood sugar related.

7

@latvianchick - I am on insulin, and I had taken 2 units in the morning breakfast at 9 AM. (I was at 8.2) I checked again at 1 PM, and I was at 6.2. It was 3:39 when this hit me, and when I checked I was at 4.2. (How I checked with a racing heart I don’t know!)
1 minute later I was at 5.0, then 5 min after that 5.2.
I am on axiety medication, but I am trying to wean off it. I think I did have an attack. I spent my whole night worried about it as well. LOL

8

@hismouse - I am not sure if I have anything. Like I was saying, I have gone to the ER a few times. They humored me a couple of times, with a long EKG, checking for antibodies, etc. Then I got to see this nice psycologist who put me on paxil. Fun times.
I was told that I was healthy, my BP was good, my sugars under control, so not to worry.

9

I also spent last week with diarrhea. I know that I was dehydrated then - maybe I was still dehydrated. I woke up this morning so thirsty it was crazy. This after having drank a LITER of water with a mix of electrolytes in it.

10

You really have to cut back on the coffee.

But seriously, anything which causes a sudden adrenaline surge can raise your heart rate. You might find relaxation and meditation techniques really help. Just to focus on calming your internal self can do wonders.

11

@bsc - LOL. That did a lot to calm me. When I first read the comment by Francis, it had me really worried.
Then again, the doctor did tell me to ignore the internet.

The main problem is I am afraid it will happen again. That is super weird, I know.

I have talked to a few people who think that it is no big deal. Hearing that other people may actually experience the same is what helps!

12

Are you new to this? Yes, hypos can result in adrenaline especially in those with strong “hypo sensitivity”, and the sensations can be particularly strong and disconcerting to someone new to insulin and/or the risk of hypos.

If your bg had been high for a while, it’s possible that a 4.2 mmol (which is not super low) might feel like a low in terms of hypo symptoms.

One clue as to adrenaline if this happens again: Hole your hand out in front of you and see if it is quivering.

Having good hypo sensitivity is a Good Thing IMHO. Still the adrenaline rush can be disconcerting and confusing.

13

@Tim - This thursday will be my 1 year anniversary with Diabetes. Yah! I am not new, but I have never had something like what happened before.
I do remember looking at my hands, and I was breathing hard, and they were shaking…
I remember thinking it was no big deal until my chest got warm… then I kinda freaked. I think it was more of a panic attack.
My theory is that my liver must have dumped some glucose into my system. I went from 4.2 to 5.2 in a matter of a couple of seconds. I tested after I had the palpitations. That is the weird part.

14

It’s possible that you were lower than 4.2 and that the “kick” in the heart you felt was in response to counter-regulatory hormones (epinephrine, norepinephrine) being dumped into your blood-stream, giving you that feeling of your heart pace jumping.

I get really pounding heart symptoms when I go way hypo (in the 50’s, or 2.8 to 3 mmol), but the other day I had lots of hypo symptoms (heart pounding, sweating, shaking) and when I checked I was only 90 (5 mmol). I think it was because I’d been high earlier and it dropped about 100 points in an hour (from 11 mmol to 5 mmol) which was enough of a drop to kick out some adrenaline.

There’s no way to be sure, but that might be what’s happening.

My sister and I also get fluttery feelings in our chest from something called benign PVC’s or pre-ventricular contractions. They’re not dangerous but they feel weird (like something alive thumping around in your chest, like a kitten or a fluttery little bird) and I avoid caffeine like the plague to keep them in check. Even one cup of coffee and I’ll have the fluttery-bumps in my chest for hours.

15

I think you should get checked out by a doc just to be sure you’re ok – have them do an EEG. I saw you mention Paxil – are you working with a doctor to wean off of it. It is a terrible drug.

16

Sorry, didn’t mean to freak you out. My dad spent a weekend in the hospital recently with tachycardia and he was just dehydrated, it turns out. Maybe you were too.

17

People with diabetes are also prone to low potassium…and low potassium has palpitations/irregular heart beats as one of the symptoms. Just a thought! Why don’t you request some blood work, including a potassium check?

18

Hope you are feeling better.

19

Well, this week has been a lot of fun. I have been to the hospital twice, 2 ekg, a myriad if tests. I am being told it’s panic again. Yah me! I am on Ativan, and going back on paxil. There was a time when I thought my pulse shot up to 174. Now that was scary!
The only anomaly so far, after urine, blood, chest X-rays is I have an elevated white blood count.
This sucks a bit. I had to have an ambulance come get me at my work. That sucked.