Heart Rate Skyrocketed When I Stood Up

To preface this, this isnt the first time its happened. I've been cleared by a cardiologist, but that doesnt make this even slightly less scary.

I wish I could understand this, it could be gastric/hiatal hernia related, but im sitting here and for example this is when it just happened, at this time, my cat goes outside for an hour or two at night, I go check on him till he wants to come in. Im doing something, im not anxious at all actually very distracted and doing well, several times I get up and im just fine, this last time, I stand up, and its like sudden pressure, around the spot of my hiatal hernia..atleast the bottom of my sternum area, and my heart rate skyrockets instantly. Im talking 130-140 bpm, for a couple minutes, freaks me out that it goes that high so of course that adds to it, at a normal time like several minutes before it would only have jumped to 90 or so. After several minutes its still a little fast but probably only 90-95, and the pressure remains. But its just scary when that happens..do everything the same as you have several times in the last few minutes and the last time the heart rate flies off the handle. .
I still feel the pressure, it does feel like I have gas, I did have some dark chocolate 30 to 40 minutes prior and that does seem to set off acid or gas for me, and I dont know if that was the cause or what.

EDIT: Since I typed this its been an additional 30 minutes, my heart rate is up slightly still and I Do have some chest pressure still though its a little better, I just feel awful because this is so scary when it happens. I get a lot of weird chest sensations that I believe is due to my hernia, but I dont understand why it would just skyrocket like that. Its so scary when you do something 9 times, and on the 10th time something like this happens.

I will say though, there is one t hing that I notice. I have no idea if its a coincidence or something that happens because of it, but it seems every time this happens, there is I have to have a sometime larger bowel movement, and generally after I do my heart rate will be lower. This seems to happen every few weeks, I dont know if its the need to go that sets off my stomach and contributes to this, or that my stomach doing this forces me to go, but there seems to be a relatively direct connection. Infact I just did that, and its like my heart just relaxed after. Pulse went from 95-100 to in the 80s, maybe even 70s, and I feel much more relaxed.

Sounds like POTS. I have this. Make sure you stay well hydrated, avoid caffeine and booze and build up exercise steadily - exercise helps. I too was cleared by the cardiology for anything major, this was my diagnosis.

I would say POTS, but this specific event only seems to happen once every 2 to 3 weeks. Though I do have other signs and symptoms of POTS.

All that's happening here is that you're noticing a normal bodily reaction, which is exacerbating it. It's a combination of things including sitting down for a while, eating some chocolate, gas, gerd and then standing up. When you stand up your heart rate will spike, you then notice it, you have anxiety, it doubles the effect. You don't have to feel anxious for anxiety to still cause spikes like this. This would happen to 'normal' people and they wouldn't even notice it. The only reason it stays high for a while is that you checked it and judged it as something bad.

You said you've been cleared by a cardiologist, so it's your label of a normal bodily reaction as scary that's the real issue.

I do get it though, I obsessed about my heart rate for years and it makes you completely lose touch with heart rate reality. The mental 'if my heart rate isn't X when I check it, something MUST be wrong' monologue.

I was going to say what joe said. I say you stood up and noticed pressure and then your heart rate spiked. My guess would be that the feeling of pressure sparked your anxiety which sent your heart rate up.

Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your post was moved from its original place to a sub-forum that is more relevant to your issue.

This is nothing personal - it just enables us to keep posts about the same problems in the relevant forums so other members with any experience with the issues can find them more easily.

Please also read this post:

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=213239