Alcohol and palpitations

[LeeBee]

Sigh. It's 2am in NZ and I've woken up with a racing heart. I don't know what my blood pressure is but I bet it's high right now. I had dinner with friends tonight and had about 3 glasses of wine. I find these days that if I have alcohol in the evening that I wake up in the middle of the night with a fast heartbeat and palpitations. My heartrate is about 86bpm right now, not massively fast but fast for the middle of the night when it should be relaxed and slow. My resting heartrate is normally about 60-62bpm.

I hate the sensation of my fast heartbeat and can't get back to sleep, which is why I'm on here. I feel really trembly and worried and feel that my arteries are being damaged with every hard thump of my heart. Does anyone else find that they get this from drinking alcohol?

Never drinking again!

[spaced]

hi
i used to find that alcohol made my anxiety worse the day after having a drink the fast heart beat used to scare me too.

[fisher]

oh you just sound like me, i went out new years eve and the next day i got up my heart was racing and thud thud, i drove my car to see if it would take my mind off them but i could feel it just going fast, i get instant anxiety now if my heart is going fast, but when you drink alcohol the night before if you dont drink water when you go to bed the alcohol goes into sugar so sometimes if you wake up through the night its the sugar rush that gives you palpitations and alcohol dehydrates you, so dont worry it wont damage your heart, listen to me i need reasuring all the time, i get a fast heart beat sometimes if i eat and then my heart goes fast, does anybody get it when they have eaten

[NervousNellie]

Alcohol will definitely cause this, but your heart rate is nowhere near fast! It's normal! I was mine was 86 bpm when I was anxious - I would be thrilled with that! I get so worked up that mine has gone up to 150 when in a full panic attack!! My normal resting rate is in the 60's or lower 70's.

Whatever you do, don't check your blood pressure after drinking alcohol. I did that once and it sent me into a panic. Alcohol will increase your blood pressure, but usually after a good night's sleep, it will return to normal.

Don't worry - you know what caused this and it will soon pass.

[LeeBee]

Thanks guys . Nice to know I'm not alone with this. I did manage to get to sleep after an hour or so and my heartrate is pretty normal this morning at 66bpm.

fisher, I get a fast heartrate after eating sometimes too. I think it depends what I eat. Things that are very salty or sugary seem to cause this in me.

[NervousNellie]

Hi LeeBee,

Just wanted to point something out....you don't have to stop drinking alcohol. I know that I would be quite disappointed if I didn't have my occasional glass of wine with friends and family.

You just have to understand what the alcohol does to you. If you can accept that, then you will eventually not pay any attention to the palpitations. I can now have a glass or 2 of wine without having any palpitations, as long as I don't think about them. Even if I say to myself "hey, I haven't had any palpitations", they will start. It's really strange, but I think that this has more to do with anxiety than alcohol. I used to drink quite often when I was younger and never had any palpitations. But now that I've developed anxiety, I have palpitations over everything: anxiety, happiness, sadness, anger, excitement, etc. I think if you start looking forward to having that occasional drink and don't fear it, you'll find that your palpitations will ease off!!

[wonder]

Hi NervousNellie!

I totally understand how you feel because the same thing happens to me a lot.

Hi LeeBee,

Just wanted to point something out....you don't have to stop drinking alcohol. I know that I would be quite disappointed if I didn't have my occasional glass of wine with friends and family.

You just have to understand what the alcohol does to you. If you can accept that, then you will eventually not pay any attention to the palpitations. I can now have a glass or 2 of wine without having any palpitations, as long as I don't think about them. Even if I say to myself "hey, I haven't had any palpitations", they will start. It's really strange, but I think that this has more to do with anxiety than alcohol. I used to drink quite often when I was younger and never had any palpitations. But now that I've developed anxiety, I have palpitations over everything: anxiety, happiness, sadness, anger, excitement, etc. I think if you start looking forward to having that occasional drink and don't fear it, you'll find that your palpitations will ease off!!