High BP and high HR

New on this forum, hello everyone.
First Afib back in May 2017, second in December 2017, nothing until yesterday July 22 2019.
Yesterday was really weird, totally out of the blue at 1am - heart rate shot up and eventually I couldn’t even measure BP but started at 150+...
Paced around the room for a couple of hours, drank cold water etc... Gradually managed to go back to bed and sleep... Wasn’t Afib but related I guess
Freaked out, I have stopped alcohol and smoke completely since december 2017, walk regularly etc... What to do?

Welcome Chrrev, let me state the obvious, make an appointment with a cardiologist and get a workup and diagnosis.
There are medications that will help your heart problems and lower your blood pressure, but you will probably need a cardiologist to tell you what will likely work best for you.
There are also supplements that will likely help. However, the rule is first diagnosis, then treatment.
Stay in contact.

Thanks Jim, appreciate it. I naively thought after a year and a half all was good, and just lifestyle change was enough... However this time at least I didn’t go to ER and managed to ride it at home... Not sure if this is progress and also have zero explanation for it, although a little stressful time might be it.

Hi Chrrev,

Welcome to the forum. Sorry you had the need to find us but you're in the right place.

It definitely sounds like you had an episode of afib or some other tachycardia. Glad you kept your cool enough not to go rushing off to the ER. Have you seen a cardiologist about this now or in the past? Tell us more about yourself.

Hi Carey, well the first two times I did go to ER because it was so new and totally scary, especially the first time. They kept me overnight both times and by morning I was told I could go home. On drip of Amiodarone both times, but zero medication after back to normal. The last time was a little different which is why I thought I’d try to ride it at home. Heart wasn’t fluctuating wildly as in AFib but just went up fast together with BP... Really weird. Went to hospital the next day because I was still feeling uncomfortable, but just before I went I bumped into a friend who said to me try some aspirin... So, I took a couple of baby aspirin and lo and behold by the time I got to ER I was fine...ECG, blood sample, urine, chest xray, all normal except a little high on white blood cells... They asked me why I came to ER in fact... had to explain. THat’s it really, I don’t take any medicine, those 2 aspirins were the first time in decades I have taken anything not natural... But it did seem to have a very fast effect. I have no explanation for it.
As a foot note I live in China for the past 6 years, so I do use TCM sometimes and acupuncture also. There is one product I drink almost daily called wenxinkeli which is really nice, I had stopped taking it but started again after the last scare... Not unpleasant to drink, take it around 3 times a day... Cost is like 20 yuan or around 3 dollars.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/2019 05:12AM by chrrev.

Interesting coincidence. :-) I promise you the aspirin did not stop the arrhythmia, whatever it was,

yeah you’re probably right, at the same time there seem to be research results as to the fast effects of aspirin such as blood “thinning”, clot prevention etc... Possibly lower BP?
not without risks I hear, but perhaps in emergency it does work?

Chris

I think the advice you got to take aspirin was somebody's misunderstanding of the advice to take aspirin if you think you're having a heart attack. Aspirin doesn't do a single thing to stop an arrhythmia or lower blood pressure. So it had absolutely nothing to do with your arrhythmia stopping or your BP improving. Unless maybe it worked as a placebo, which is always possible. Hey, whatever works, right?

well I don’t know. What are your sources on this knowledge Carey, would you mind giving a few pointers ?
As far as i can see, there is no single explanation as to the root cause of Afib or elevated HR or sudden BP spike, there could be quite a number of reasons for those happening... What I’m tryin to say is could it be an indirect effect of taking aspirin - say for example reduce an inflammation which in turn would reduce the occurence of an arrhythmia? Just a thought. btw I don’t have any connection or like of big pharma at all, quite the opposite.

Chris



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2019 03:43AM by chrrev.

This doesn't have anything to do with big pharma.

This is the basics of aspirin and afib. Pointing you to specific sources of knowledge would be a huge task involving you spending a lot of time reading about the mechanism of action of aspirin, its known effects, and the history of afib. Keep in mind that afib and aspirin have both been with us for a very long time (afib since the ancient Greeks and aspirin since the 1890s). Aspirin was a mainstay in afib treatment for years, but not because it stopped the afib. It doesn't. It was used to protect against clot formation and stroke. The fact is that millions of people have taken aspirin regularly with their afib and not a single report of aspirin stopping afib exists. If aspirin had the power to do that, don't you think it's surprising that you're the only person in the world out of millions that it works for?

One thing you might ask yourself is what exactly was going on that day? Were you in afib? Maybe, but you don't seem to have any information beyond having a very fast heart rate. And your BP was elevated, which isn't typically associated with afib. But a fast heart rate and elevated BP ARE associated with anxiety and panic attacks. Panic attacks are well known for being very susceptible to placebo affect, and taking a pill that a friend says might help you could provide a pretty good placebo.

You might be right, and no it was definitely not AFib because the pulse was high but regular...
Interesting you mention that high BP is not associated with Afib, I thought it was. Thanks for feedback anyways.

Chris

Quote
chrrev
Interesting you mention that high BP is not associated with Afib, I thought it was.

It is on a long-term basis, meaning untreated hypertension causes atrial stretch, which leads to fibrosis and fibrosis leads to afib. But that's something that occurs over years. During an afib episode your BP can be high, low or normal. For most people it's low, and sometimes low enough to cause fainting. But for others it can be high, probably due to the anxiety afib causes in many people.

What you describe is pretty much how afib first presented in me—awoke to a racing heart. You may want to get a sleep study to rule out OSA if you haven't yet. I did and was surprised to learn I had OSA which many strongly believe is linked to afib.

Good idea, yeah I thought that might be one of the reasons too... I generally sleep kind of OK but my sleep isn’t that great... Gettin older too I hear impacts sleep quality... I just use one of these fitness straps that also monitor sleep, not sure how accurate they are but it lists REM, Light Sleep, Deep Sleep, and breathing among other things...tbc

Chris