I had my AVR on 10/19/11 and have been doing really well,just feel a skipped beat every once in awile. Then last night I awoke from a bad dream and became aware that my heartbeat was fast with a skipped beat here and there. I couldn't lay back down like that so I sat up waiting for it to resolve. I fell asleep in the recliner and when I awoke again my heartbeat was regular but still about 100 bpm. I took my metoprolol at 7ish and my heartbeat slowed and has been okay all day. Has anyone else experienced this? At what point is it time to go to the ER? I didn't have any other symptoms.
Nightmares and heartbeat
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normofthenorth
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What's "fast"? I think my Cardio once told me that he doesn't worry about anything below ~120 bpm. (I was concerned because my resting HR, sitting at a computer for hours, would sometimes go up to 100-ish for no reason, a few months post-AVR.)
I'm six years out, and whenever I have a scary dream, I wake up to a heart that seems to be beating ninty miles an hour. I don't think it's anything to be concerned about, but you might ask your cardiologist at your next appointment.
If you feel you need to go to the ER then you go. But any fast heart rate under 120 that subsides within 10 min or so should be your heart going through changes after surgery. I had many events like this but haven't experienced any in about 3 months and I'm 4 months post op. Would act up for no reason anytime of day. Sometimes I would just lay there and pray to God they would go away. Not fun but very common. Momma said they'd be days like this. The nightmares could be caused by meds, stress,anxiety, bad Chinese food LOL. Unless you have angina or shortness of breath with the elevated heart rates you should be okay.
In the weeks after my surgery, I slept in a recliner and would wake up sometimes in the middle of the night with a panicked kind of sensation. No idea what my heart rate was (probably elevated), but I attributed it to post-op stress -- just reacting to still being alive after such an ordeal, or indeed wondering if I still was. 
Probably just part of readjusting, but if you feel something is seriously amiss, by all means see the doctors.
Probably just part of readjusting, but if you feel something is seriously amiss, by all means see the doctors.chaconne
Well-known member
I had some kind of mild flu yesterday with a temp up to 100.7. My HR was up to, and sometimes a little over, 120 for a good part of the day. I called the cardiac dept and talked to a nurse practitioner. We both decided that I didn't need to go in because I was feeling OK and improving through the day. Today my resting HR is down as low as 65. Go figure! I guess my heart just felt the need to pump harder yesterday because of the flu and some dehydration from diarrhea. Feel great today though!
It doesn't seem to me, that elevated HR by itself, is something to be overly concerned about. I'm not sure about the skipped beats though. I had them before surgery, but I haven't detected many, if any, now that I've got a new mech aorta valve. I hope you resolve all that you are going through without any serious problems.
It doesn't seem to me, that elevated HR by itself, is something to be overly concerned about. I'm not sure about the skipped beats though. I had them before surgery, but I haven't detected many, if any, now that I've got a new mech aorta valve. I hope you resolve all that you are going through without any serious problems.
sarahsunshine
Well-known member
I just thought that I'd mention that I sometimes wake up from nightmares and my heart rate is very elevated. I've never been diagnosed with any heart issues.
Elevated heart rate is a normal reaction to a scary event (adrenaline rush) whether asleep or not. Now as long as it's not too high, and it goes down relatively rapidly (I would say 120bpm and 10 mins judging by the advice of others), I wouldn't worry about it too much. ***I am no doctor.
I sometimes feel (and I could also be wrong) that post heart surgery (or any big surgery/health related incident), we tend to over-analyze the situation and forget that some things are just "normal". One of the big pieces of advice I took from my physiotherapist post major knee injury was to "quit analyzing and just relax".
I have to keep reminding myself this with Skyler's surgery. Watch for patterns and real worries, but most importantly, focus on REAL issues and don't create any 'non-issues' out of over-analysis.
Elevated heart rate is a normal reaction to a scary event (adrenaline rush) whether asleep or not. Now as long as it's not too high, and it goes down relatively rapidly (I would say 120bpm and 10 mins judging by the advice of others), I wouldn't worry about it too much. ***I am no doctor.
I sometimes feel (and I could also be wrong) that post heart surgery (or any big surgery/health related incident), we tend to over-analyze the situation and forget that some things are just "normal". One of the big pieces of advice I took from my physiotherapist post major knee injury was to "quit analyzing and just relax".
I have to keep reminding myself this with Skyler's surgery. Watch for patterns and real worries, but most importantly, focus on REAL issues and don't create any 'non-issues' out of over-analysis.
