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What Causes Elevated Heart Rate At Night?
Question: I woke up with elevated heart rate during the night two nights in a row
I am 52 year old female, exercise regularly, brining my hr around 125-130 bpm when I use stationary bicycle or elliptical. My resting heart rate hovers between 60 and 70bpm.
I woke up with my heart beating really hard, I don't recall a nightmare or anything else, no pain, no shortness of breath. I have an apple watch and wore it last night to monitor my hr and for an hour it varied between 78 and 112 to the highest with an average of 80bpm. It then decreased back to my normal mid-60's. The same happened the night before.
What could cause that? Cause for concern?
I should add that I have been diagnosed with PVC's in the past.
Also, I had two alcoholic drinks last night (I drink 2-3 each day) and I also had a chocolate brownie just before bed.
I am 52 year old female, exercise regularly, brining my hr around 125-130 bpm when I use stationary bicycle or elliptical. My resting heart rate hovers between 60 and 70bpm.
I woke up with my heart beating really hard, I don't recall a nightmare or anything else, no pain, no shortness of breath. I have an apple watch and wore it last night to monitor my hr and for an hour it varied between 78 and 112 to the highest with an average of 80bpm. It then decreased back to my normal mid-60's. The same happened the night before.
What could cause that? Cause for concern?
I should add that I have been diagnosed with PVC's in the past.
Also, I had two alcoholic drinks last night (I drink 2-3 each day) and I also had a chocolate brownie just before bed.
Brief Answer:
I would explain as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello!
Welcome and thank you for asking on HCM!
Regarding your concern, I would explain that your symptoms could be related to the alcohol and caffeine (contained in the chocolate).
You should know that alcohol intake, can trigger cardiac arrhythmia, also called Holiday Heart Syndrome, especially in susceptible persons.
An electrolyte imbalance can also trigger ectopic heart beats.
But if the problem persists in the next days, I would recommend consulting with your attending physician for a careful physical exam and some tests:
- a resting ECG and a cardiac ultrasound
- complete blood count for anemia
- blood electrolytes for possible imbalance
- thyroid hormone levels for possible thyroid dysfunction
An ambulatory 24-48 hours ECG monitoring (Holter) would help examine your heart rhythm trends for a prolonged time and exclude possible cardiac arrhythmia.
Meanwhile, I recommend avoiding alcohol or caffeine intake in the next days.
Hope to have been helpful!
Kind regards,
Dr. Iliri
I would explain as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello!
Welcome and thank you for asking on HCM!
Regarding your concern, I would explain that your symptoms could be related to the alcohol and caffeine (contained in the chocolate).
You should know that alcohol intake, can trigger cardiac arrhythmia, also called Holiday Heart Syndrome, especially in susceptible persons.
An electrolyte imbalance can also trigger ectopic heart beats.
But if the problem persists in the next days, I would recommend consulting with your attending physician for a careful physical exam and some tests:
- a resting ECG and a cardiac ultrasound
- complete blood count for anemia
- blood electrolytes for possible imbalance
- thyroid hormone levels for possible thyroid dysfunction
An ambulatory 24-48 hours ECG monitoring (Holter) would help examine your heart rhythm trends for a prolonged time and exclude possible cardiac arrhythmia.
Meanwhile, I recommend avoiding alcohol or caffeine intake in the next days.
Hope to have been helpful!
Kind regards,
Dr. Iliri
Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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