Sign-in to Ask A Doctor - 24x7
OR
Sign in with Google
What Causes Persistent Insomnia, Raised Heart Rate And Breathing Difficulty?
Question: havent been able to sleep properly for 2 months or more since bout mid december. keep waking up after about 4-5 hours sleep with racing heart thundering away with a very strong beat. Now its just a few hours, 3 last night and some diffculty breathing had to take deep breaths to breathe normally and then was sat up but still felt heart pounding away. spent all day trying to get back to sleep only got another 2 hours and then woke up again with heart racing. Eyes now burning last few days.
Brief Answer:
Cause must be searched.
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern considering these repeated nocturnal attacks of raised heart rate.
Usually such heart rhythms are benign and may be related to anxiety. However before attributing it to anxiety some other causes must be considered. One such cause may be sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a common condition, more common in obese people or people who have congenitally narrow upper airways, which during the night when muscles lose their tonicity may lead to closing of the airway and episodes of interrupted breathing which may cause awakenings, panic attacks heart arrhythmia. The best diagnostic means is an exam called polysomnography where electrodes are placed on your scalp to monitor brain activity during sleep.
One other cause to be searched for would be high thyroid function which may cause abnormally high heart rate and also anxiety with sleeping difficulties. So thyroid function blood testing is also recommended.
If no such causes are present and anxiety is not an issue also it would be useful to study these abnormal rhythm attacks. Since EKGs during the day may result normal at that moment, a Holter EKG, a portable device carried for 24 hours to monitor your rhythm during different activities is the better study method.
I remain at your disposal for other questions.
Cause must be searched.
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern considering these repeated nocturnal attacks of raised heart rate.
Usually such heart rhythms are benign and may be related to anxiety. However before attributing it to anxiety some other causes must be considered. One such cause may be sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a common condition, more common in obese people or people who have congenitally narrow upper airways, which during the night when muscles lose their tonicity may lead to closing of the airway and episodes of interrupted breathing which may cause awakenings, panic attacks heart arrhythmia. The best diagnostic means is an exam called polysomnography where electrodes are placed on your scalp to monitor brain activity during sleep.
One other cause to be searched for would be high thyroid function which may cause abnormally high heart rate and also anxiety with sleeping difficulties. So thyroid function blood testing is also recommended.
If no such causes are present and anxiety is not an issue also it would be useful to study these abnormal rhythm attacks. Since EKGs during the day may result normal at that moment, a Holter EKG, a portable device carried for 24 hours to monitor your rhythm during different activities is the better study method.
I remain at your disposal for other questions.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
Get personalised answers from verified doctor in minutes across 80+ specialties
