Strange Sleeping Issues

[Guest]

I was diagnosed with BAVD at birth, and I recently got the news that my valve is narrowing. I have pretty bad anxiety so I assume a lot of the weird symptoms I've been feeling have been due to the news, however a couple symptoms stand out that particularly disturb me.

Often times when I wake up from my alarm, I'll hit snooze and fall back to sleep for a few more minutes, but sometimes when I'm about 70% asleep I'll feel really dizzy, have shortness of breath, and a very strange sensation in my chest (similar to palpitations but not quite the same thing). I made a habit to always check my heartbeat/pulse when weird things are happening, and when this happens my heartbeat is very soft, and I can barely feel it when I put my hand to my chest (which is strange because due to my BAVD my heart usually beats pretty hard).

Another symptom that I feel (much less often) that also disturbs me is when I wake up in the middle of the night feeling like I'm having an asthma attack but I don't have asthma.
Again, when I check my heartbeat it's very soft.

I haven't mentioned it to my doctor yet, as I have an appointment soon anyway, but when I was given the news he told me that I shouldn't have any complications as it's very mild narrowing but it should be watched which leads me to believe the symptoms are anxiety related.

Any comments would be appreciated, thanks!

 

[mikeccolella]

Very possible. Anxiety can cause a lot of false symptoms especially heart stuff. The asthma thing could be sleep apnea. Do you snore? I had symptoms all my life similiar to yours, especially shortness of breath and palpitations. I realized they were psychosomatic and learned to ignore them. Its also unlikely your heart would be distressed when your sleeping when no demands are being made on it unless its sleep apnea and or you have something else wrong.

 

[LondonAndy]

I agree that it could be sleep apnea, but also found that I had some fluid build-up around my heart because of poor heart function. Doctor prescribed Spironolactone (a water tablet) and problem greatly reduced. However, still got it occasionally, (I am overweight, and found myself waking suddenly in the night, short of breath). I have an oxygen generator, and found wearing a canula (short plastic tubes poking into the entrance of my nostrils) I sleep much better. Now on a diet!

 

[epstns]

Have you had your resting heart rate checked over a period of time, even overnight? They sometimes use a Holter monitor to do this, to ensure that you do not have bradycardia - a condition in which your resting heart rate can drop very low. Before my valve surgery and pacemaker implant, my resting heart rate would go down to the mid-40's, and possibly lower when I slept. For the last 6 years I've had a pacemaker, which is set to allow my resting heart rate to go no lower than 60 BPM, with no ongoing problems.

 

[Protimenow]

This is not actually related to the original post, but I find it somewhat strange that my cardiologist seems to WANT my resting heart rate to be in the 40s. I had a 48 hour holter monitor a few months ago, and there was no mention of my sleeping heart rate dropping below that number. BUT - a resting heart rate that low doesn't necessarily sound like a great idea.

Guest (whoever you are), I hope that your doctor can sort the sleep issues out for you. (And, yes, once you start to worry about your heart, it's easily to focus on it somewhat obsessively. When I started getting funny heartbeats before my AVR, my doctor said that I was following it with my 'third eye' - the suggestion being that I was focusing on my heart rhtym as much as I was the rest of my activities -- perhaps you're doing something similar.

 

[honeybunny]

I agree with mikeccolella about being checked for sleep apnea. My stenosed AV created breathing issues for me before surgery and like you, would wake up gasphing for air. But I also have sleep apnea and if I neglect to use my CPAP at night, I sometimes wake up with sleeping issues. So I suggested being tested for that also.

 

[Juli]

I went through a very similar experience. My wife was concerned about my apparent sleep apnea in the months before my OHS. I did not feel a thing but she obviously observed it and was worried. After my OHS this was gone immediately and never returned.

Regarding heart-rate monitoring: I have the Fitbit Charge 2 and this allows me to monitor 24h my heart rate. There are also other devices out there but I think it is reassuring to know how that changes during the day and with exercise.

To the OP: you should talk to your doctor about this. For us who have/had BAV this will change over time and there is a point where OHS will be necessary and will improve the overall wellness and cardiac performance.

 

[Zoltania]

When I started getting funny heartbeats before my AVR, my doctor said that I was following it with my 'third eye' - the suggestion being that I was focusing on my heart rhtym as much as I was the rest of my activities -- perhaps you're doing something similar.

This reminds me of a quote that was recently posted on the whiteboard at my gym: "Your body hears everything that your brain thinks. Be positive."