is this a heart issue?

[sc2now]

the first time it happened was 3 weeks ago. i went to the bar w friends for a few drinks and came homeand went to bed just fine. I woke up at about 1 am with a pounding heartbeat, a feeling of unease or dread, and a feeling that i can best describe as my chest caving in. ( like if you ALMOST get in a car accident, but there is no impact... the light, fluttery feeling afterwards.)it lasts for hours

it lasted about 3 hours. I sat up all night bc i thought if i went to sleep i would not wake up.

the weirdest part is my heart rate is absolutely normal. i usually go about 80 bpm. i feel like blood is rushing and my heart is pounding. I feel like my pulse should be racing, but it is plodding along just fine.

it has happened almost nightly now, and once at the end of a very long evening ( wedding we went to) it always happens about 1 am.

on a side note, i occassionally get a fluttery feeling in my throat by my sternum that takes my breath for a moment till it stops. so far these two symptoms have not ocurred with relation to eah other.

any input would help. these are scary, and i am beginning to dread going to sleep.

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[Machaon]

Originally Posted by sc2now

the first time it happened was 3 weeks ago. i went to the bar w friends for a few drinks and came homeand went to bed just fine. I woke up at about 1 am with a pounding heartbeat, a feeling of unease or dread, and a feeling that i can best describe as my chest caving in. ( like if you ALMOST get in a car accident, but there is no impact... the light, fluttery feeling afterwards.)it lasts for hours

it lasted about 3 hours. I sat up all night bc i thought if i went to sleep i would not wake up.

Was there a lot of smoking at the bar? Did you eat a lot of high octane foods? Are you Diabetic, or does Diabetes run in your family? Are you overweight?

the weirdest part is my heart rate is absolutely normal. i usually go about 80 bpm. i feel like blood is rushing and my heart is pounding. I feel like my pulse should be racing, but it is plodding along just fine.

The heart rate is not as important as the quality of the heartbeat. If the heart is misfiring, the heart will pound, but can beat at a normal rate. It is just not pumping the blood very well, at any heart-rate. When the heart is not pumping well, it is just like a car with a missing a sparkplug, it jumps and mis-fires all over the place.