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Low Potassium and tachycardia

Posted , 24 users are following.

welshgirl13
welshgirl13

Hi, im a active normally healthy 17 year old female. I eat well, at a good weight, have no eating disorders etc.

On the 9th of december last year, i started having chest pain and tachycardia. I was admitted to hospital and was told i have a potassium level of 2.7, my heart was going at 170bpm and had a bag of potassium fluids and 3 doses of a drug to slow my heart rate down.

A similair incident then occured on the 29th of december, potassium at 2.7 and required the drug to again slow my heart.

Now on the 26th of this month it happened again, but my potassium had dropped to 2.2 and i required 2 bags of fluids and 2 oral medicanol drinks before i was dicharged.

i have had numerous blood tests but no abnormal results, the doctors are still baffled on whats happening. 

When it happens, i feel the palpitations start and i get a sharp shooting pain up and down my chest. Since the first incident i am constantly tired and feel really sick, i keep suffering with bad headaches and joint pains. Due to my hospital being down 1 doctor, my treatment appears to keep getting delayed. When im in A&E after being admitted i am normally in there around 16+ hours before my heart rate begins to slow, i then have to finish my fluids from the iv administraation before going home.

It feels as though we are getting no where with the hospital as they cannot find whats wrong with me. 

Last night (29th Jan) i got mild chest pain and tachycardia. i was able to control it at home and slow it down myself after most the night by using the valsalvic maneovor, my heart was going around 130bpm. 

I have a blood test coming up on monday however my results always return normal. Has anyone got any feedback/input thats relevant and may help?

1 like, 53 replies

53 Replies

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  • welshgirl13
    welshgirl13

    Posted

    ive also been suffering with severe dizziness to the point i cant stand for a few moments
  • zzappd
    zzappd welshgirl13

    Posted

    I think the low potassium is unrelated, or at most only a trigger. If you have an svt, the best treatment is ablation. In the meantime, continue vagal maneuvers to abort the svt such as breath holding, bearing down, drinking cold water, coughing, or pushing on your carotid pulse
  • DR1983
    DR1983 welshgirl13

    Posted

    Hi welshgirl,

    Do the doctors have any idea of why you have those drops in potassium? If you eat well as you say, there must be another cause to that. If your body is not balanced, it's normal that you have symptoms in the body. Low potassium does cause symptoms in the heart, as you can confirm by googling it. It doesn't necessarily mean you have a heart problem!

    Before I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, I went through several tests to my heart because of my high heart rate, which was the main symptom. This was proved to be because my body was unbalanced!

    I hope it helps. Question your doctors and ask to see a specialist!

    All the best!

    • welshgirl13
      welshgirl13 DR1983

      Posted

      Hiya! Yes weve been through all the tests they could think of! Medically my body is perfect and healthy minus these random lapses with the heart and potassium, however they are all so sudden and spontanious so we are still unaware of the triggers etc. After being admitted to hospital by the time the fluids have been administered and blood tests donwe the only issues showing up are the svt and potassium levels. We have even done the 48 hour urine tests to check for sudden drops of any other body levels but everythings coming back fine
    • zzappd
      zzappd DR1983

      Posted

      Low potassium does not cause svt. It causes dangerous ventricular arrhythmias
    • DR1983
      DR1983 zzappd

      Posted

      What welshgirl describes doesn't seem to be a typical SVT to me, but I'm not a doctor, so I might be wrong. smile

      However, if there is anything else going wrong in the body, she needs to make sure of the reasons for that, before going through any ablation or cardiac procedure. The source of the problems is most probably the same, and not in the heart. I hope the doctors discover this soon and I wish you the best of luck, welshgirl!!

      Also, what triggers SVT is not the same for everyone. Unfortunately I already had to go several times to the A&E to have cardioversion with adenosine due to sleeping on my left side. I now sleep with a bunch of pilows to make sure I'll not rotate to the wrong side. Leaning down, doing exercise and sometimes even laughing and yawning trigger my SVT. I'm now going through a 2nd ablation.

    • zzappd
      zzappd DR1983

      Posted

      You are correct, it doesn't sound exactly typical.
  • Pwincess26
    Pwincess26 welshgirl13

    Posted

    Speak to Arrhythmia Alliance. They are really helpful. You don't say when you have had the attacks but they told me bending over can cause it and sleeping on your left side can.

    The phone number is on their website.

    • zzappd
      zzappd Pwincess26

      Posted

      Anyone who tells you sleeping on your left side causes arrhythmias is someone not worth talking to, honestly
    • kaylee9695
      kaylee9695 Pwincess26

      Posted

      Sleeping on your left side can definitly not cause an attack. Laying on your right side can because on your right are veins which can be smashed where as on your left side you have arteries which are much harder to smash.
    • chrisfox
      chrisfox zzappd

      Posted

      Sorry, you are wrong.  When I was young (up until my late 30s) I would sleep on my left side to stop an episode.  As I've aged (I'm now 50) I find sleeping on my left side now triggers an episode but if I switch to sleeping on the right side it stops it. 

      I was the same as you, I would say sleeping on the left works, when I was young.  But now I'm the opposite.  I've compared this to other "older" people and found the same. 

      So now I sleep on the left side of the bed so I can still face my wife while sleeping safely on my right.

    • gene91169
      gene91169 zzappd

      Posted

      I must, then, not be worth talking to myself, since sleeping on my left side definitely triggers dysrhythmias. This is post unsuccessful ablation. Prior to the ablation, sleeping on my right side did similarly. I'm a retired Naval Aerospace Physiologist and biology professor with decades of experience in teaching human anatomy and physiology, so I doubt that I'm imagining this or experiencing some psychosomatic malady. Regardless, I urge any of us struggling with these challenges to, at least in the short run, try the various breathing and positional remedies. They are keeping me out of emergency rooms and giving me additional time to decide on a second ablation or lack of. As always, I offer my understanding and support to other SVT folks.
  • Pwincess26
    Pwincess26 welshgirl13

    Posted

    In my case 95% of the time its when I turn over from my right to my left and always asleep in bed. My doctor told me to check Arrhythmia Alliance website. Past few times I have been awake and felt it.
    • zzappd
      zzappd Pwincess26

      Posted

      That's interesting....the only time I hear that as an electrophysiologist is for triggering atrial fibrillation or an atrial tach from the pulmonary veins. I figured someone would spot afib a mile away, so there'd be no mystery.
    • Paladinx
      Paladinx zzappd

      Posted

      Usually I get an attack of rapid heart rate only when im trying to go to sleep.. Its weird. I feel nervous and a weird sensation and i start getting hot, and my heart rate starts to pick up and go into some kind of mode where its flying.. I do have bad anxiety problems, so I am not sure if it is an anxiety attack or svt etc..  when you said pulmonary veins..It made me think.. because my lungs don't always feel that great..  I wore a monitor and had the attack.. I didn't get the results back.. Its been a week they haven't called me, and im too scared to call and find out.  
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