Waking up from sound sleep with extremely fast and powerful heartbeat

See a cardiologist and ask them about Prinzmetal's angina. I have it. It sucks. Does it come in waves? Periods of no activity, then periods of high activity?

I  have suffered Zaidi androughout my life they were really being controlled with antidepressants till this past year.  Zaidi and have had palpitations throughout my life they were really being controlled with antidepressants till this past year . I'm convinced it has something to do with perimenopause .  This past June was the first time I actually skipped a P ,  my rapid heartbeat started probably in February but didn't get really bad till June .  I have had skips , flutters , fast , you name it .  I have had a stress test I've worn a halter and had an echo and my heart looks fine . I'm on ateneol ( bata blocker ) 25mg. This  it's been pretty bad I've noticed I feel like I'm getting them often I took a nap today and woke up with my heart racing .  Ring if anybody else is on a beta blocker what milligram and what brand and do they know anything that can help . It's a horrible feeling ! My anxiety kicks in and I'm a mess . 

Hi Debbie.... this is probably my worst symptom. It happens about once a week for me.  During those spells I feel like I am going to have a heart attack and die. I have found that reading or watching tv helps me calm down a little bit. I have found that the heart racing makes me anxious which in turn makes my pounding heart worse. As I have more and more of the episodes I am becoming a little better at dealing with them but generally have moments during the episode where I think that it's the end. 

I am so sorry you are going through this.

Does anyone have any suggestions of a mantra or thought process to help calm yourself during these horrible episodes. 

Yes this has been happening to me last night and the night before. I had a sleep study two years ago and think everyone should have one. I did find out I had some severe episodes of sleep apnea. I moved and didn't continue using the c-pap machine, am wondering if this is why I am waking up with this scary problem. I had trouble breathing and do have mild asthma so I drove to the ER in the middle of the night and every thing was normal, they gave me a breathing treatment and I went home. It's very frightening, please have a sleep study everyone to be sure you don't have sleep apnea, especially if you snore, it is very dangerous. I let mine go untreated and think this is why it is happening.

Hi Debbie, yes when I first stated my heart would race and woke me out of a sleep and I had shoot pain went to my head it was scary then, I'm still having them after 8 years no sign of them going away yet..it's so annoying to have to keep listening to it at night when your up and down, although I'm use to it still a little afraid.

I experienced this early this morning.   I woke up with my heart racing, pounding, it was awful and very frightening.   I just wanted it to slow down.    It eventually did but it seemed to last for ages.    I have a fitness watch on and I had to keep checking my heart rate which kept increasing.    I was too scared to try to get back to sleep.   Felt like I was going to die.   After several hours my resting heart rate returned to near normal by which time it was time to get up to go to work.   It’s left me absolutely exhausted 

I have had more and more "waking up (or being woken up throughout the night by) with very fast and pounding heart " (80 to 100+ bpm) more and more often the last 2 years.  It is awful and often won't allow me to sleep. .. feeling like I'm running when I'm lying still.   Feeling like I can't stand for too long if I hop out of bed fast while that's happening.  Sometimes it will be for like a day or two bit lately its been pretty much every day I wake up like that and it takes awhile to go down to normal (normal has become higher too... used to be 60 bpm almost all the time, now it's rarely below 70 even when resting).  Starts to climb before bed, maybe 78 or so which is already uncomfortable, then I fall asleep and it will wake me up at like 90 bpm an hour or two later.  I don't panic anymore, I just find it very uncomfortable.  I only have a few hours a day that I feel normal and good.  From about 3 pm til 11 pm.  So it could be a cortisol (adrenal) imbalance mixed with perimenopause (I'm 46) and other hormone or chemical imbalances.   I would guess that since it's been progressing more and more as i've been having more and more irregular periods and other symptoms.

one other thing is that even SUB-clinical hypo AND hyper thyroid can cause fast heart rates and anxiety.  Subclinical means the TSH result comes back low normal  or high normal but all the other thyroid tests T3 T4 etc are normal.  So I was TSH 0.41 which is low (meaning hyperthyroid) but all other tests were normal.  At that time I felt better than I do now! (My thyroid TSH was in the middle to low range the last time.    so the thyroid can really jump around fast and you can have symptoms LONG before any tests show up abnormal... so that can also be an issue.  And dysautonomia (aka MITRAL VALVE PROLAPSE/SYNDROME).  All of these things can contribute to variable and bothersome heart rates.  I have suffered for YEARS since age 23 with these problems.  Then a few months ago i got the heavy periods and I think that was the final straw.  I have bled on most days (sometimes a little sometimes a lot) for going on 3 months now.  I'm learning to live with the fast heart rate which makes me feel like crap and is debilitating.   I also have POST PRANDIAL TACHYCARDIA which means I can only eat tiny portions of food ata time or my heart will race and I'll get extreme fatigue.  My heart dr and endocrinologist both said that is normal for peopile who have Dysautonomia/MVP.  MANY people who have even mild MVP will have some symptoms of Dysautonomia which is a defect of the central nervous system... that which regulates adrenaline etc!  Basically you are very sensitive to your own adrenaline and other chemicals and hormones in the body.  I presume even the estrogen and LH and TSH and Progesterone could all potentially cause high heat rate.  I know I would have bouts of tachycardia when I was near ovulation.  Perimenopause your body is very confused and LH and TSH are ALWAYS high as the brain tried to force the ovaries to pop out eggs which of course they cannot and never will!  So it may be that instead of my comfortable 60 bpm I have to get used to 80 as my new "normal" heart rate.  A bitter pill to swallow and I have been miserable for the last few years as more and more symptoms keep piling on.  Getting older really is awful!  Doctors have been zero help.  I have done extensive research out of sheer desparation.  Many sleepless nights and days spent in terror  despair.   Perimenopause is truly a medical condition and my experience with cardiologists is that unless you've h ad aheart attack or something like that they just don't give you the time of day.  It's horrible.  So that's why I'm going to shell out the money I can't afford to go to a HOLISTIC doctor.  She will spend one hour with me and test me for EVERYTHING and then we will decide together what best and least invasive option is.   I'm at my wits end and don't want to have an unnecessary hysterectomy or any of the other witchdoctory they impose on women's uterus'.  But it is truly horrible and having several health concerns at one time will make you go INSANE.   GOD BLESS you all...

Hi Debbie. This happened to me today. Usually it's a bad dream that I wake up from and my heart races. VERY scary feeling. Seems like it happens around the same time each month. It doesn't scare me any longer. I just talk myself through all the crazy symptoms now. This month marks 1 year no periods. I'm hopeful things will get better. This forum has been a huge help. Hope you feel better and know this is normal.

Yes my first happened 3 days ago. Was rushed to the hospital thinking it was a heart attack. Dr's attended to me quickly. My heart rate 160. Did blood work and ekg. Everything came back ok. Had another today when i got up from sleep. I tried to stay calm eventually it went away. I am so scared to leave the house much less drive. All these symptoms have me going crazy. This is just one more to add to the list. God help us all