“Why does my heart race at night?”
I am a 28 year old male. My heart races at night. What could be the cause?
1 Answer
There are three basic reasons:
1) Something is wrong with the heart rhythm, an electrical problem.
2) The rhythm is normal, but the heart is not pumping properly and the brain is telling it to try harder.
3) The heart is fine, but something else in the body or brain is making it beat faster, e.g., over-active thyroid, anaemia, too much caffeine, or anxiety.
A good first step is to record the heart (an ECG) when it is going faster than appropriate so we know what kind of rapid beat it is. You can do this with the latest Apple watch or (much less expensively) with an AliveCor phone device, about from Kardia or Amazon.
Best wishes,
Jonathan
1) Something is wrong with the heart rhythm, an electrical problem.
2) The rhythm is normal, but the heart is not pumping properly and the brain is telling it to try harder.
3) The heart is fine, but something else in the body or brain is making it beat faster, e.g., over-active thyroid, anaemia, too much caffeine, or anxiety.
A good first step is to record the heart (an ECG) when it is going faster than appropriate so we know what kind of rapid beat it is. You can do this with the latest Apple watch or (much less expensively) with an AliveCor phone device, about from Kardia or Amazon.
Best wishes,
Jonathan
