Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

2

1

Last night I had a racing heart leap up on me, while I was half asleep. Anxiety alerted me too it. Must have been somewhere around 120. I am also getting cramps. So I wondered about electrolytes.

I have been salting my meals, but also drinking a fair bit of water. I wonder does this have something to do with either too much potassium (which can cause bot cramps and heart arrythmias etc), or too little sodium (but then I have been salting my meals a little)

Can anyone a but more knowledgable suggest what might be going on here?

flag	asked Jul 3 at 1:42 Jamie 5,897●1●3●17

I have also been supplementing with 500mg glutamine per day, which can cause rapid heart rate in some people. Going to stop that... – Jamie Jul 3 at 2:04

I have experienced rapid heart rate with glutamine and also fermented cod liver oil – desi Jul 3 at 5:14

1

See a doctor... – Matt Jul 3 at 15:00

If this occurs again you should see a doctor. There are literally hundreds of possible causes for tachycardia. Problems with your heart aren't something to be taken lightly, and this is not a medical forum. – Silverspeed Jul 3 at 17:01

I have seen a doctor now. She check my BP and heart, and suggested it was a hypnogogic jerk, but she's testing my electrolytes anyway. I have stopped the glutamine, and upped my salt intake/water a little bit, also focused on destressing, and i seem to be fine now (no rapid rate when going to sleep). If the test shows nothing, it was either the glutamine or the jerk thingy I guess. – Jamie Jul 4 at 12:59

Crowlover · Accepted Answer · 2012-07-03 02:53:03Z UTC

2

Its possible you need Magnesium.

There are lots of threads on dosing and types.

Also, how about stopping the Glutamine and see what happens (why are you taking it?)

Good luck

answered Jul 3 at 2:53

Crowlover
4,443●5●12

I was taking it for gut mucosa repair. I have stopped. – Jamie Jul 3 at 5:59

Patrick · Answer 2 · 2012-07-03 03:12:05Z UTC

I used to have heart arrhythmia. Insulin spikes from non-fiber carbohydrates--sugar, grains, beer, and fruit juices--will cause heart arrhythmia. Subtract the fiber grams from total carbs to calculate the sugar. This sugar content spikes insulin.

Many studies have also shown a strong corellation between omega 3 fatty acids and heart arrhythmia. Eliminating processed oils (corn, canola, soy) along with sugar, juice, and grains, while eating cold water oily fish and supplementing with magnesium glycinate each day completely eliminated my arrhythmia. I take 400 mg of magnesium glycinate before bed time and have have not had heart arrhythmia since.

scottts · Answer 3 · 2012-07-03 14:45:48Z UTC

Another possibility to explore is your body could be releasing adrenaline to cause the release of stored glucose if your blood sugar falls too low at night.

Maybe try a small potato or half a cup of white rice (cooked) at dinner just as an experiment if your low carb and willing? Either of these would be about 25-30 starch carbs which your body will convert directly to glucose. No fructose load to worry about this way, easy on the liver.

Just an idea. Good luck finding the cause.

Racing heart while resting

3 Answers