Can U Pass Out From Tachycardia?

[giftcreations123]

Can you actually pass out from having tachycardia?

I had to bring my son his lunch to school

(he forgot at home) , I walked up the steps with his lunch and bottle of soda for class party. Big mistake!!! I thought I was going to die! My heart rate shot up so high, I felt like I would pass out...can you ?

It took a while to calm down and had internal shakiness and all...what a morning!

[MamaTrain]

This used to happen to me everytime I climbed stairs in the beginning. I think when you have to climb stairs it puts more of a strain on you. I think my blood pressure would go down sort of dramatically causing this to happen. Just either sit down immediately or keep telling yourself you're going to be fine until you can sit or lie down. Sorry that happened to you today...I really do understand!

KC

[juliegee]

Yes...really depends what's causing it. Found out MCAD was causing mine- an epi-pen saved me from completely losing consciousness. Sorry things are so rough.

Julie

[Guest tearose]

This is not a yes or no question. What is the environment? Are you sitting or standing? Are you in compression or can you sit down? Are you cold or hot? Are you well rested or fatigued?

Tachycardia is a heart beat over 100.

On a 70 degree day, your heartrate may be 100 you may be walking and managing fine.

If you are in an airplane and trigger rates of 180+ and can't do anything to change the cabin pressure, if you don't curl up into a ball and slow your heart rate down, you could pass out in your seat.

[lieze]

I have difficulty with stairs also-until you feel better with stairs I would find a way around that like asking them to call son down to you or having someone take the lunch up to him.

[yogini]

The answer is yes, you can pass out from tachycardia. It's all interconnected b.c the heart is sometimes beating too fast just to maintain BP, but tachycardia on its own can cause fainting. But most people with dysautonomia (especially POTS, as opposed to NCS) don't faint. If you haven't fainted yet, don't worry too much. And definitely go easy on the stairs.

[comfortzone]

There are different kinds of tachycardia and different causations - When you get rates super high like near 300 that is often SVT or Supraventricular Tachycardia - and people can get very very symptomatic - and in an ER situation the treatment a doctor can order might be to try things to stimulate the vagus nerve to slow you down (face in cold water, bearing down as if toileting etc.) - If that doesn't work there are IV medications to try next - if these don't work - then sometimes you have to convert the person using the paddles -- but anyway just different means to an end - getting the heart to 'snap out of it' and get to a normal rhythm once again.

Another kind is sinus tachycardia where the impulses originate where they are supposed to in the heart but the rate is fast - though usually not well into the 200's. Finding the cause and treating it might go along the lines of - is the person losing fluid - such as bleeding out from an injury...or just plain dehydration, exercise, fever, anxiety/emotional states, and I guess POTS would be in the sinus tach grouping. Treating the cause would be to provide lots of fluids, rest, treating cause of fever and the fever itself etc...

Yes I would imagine with any kind of tachycardia if it was prolonged, or a sudden change, or accompanied other body stressors, or was SVT left untreated - you could pass out. The bodies way perhaps of getting you to lie down flat - so blood can get to where it's supposed to be easier perhaps - and a way for someone to call 911 if you became unconscious....

That's why it's good to have a good primary, cardiologist or POTS savvy doctor - that may order yet again another holter monitor to get a picture of what's happening - and what treatment scheme might be best or most beneficial...

Take good care of yourself and I'm sorry for this scary incident...

[RockiesGirl]

In the last year I have passed out completely about 11 times. It is scary...the worst was at a Baseball game when everyone was going home and filing out of the arena. As you can imagine, at a public place like that it meant a trip to the emergency room but I do not remember very much of it ;o) I do remember them telling me that my my heart rate was ridiculous but my Blood Pressure was almost non-existant. After a couple bags of fluids with Magnesium I was 'right as rain' again.

I know that everyone stresses drink, drink, drink and I too can't stress this enough....it seems to help!!! The meds have helped me too. Hope you feel better and I'm sorry for the scary experience

Hopefully you might be able to recognize the 'triggers' but if you are like me, sometimes there is no avoiding hitting the ground Unfortunately

[ramakentesh]

Yes the sympathetic overdrive and the parasympathetic withdrawal can cause tacycardia and cerebral vasoconstriction and thus faint.

[Kyler]

I am a medic on an ambulance and they teach us in medic class that a "narrow complex" tachycardia with a rate greater than 150 is considered SVT. I have seen people with a rate of 180 have a BP of less than 80/40 and on the verge of passing out. SVT rarely goes above 250. Rates that go above 250 are typically not a narrow complex. As I have learned since my son got diagnosed , people with POTS have adapted to be able to handle a higher HR than the rest of us - especially the kids that have it. If you have a reason (like POTS) to have a HR higher than 150 then it is not treated the same was SVT is. SVT is caused by a malfunction of the sinus node in your heart whereas a high HR in a POTS pt. is caused either by your body trying to compensate for the blood loss from the pooling or by some other contributing factor of POTS. Everyone has a threshhold at which their body can no longer maintain it's BP as a result of a high HR. If your HR is too high it can not deliver enough blood and Oxygen to your brain and it makes you lay down by making you "pass out". Hope this helps.