Do You Experience Tachycardia When Sitting Down?

[looneymom]

I understand that tachycardia is a high heart rate but how high? I thought this normally happened after you had been standing up for a little while. My son is not able to stand up. This last week, he got his new powered wheelchair, so we have been going outside more on pretty, sunny days. Would this kind of activity cause tachycardia? I have always taken his blood pressure when he's sitting down. Would this type of activity cause tachycardia to show up 3 or 4 hours later in a blood pressure/heart rate reading?

I send in my son's blood pressure and heart rates to the cardiologist weekly. He asked about his activity level. I am trying to help my son get as active as he can tolerate. Does over doing it, make this problem worse? The cardiologist has not told us to stop going outside. Just nervous and wondering if this symptom gets worse with more activity.

[Katybug]

I do get tachycardia when just sitting. I almost passed out sitting in a docs office about a month ago from it. But I know I've read that this is not all that unusual for POTS. I can't quote a resource right now on that.

[lejones1]

I think the definition of tachycardia is a heart rate over 100. I don't think it's uncommon for POTS people to get there quite easily. My sitting heart rate is usually in the 80s (from a lying down rate in the 60s) but it only stays that low because I cope by sitting with my legs up or crossed and fidgeting a lot (I probably look crazy sitting in public). If I'm in a situation where I can't put my legs up or move around, and on bad days even when I can, my sitting heart rate can get between 100-110. My cardiologist doesn't seem to think this is abnormal for POTS.

When you say 3 or 4 hours later, do you mean after 3 or 4 hours of sitting? Or 3 or 4 hours after he stops sitting up? I would assume that if your son is in a wheelchair he can't fidget/move around much and his legs are hanging down. It would certainly make sense to me if his HR got high after a few hours of that! But if you mean that sitting up for a little while keeps his HR up for the rest of the day...I don't know, that seems like maybe it would be something else. I hope you figure it out!

[margiebee]

My heart rate can sometimes be high when I'm sitting, especially as lejones1 said. If I have to sit in one position with my feet below me without moving I definitely experience symptoms. Generally I always sit cross legged, even in chairs. This seems to help. Of course I don't know if your son could sit in this position in his wheelchair, but that could be a possible reason why its happening.

[Darlene]

i have tachycardia, especially when sleeping. i take metoprolol twice a day

[looneymom]

Lejones 1

I have seen this tachycardia happen two different ways. Yesterday, my son just was having a bad day. It was stormy all day. So we did not get to go outside. He sat in the recliner most of the day with feet up. Late in the afternoon, the tachycardia started showing up again on the blood pressure readings.

The other day, we went outside around 4pm for about 15 minutes in wheelchair. He came back in and sat down in recliner with feet up. About 7pm I took his blood pressure and the tachycardia showed up again.

The other thing that crossed my mind was that he has now been off his clonazepam for 12 days.

Maybe coming off the clonazepam is causing this change. Has this happened to anyone else?

[jknh9]

It's interesting you mention it was stormy and he was having a bad day. I have noticed that the worse the weather is (i.e. lower barometric pressure) usually the worse I feel. The weather has been miserable where I live, too, this week, and I've had a really bad week.

I also get tachy when sitting down. I will faint if I sit in one position too long without getting up or fidgeting a lot. Have you tried compression stockings? I don't know if children benefit from them but on days when I don't feel well they seem to help. I use medical-grade compression sleeves for my calves that I got at a running specialty store.

[Hope]

My heart rate can be high when I'm sitting, and then of course gets higher when I stand. It's pretty good with my meds most of the time, but sometimes the meds just aren't that affective in some instances. For instance, I have a pussy willow tree in front of my porch and when the little fuzzy things are going to seed I must avoid it. If I sit out there or have the front windows open when they are in this stage, my heart rate will go up quite a bit. I don't have to have a runny, sneezing, stuffy nose to have this reaction. This happens with some other allergens also where there are no other signs on the outside that I am reacting, just on the inside. Mind you I was tested for tree pollen and didn't react to it in the office, but my primary doc agrees with me that it is the tree pollen doing it. Over stimulation from the sunlight or noise can also make my heart rate rise. I do benefit from wearing a mask outside to block the pollen and sunglasses. Usually, an hour outside is enough for me regardless of what I do.

[margiebee]

From what I understand, coming off of a benzodiazepine can cause general tachycardia (not orthostatic) even in people without dysautonomia or POTS, so I would say that is definitely a possibility.

[Lethargic Smiles]

Without medication, my resting pulse ranges from 80 to 100 depending on the day.

[dpeeps]

Resting heart rate is average around 75-80. Standing averages about 115-120. I haven't really noticed much tachycardia while sitting, but I do get other effects while sitting such as light headedness, dizziness, and pre-syncope. Upon diagnosis, I initially debated with the doctor that I did not think that I had POTS since I have these symptoms while sitting.