Momentary increase in heart rate upon standing

[potatolover]

Hi, I'm a 26 year old male. The past several months I've been having an issue when standing up. About 10-20 seconds after standing up my heart rate increases for about 5 seconds before settling down. During those 5 seconds I also hear blood rushing through my head pretty loudly and it feels like it is uncomfortable to stay upright. After a few seconds it goes away and I am totally fine. This sensation is much worse at night and almost unnoticeable during the morning.. Upon taking my blood pressure, the systolic pressure seems to go up somewhat (~10 mmHG). That too settles down once it passes, though it may just be flukes in readings..I am unsure. I have been taking atenolol 25mg for a few years now, but I've cut the pill in half and have been on that for close to 6 weeks now. No significant rise in BP has been documented as a result.

I have read it could be POTS, orthostatic hypertension or other arrhythmia, and I've read it could be a valve leak, But I don't think so as it is so quick to pass.

I have pretty crippling anxiety, and over the past couple weeks I randomly become anxious about my heart. (I had an episode close to 5 years ago where I went to the ER because I thought I was having a heart attack, when it was just an anxiety attack). I had a stress test, echocardiogram and I even wore a heart monitor. Aside from being diagnosed with PVCs, everything came back fine. I had these tests done because my father had a heart attack when he was 25 and triple bypass in his early 30s, so it needed to be ruled out.

I'm thinking a lot of it is my anxiety, but not all of it. The increase in heart rate was happening before my anxiety was triggered and I didn't think much of it.

I am a full time student, currently unemployed and living off of student loans. So if I wanted to get these tests done again I would  be paying out of pocket. Researching the cost of these tests show that I won't be able to afford even one.

I'm afraid and worried and it has been affecting my daily life for the past two weeks. Any insight will help.

[Clueless999]

Hello there,

I notice I have similar symptoms, but mine are more pronounced. I did my own simple tilt table test at home ( lay down for 15 min, took BP, HR readings on a simple home BP monitor... then stood up, leaning on the wall, and took measurements again)
This is what i scored..
Rest: 115/75  HR 72

Stand up 115 / 85  HR 105...... then it stabilises at around 115/85 HR 90-95 after a while (5-8 mins).

I'm curious if this is POTS, as i feel nothing in terms of feeling faint, giddy, etc. I never have had any such feeling of faintness when standing up. Is this POTS or is it a normal reading, just that my reaction is a little stronger than other people. I got an ECG done recently, and that was normal.

Thank you all.. Any help is greatly appreciated! :)

[Kkruse1611]

I have POTS. It is diagnosed by an increase of 30 beats per minute upon standing. Don't buy the anxiety crap. I was told that for months before I was diagnosed. Pots is a form of dysautonomia which means it is an autonomic dysfunction and can mimic anxiety symptoms.

[Thefibber]

If your heart rate increases more than 10 bum. Upon standing you could be dehydrated.  Also, low iron can cause these issues. Have your dr. Ck. iron and ferritin levels.

[itdood]

It's supposed to increase, and your BP is supposed to go up when you stand.  

It's totally normal, and necessary to keep us from passing out when we stand.  It's a rather unique issue for humans because we walk upright and have large brains.

Perhaps you're just noticing it for the first time and hyper monitoring it?