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Rapid heartrate/high blood pressure after eating

For the past several years I have noticed that after eating food (which ranges from just a cup of milk to a full meal) that my heart rate and blood pressure increases significantly about 30 minutes after eating, and it lasts for about  one and 1/2 hours to two hours.  This occurs about 50% of the time after eating.  My heart rate goes from ~75 bpm up to 140 bmp (max todate), and the blood pressure goes from 130/80 up to 180/102 (max to date).  Note: I am borderline hypertensive and take 20mg of lisinopril a day. I have attempted to determine if there is a particular type of food, or food additive that might trigger the symptoms, and have noticed the symptoms always occur when I eat peanut butter or the snack crackers that are sold in vending machines, and will occassionally happen when I eat homemade macroni and cheese.  Other that these foods, I can find no relationships.  I can have a cup of milk one morning and get the symptoms, then have a cup the next day from the same gallon and have no symptoms.  I have had several tests in the hospital - stress test, sonogram of the heart, gastronomic tests - with no results.  Of course the tests were not conducted just after eating, so I was not exhibiting the symptoms.  Do you have any thoughts on what might be causing this?
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Avatar universal
After several trips to ER, seeing several specialists, and having lots of blood tests, the medical community came up with nothing.

Here's what works for me:
    . Cut saturated fat down to max 20 g/day. Poly and monounsaturated fats OK.
    . Eat baked potatoes with low fat topping several times/week (enzyme in potato lowers BP)
    . If BP and HR spike after meal, take Vit C and E, Betaine HCL, Digestive Enzyme, Beet Root, Potassium
    . Other supplements that may help - L-Arginine, Magnesium, low dose aspirin
    . I take an antacid when burping accompanies. PPIs have side effects
    . Should get doctor approval
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
Lots of sugar or wheat plus saturated fat makes problem worse, but saturated fat alone can cause my problem.
Avatar universal
Hey budgetguy, it's been 10 years, but... peanut butter, cheese and milk are all in the top-8 food allergy list.  See also my new longer post on the first page of comments.
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Avatar universal
Thanks for this forum guys. It is really helping people around.
3 years ago I had these episodes of rapid HBP (after meals and subsiding few hours later), was ignoring it at first, but it was not going away so I became worried. I did see some doctors but they were not much of help after trying the medications they prescribed. So I started digging out on the net. And I found this forum (-- thanks guys again for contributing). I came across RonChan's (see way up part of this trail) situation and followed his way of treating himself by taking the cumin seeds approach. I find it hard to chew the seeds out. So I continued searching on the net and reading some tabloids. Then I found the black seed oil benefits. Read about it and then started taking it. Then I also found along the beet root juice approach on Gulf News tabloid around the same time during that year and took it as well. Then another one came up from the net as well, the magnesium supplement that according to that reading is providing oxygen to your blood to help regulate blood flow. So took it too simultaneous with the others. Before I knew it I no longer feel the rapid HBP episodes and was recovering fast to normalcy :)
Let's help people by contributing our experiences here and  let them know what we did good to ourselves.
Helpful - 1
Avatar universal
The Pulse Test, a book by Arthur Cocoa, discusses using your increases in your pulse rate before and after eating to find hidden food allergies that do not necessarily show up with an allergy test. It was a Godsend for me to read when I first became aware of this behavior in my body after eating. It was even more important after dealing with allergies in my kids. My daughter could drink milk and have no reaction and then drink from the same (formula can) source later that day and become congested and fussy. Turns out she was allergic to the mold that develops in milk.  But that aside, obviously, on an individual account this may not seem that important... just part of the digestive stress of eating. However, my son was an example of a larger problem:  his allergies caused him to developed scar tissue in his esophagus and had to have a balloon procedure to stretch and break it as it started to create difficulties when he swallowed... particular when he ate certain foods. After an elimination diet, it turned out he was allergic to nightshades and corn. Nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and other foods in that family of plants) were fairly easy to eliminate. Corn was another story as corn starch has become a binding staple for many food manufacturers. Did you know that powdered sugar has corn starch in it?  So, ask yourself... are your meals soooo large that your body has to labor to digest them? Or might you have hidden food or mold allergies or intolerances that are worth isolating and eliminating?  Don't let the beliefs of those that deal in acute medical illnesses and their thoughts that it is "nothing" stop you from finding relief for discomforts or unneeded wear and tear on your body.  You might start with the book. I knew my pulse was saying something before I found the book.... I was married to an acute care specialist for 20 years and have noticed that there are differences in the mentality of acute care providers and those of us patients wanting to solve for chronic nuisances that can become serious over time.
Helpful - 0
19599991 tn?1494283213
  Story of my life budget guy ! Exact same thing here ! Bloke 1981 described it nicely it's reassuring. How come the last comment is from 2008 it's 2017 now.
Helpful - 1
1 Comments
Oh i see recent posts are at the bottom of the page. NM
Avatar universal
I reasoned it through, maybe you need to get your carotid arteries checked for stenosis.
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Avatar universal
Blood pressure spikes occur due to the cortisol released to control the immune response to the bacteria that ferment the contents of the meal and enter your body through the intestinal epithelial junction gaps. Reducing carb loading is suggested (Especially high GI carbs) as well as simultaneous consumption of antibacterial foods. Some of those foods are as follows:

fruit skins(Like that of berries, grapes, apples,pears,etc.), omega 3 fatty acids, flaxseeds, flax oil, fish oil, fish skin, garlic, turmeric, coconut oil, cocoa, coffee, lemons, limes, grapefruits, pineapple, vinegar, red wine (Probably due to the essence of red grape skins), hops, that one bitter chinese herb, egg whites, penicullum mold variants (Such as penicillium roqueforti commonly found in blue cheese).

Others with unknown or weaker antibacterial properties (Bacteriostatic).

Nuts, cinnamon, salt, grass fed fermented cow products(substantially higher omega 3 fat content) [cheese, sour cream, butter].
Helpful - 1
3 Comments
I would also cut out the wheat. Will explain if you desire.
OMG you just described my diet right there I eat those foods almost everyday as they are supposed to be healthy superfoods.

I guess even good things have limits ! At some point i was thinking that i was eating "too healthy" but didn't understand the process behind it. Maybe that's why i get tachies regularly and high BP after meals.
GlikeGiraffe--I believe she meant DO eat those foods ("simultaneous consumption of antibacterial foods")  I had to read the post twice to make sure I understood.  
Avatar universal
This seems to have worked for me.

I dramatically reduced the amount of saturated fat I eat and I try to keep saturated fat extremely low at dinner.  The reason I tried this was because I learned I likely had a problem digesting and  metabolizing saturated fat.  Plus I was eating a high fat diet to lose weight.  The result was massive inflammation.

I was having spikes from normal levels to 220/120 with hr >120 almost every evening.  The very day I changed my diet to more vegetables and less saturated fats, the spikes stopped.

After a week, I started having spikes again, but only to 160/100 and they lasted only about an hour.  This happened for 3 days and then I started having what I call micro spikes.  HR would jump to 100, diastolic would go up about 10 points, but systolic barely moved.  These micro spikes only lasted maybe 15 minutes from low to high and back down again.

For the last 2 days, no spikes that I noticed.

I did find a study (which I can't find again) that said in some people, the spike was caused by eating a meal high in glucose and/or fat.  The solution was to avoid them or to take vitamins C and E with the meal.  Unfortunately, I didn't write down the amount.

What I try to do is eat only vegetables for dinner and especially those high in C and E.  Some people (me) shouldn't take vitamin E supplements, so it's better to get it from food.

In 3 weeks, I have also reduced each of the bp meds I take by half and over the last few days, bp never went over 122/81.  

I also am taking several supplements and fasting a couple of days a week, but I think the 2/3 reduction in saturated fat was the key.
Helpful - 1
2 Comments
I have almost the same symptoms,
After eating any meal specially dinner, Wethersfield it's a heavy meal or even cheaper or tuna, my BP gets to 145/100 and my HR is 105.
This lasts for 1.5 to 3 hours, and I start to feel better when the burping starts, that's when things start to get normal.

I went to several doctors but I got no solution.

One of them told me that I had the helicobacter pylori, I got cured of it but it was not the reason after all.
Correction of typos.

Wether*
Heavy
Chease
Avatar universal
I spent 3+ hours in ER last night.  BP was about 120/75 and I ate 6 oz of oysters, a packaged diet dinner, and a diet drink.  It was all I ate that day and I ate about 3 pm.  By 4 pm, BP was 220/120 with heart rate at 120.

ER filled me full of meds and BP finally came down under 150/100 after about 3 hours.  I am already on meds, so these were in addition to what I normally take.

This is the hypothesis I'm working on.  I will go over it with my doc next week.

My 23andme genetics test indicates I likely have a problem producing enough digestive enzymes for digesting fat plus I have trouble metabolizing saturated fat.  That means fat isn't broken down enough to be processed by the liver and gets dumped into the blood stream along with bad bacteria, toxins, etc.

So my body goes to war against all this junk in my blood stream.  Has anyone else noticed that heartburn, burping, and gas accompanies the high BP and heart rate?

Now my body is undergoing oxidative stress and blood pressure starts going up.  At the same time, histamines are being created to fight what it sees as allergens.  I think this is why a food that normally doesn't cause a problem, suddenly does.  The histamine level in blood is already high, then you eat a food that is high in histamine, and bam - you have what appears to be an allergic reaction.

I have eaten shrimp for years and had 1 severe reaction to it a few years ago.  Same thing with Cod.

I'm throwing this out hoping that someone with some medical or strong science background might comment.  My 1st thought was taking digestive enzymes and Betaine HCL to break down food would help, but so far it doesn't appear to.

Now I'm leaning toward this being a gut problem - what is often referred to as leaky gut.  I would be curious to know how many others have heartburn, gas, burping, etc that starts about the same time as the spike in blood pressure.

I asked the ER doctor to run a histamine blood test so high histamine could be ruled in or out as possible cause - and he refused!  The only time to run this test is when you think histamine is high.  Otherwise, you just get a normal reading.
Helpful - 1
Avatar universal
Ok this is strange I noticed this past 2 months now before breakfast my bp was 146/96 then 15 minutes later it's 96/77 this happens every day
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
My blood pressure was 146/96 before breakfast 15 minutes after its 96/77 this happened every day I'm on no meds
Avatar universal
I have the same symptoms and after carefully watching the diet, i can tell it happens mostly because of the carbs/sugars.

I'm no doctor, but i understand physiology and biochemistry well enough to assume it makes perfect sense.

Adding glucose (carbs) to the cells promotes glycolysis, which in turn produces H2O as a  byproduct, meaning more water in the blood (less dense blood) and therefore a higher BP. (Hydrodynamics 101).

Sodas also contain A LOT of sodium... Which make the body retain liquid, same effect as before...

If we are already borderline hypertensive, our bodies will likely react in the wrong way to excess liquid. From this point there are 5 paths:

1) diuretics (water out)
2) A/B/C channel blockers (less cardiac usage)
3) loose weight (decrease hydrodynamic load)
4) low carb/low sodium diet (regulate H2O)
5) Nitroglycerine/NoX (loosen arteries a bit)

(An alternate for number 5 is masticating and swallowing a raw garlic, as allicin produces nitric oxide as a metabolite, which relaxes the arteries and drops 5% to 10% BP for an hour or so).

Consult the first 2 with an MD before using..

We still have no clue why the renin/angiotensin system fails or why arteries become rigid over time... The day we figure this out, we will have cured hypertension. :(
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have the same symptoms and after carefully watching the diet, i can tell it happens mostly because of the carbs/sugars.

I'm no doctor, but i understand physiology and biochemistry well enough to assume it makes perfect sense.

Adding glucose (carbs) to the cells promotes glycolysis, which in turn produces H2O as a  byproduct, meaning more water in the blood (less dense blood) and therefore a higher BP. (Hydrodynamics 101).

Sodas also contain A LOT of sodium... Which make the body retain liquid, same effect as before...

If we are already borderline hypertensive, our bodies will likely react in the wrong way to excess liquid. From this point there are 5 paths:

1) diuretics (water out)
2) A/B/C channel blockers (less cardiac usage)
3) loose weight (decrease hydrodynamic load)
4) low carb/low sodium diet (regulate H2O)
5) Nitroglycerine/NoX (loosen arteries a bit)

(An alternate for number 5 is masticating and swallowing a raw garlic, as allicin produces nitric oxide as a metabolite, which relaxes the arteries and drops 5% to 10% BP for an hour or so).

Consult the first 2 with an MD before using..

We still have no clue why the renin/angiotensin system fails or why arteries become rigid over time... The day we figure this out, we will have cured hypertension. :(
Helpful - 1
18525878 tn?1465580657
I am pleased to check all of your answers and opinions on the HR issue, I also have the same issue of HR, when I eat meals my HR rises, although I did not check it thoroughly through a machine but I can feel it beating inside my chest which normally I do not feel before meals, and I can also feel it in my throat area which is a little frightening because I feel I am gonna have a heart attack or something!!

It started 5 years ago, I had my normal dinner and took a cup of black tea with milk as I normally used to do, but that night after an hour I felt a sudden increase in my HR and it did increase with time and reached to a limit that I thought it is the time when people have heart attacks, I was about 22 at that time, it was not just increase in HR but also cold sweats, and shaking in my hands and feet and I thought that my hand and legs were about to freeze or breathless or sleepy, this effect lasted for about 3 hours and I thought I was about to die, that morning I went to doctor and he said it is not that much to be worried about and told me that I was still young to have a heart disease or something, and he took it lightly, but the following days my stomach was in bad order and it lasted about 3 months, not the HR but the stomach condition.

One thing I was sure that my HR was directly related to the stomach condition and yes it is because my HR is constant and normal but sometimes and yes sometimes after having meals I feel my heart beat rapid, and even I can hear it outside my chest and also in my neck region.

After so much research on the web I concluded that eating certain foods may increase HR which includes coffee, rice, salty or spicy foods, soda, energy drinks etc. and people this is absolutely right because after reading this I just monitored my food intake and yes whenever I ate spicy foods, rice, energy drinks and soda, it increased my HR.

Through my experience I assume that:
1- Do not eat heavy meals on an empty stomach.
2- Do not drink after having meals especially soda or even water.
3- Always drink water before eating and only a half glass.
4- Do not eat spicy, salty or sugary food all at once.
5- Do not eat a combination of rice + soda.
6- Do not use energy drinks or even soda on empty stomach.
7- Even if you are starving to death, do not eat with your stomach full but a little, you can eat after a short break of 30 minutes or an hour if you are still feeling hunger.
8- Ad I am a Muslim so I will suggest you all to follow a famous saying of our Prophet MOHAMMAD S.A.W, which is:

"Do divide your stomach into three parts, 1st for food, 2nd for water and 3rd for water" which means that do not eat much when your stomach does not find any space for digestion but eat less as much as you can.
9- Always drink water even when you feel hungry, yes it is not a typing mistake when you feel hungry and you drink water will somehow cover your stomach's space and will decrease your hunger and your food intake.

Why I suggested all these things to follow related to stomach but not to heart directly? Because our digestion has a high impact on our HR, when we eat heavy meals or energetic meals, the stomach has to do hard work, not only the stomach but the whole body and since HEART is the main organ of pumping blood and supply then certainly it has to pay the price, i.e. to supply as much blood as it can, so what will happen? It will beat as fast as it can to supply more and more blood, which will increase HR and BP.

CONCLUSION!! When something like this occurs, do not get panic because panicking increases HR even more and the effect seems as a heart attack which is not even close to it. Consider this as a normal activity of the body which happens to some people who are normal including me and most importantly eat less as much as you can, drink water and avoid salty, spicy food and especially soda and energy drinks.
Be happy guys, enjoy every second of your life, do not waste it worrying about issues which are not worth to be worried about... :) hope it helps!!

  
Helpful - 1
2 Comments
a little correction here, "Do divide your stomach into 3 parts, 1st for food, 2nd for water and 3rd for air"
One thing to add, do check your sleeping routine, if it is disturbed then you will have this impact as doubled, so try to sleep at least 7 hours
Avatar universal
I have same problem. Then i take a beta blocker for the heart rate of 162, and 20mg. Lasix for the swelling in stomach. I fill up with fluid. Doesnt help all the time. Vince
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Avatar universal
Had similar systems and discovered the I was caffeine intolerant. No caffeine problem solved
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Avatar universal
blood type diet addresses this.  eating right 4 your type explains a lot about how what you eat effects a lot in your body. you metabolize food differently than other blood types.  I am o positive and cannot eat corn or wheat gluten or vinegar.  When I do, I get the same symptoms as you do.  Its just how you metabolize food.  heres a link to the website for dr dadamo, who was one of the pioneers of the diet.  it works.
http://www.4yourtype.com/?gclid=CJ3tu6bGoskCFYhefgodYpwPZQ
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Avatar universal
You may be intolerant to some foods that create this high pulse rate. Search the Pulse Test by Arthur Coca which  is a pdf public domain material. Everything is free and the method consist of noting the pulse before eating, 3 times after at 30mn, 60mn and 90m. If it raises more than 16 pulses, you are intolerant to this food.
You are welcome :)
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Do you stand during any of this?  Some of the symptoms sound like a form of autonomic dysfunction, called POTS.   It is where, when standing, your hear rate will go tachy after some time.  Secondly, on some forms you bp will drop, but on some forms it will stay stationary or it will elevate.  I am not saying this is it, but it may be worth looking into.  
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Avatar universal
Yes, and rarely do doctors consider doing the test.  But, I know anecdotaly of people who were told it was anxiety, but they truly had a serious disorder.-  It is relatively new as a diagnosis and many doctors still do not know much about it.  
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Avatar universal
I am symptom free after taking Heathers tummy tamers since last two days. Prior to that for 3 weeks it was hell with high bp and pulse after eating even a small meal. I hope this helps. I feel for everyone who is going through this. Don't panic. Try this and hope it helps.
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Avatar universal
I just want to say, thank you even though it is now the year 2015, I found that I have eaten a lot of these thing which may have had an effect on my sudden rise in BP and rapid heartbeats out of nowhere!
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Avatar universal
interesting thing about the vagus nerve and its correlation to the heart rate and increased blood pressure.  I had a vagotomy and have experienced major heart increase and higher blood pressure.  Mine happens immediately as I only have 1/3 of a stomach.  I am now on benazepril as well as the beta blocker metoprolol.   It helps but is still not perfect.
Helpful - 1
Avatar universal
Usually at dinner my BP hit 150/80. One time, I noticed my BP dropped to 130/80 after dinner. I recalled what I consumed for the whole day. The only difference is Yakult Live Lactobacillus casei. I then research its effect on blood pressure. Yakult has an effect in reduction of BP. Now I always consume Yakult.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Folks, I'm a big oldschool bikerman, mechanic, farmer and people think I'm sort of a tough guy, but I am literally crying right now, to read your posts and to know, finally, that I am not alone in this! It's funny how I never felt fear when facing down armed men, not even any of the times when I was shot (6), but when this happens, I have a very real sense of my own mortality. Doctors have not been of help, not communicative, dismissive, even derisive at times. A 30+ year RN I've known forever has wrung her heart out trying to figure this out and it has been beyond even her knowledge.
To read your posts, to feel what you and I have been through, to see so many who have suffered for so long (30 years, for myself with this) and to see that some of you have found ways to mitigate the symptoms is just about the most wonderful thing I have seen since my kids were born and the first engine I built coughed to life. I really, honestly wanna bearhug every one of you! Brotherly love, Y'All!
Helpful - 2
1 Comments
Were you able to get yours figured out?  I'm only 6 months into my journey and still no answers.  God bless you
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