Heart rate vs seizure

Welcome to the Coping With Epilepsy Forums

Welcome to the Coping With Epilepsy forums - a peer support community for folks dealing (directly or indirectly) with seizure disorders. You can visit the forum page to see the list of forum nodes (categories/rooms) for topics.

Please have a look around and if you like what you see, please consider registering an account and joining the discussions. When you register an account and log in, you may enjoy additional benefits including no ads, access to members only (ie. private) forum nodes and more. Registering an account is free - you have nothing to lose!

Rae1889

Veteran
Messages
2,655
Reaction score
9
Points
163
Hello,
just thought i'd share another tid-bit that i noticed.

I have a heart rate watch that i wear while excersicing. last night i didnt take it off after my jog, and shortly after i was relaxed on the couch and had a seizure. Simple partial first *ears rang, metal taste again* and i noticed my alarm on my watch going off. It's set to alarm at less than 60bpm and more than 140bpm.

the reading said 58 and dropping. i noticed the taste and noise. then I had an absence, and straight into a tonic clonic. My fiance recorded my heart rate during or after the TC as highest at 174bpm. He couldnt recall when he looked at the watch.

is this normal? I knwo 180 bpm is red line, and means your heart can stop...*not sure if that is true*

i woke up with my heart pounding and almost painful.
 
Unfortunately, the heart beats all over the place in seizures. Brachyardia (low heart rate) and Tachycardia (high heart rate) is a well established phenomenon occurring often in seizures, either before, during and/or after and in any combo. The numbers are pretty scary, and would probably be a bigger issue if you were old and had other heart problems. (Though it's always a good idea to check with your doctor if you're worried). I'm not sure enough research has been done about long-term effects on the heart, but I guess it's no big deal during the individual seizures.
 
By the way, you might try having a quick sip of orange juice right after your jog (or any similar exercise). For some people low blood sugar can also bring on low blood pressure, and either or both of those can be seizure triggers.

It might be worth keeping the heart rate watch turned on so that you can keep track of your heartbeat during any other seizures, and also in resting moments. If you keep a record, you can show your doctor for feedback.
 
I never had issues with my heart. But has anyone ever noticed their heart rate rise or fall before a seizure happens? sort of a aura type event? i'm leaving my watch on and will see if it happens again. but i got to get a better watch then what i have.
Any suggestions?
waht about those watches *i see them on tv etc* that measures your blood sugar etc?
 
My heart rate & breathing always increase during a seizure. I was told that was very normal.

Quite often I try to fight the seizure by taking long deep breaths, holding it, then trying to let it out as slow as I can. It doesn't always make the seizure feel any less intense but it often lessens the post-ictal effects which is good.
 
I went to the ER earlier this month and my friend Rachel noticed on the machines that when I had a real short CP maybe 30sec that my O2 would go way down then back up. I think during my seizures, the long CPs my heart rate goes up and I don't breath well at all.

I do have a heart condition called Tachycardia which can make your heart go as fast as 300 bpm but mine only would go up to 135bpm during a Tachycardia episode.
It gets painful and hard to breath when it goes that fast but meds can slow it down within 10min or less (Propranolol) or Ativan which they gave me and it works real fast.

Take care,
Crystal
 
Back
Top Bottom