Heart skipping/jumping just as falling asleep

[LouiseMon12]

As the title says, for the past few weeks, when I fall asleep, I feel my heart almost slow then suddenly does a big thump which wakes me up. It makes falling asleep really difficult. I've also been having palpitations, mainly after a meal/alcohol and while my resting heart rate is 75 bpm, it has been getting up to 90 sometimes.

The gp ran some bloods which shows I'm anemic (Hb 10, ferritin 12) so I started on iron although not feeling any better yet (after started on them 3 weeks ago).

In addition to the above, I've also been feeling tired and breathlessness on and off during the day.

All other blood tests (thyroid etc) normal. Waiting on ECG etc now.

Has anyone experienced this issue and could it be due to anemia/low ferritin? I'm starting to panic that something is wrong with my heart. I'm 43, slim, active.

Yes it could definitely be caused by anemia/low ferritin.

They are called ectopic beats and are harmless. I get an extreme version only them where I get three in a row every minute for hours at a time. I've had all the cardio tests and have nothing wrong. My cardiologist says that while they feel scary they are not dangerous.

Definitely linked to stress and anxiety for me. Worth mentioning to your GP when you next see them but nothing to worry about for now.

By the way pulse of 90 is totally normal. Mine goes to 150+ when I have tachycardia. A normal pulse rate is 60 to 100.

Also can be linked to caffeine or nicotine. But not dangerous.

@Notmanyleftnow I don't smoke or drink coffee/tea.

@Foxgloverr thank you, I had heard of ectopic. But it worries me when it happens when I fall asleep, could it have something to do with low bp when sleeping? I have low bp lately (103/54), something else which I wonder is due to low ferritin/anemia?

I asked the cardiologist that as I have low blood pressure (90/50 to 100/60) and he said no as it's to do with the heart's electrical circuits and not blood pressure.

He also said its more noticeable when you're lying down as your heart is closer to your chest wall. And of course when you're going to sleep you're not distracted by other things so it's more noticeable.

I have to say that even though I've been thoroughly checked out and reassured it's still a scary feeling and I don't like it. But concentrating on it or monitoring it (or your pulse or heartrate) is only going to make it more noticeable.

I know it's easier said than done but be reassured that it's normal and not dangerous at all.

Have a look at this video by a cardiologist talking about them. He's very reassuring.

https://www.youtube.com/live/-i3b-ureBxs?si=KIU-B7A4B5EoG17v

@Foxgloverr do you know why your BP is low and was he worried about the diastolic being lower than 60? Mine struggles on most days to get higher than 60.

Thank you for the video link, I will make sure I watch it

@LouiseMon12 eat more salt to help with BP. Ectopic come and go. I've had them for 14years and I'm kind of used to them now.

Chocolate and sugar also trigger them for me. Also sugar makes my heart race and my BP drops/ I feel lightheaded.

You'll be fine.

Take the iron every other day one tablet with a vitamin C tablet on an empty stomach and deal with the heavy periods with mirena coil/ transexamic acid.

No I've always had low blood pressure, so do my Mum, grandmother and daughter. The only concern was when I was pregnant and it got down to 60/30!

@Ilovelowry do ectopics feel like a missed beat, then a big thump? What I don't understand is why I only feel this when I'm drifting to sleep, it doesn't happen when I'm lying down reading a book (i.e.relaxed), nor during the day.

Can low ferritin really do this? I should also say I feel lightheaded sometimes, mainly as the day goes on

That's exactly what it's like. It's so normal honestly.

The reason you feel it more at bedtime is because your brain can notice them more and focus on them as it isn't otherwise occupied. Just ignore it and go to sleep. You'll be fine.

Also I'm sure low ferritin does this. Also anxiety and stimulants such as caffeine and sugar. Mine have never been worse than after a handful of quality street.

Also try slowing your breathing, using 4-7-8 breathing for example. This is supposed to help with ectopics. Also square breathing is another. I try to do this for a few minutes a few times per day to help.

Sounds like a fairly typical description of ectopics. Bet it is happening during the day too, it's just that a) when we're about to sleep there's nothing else going on to distract us so they're more obvious and b) if your slim and tend to lie on your left side, it can be much easier to feel your heartbeat (particularly when you breathe out). The physiology of the 'big thump' is mildly interesting - after the ectopic beat the heart muscle has a slightly longer refractory (rest) period before the next beat so it fills up with more blood and then the next (normal) beat feels huge.

That’s interesting because I get this and mainly if I lie on my left! I’ve actually stopped lying on my left when trying to go to sleep because it will often happen. I’m slim too.

I’ve had a 48 hour tape and they told me they could see them but it was normal. They feel scary though. One of my friends gets it too and her tape was also normal.

Yes - ectopics. I used to get this all the time - in particular when falling asleep. I used to dread going to bed. I had all sorts of tests and everything seemed fine. Particularly bad in my late 30. 10 years later they have mainly gone away.

@Newmeagain that's so interesting to hear and that's how I feel about going to bed at the moment. Do you think low ferritin/low Hb can cause this? I also because I've also been feeling breathless lately, as well as lightheaded, all of which I think are symptoms of low ferritin. I think it's all related as my palpitations falling asleep have been coinciding with these other symptoms

@Newmeagain that's so interesting to hear and that's how I feel about going to bed at the moment. Do you think low ferritin/low Hb can cause this? I also because I've also been feeling breathless lately, as well as lightheaded, all of which I think are symptoms of low ferritin. I think it's all related as my palpitations falling asleep have been coinciding with these other symptoms

Yes I'm very familiar with ectopic heartbeats - missed beats, thumps and so on. Alarmed me at first but when I read they are harmless I just sort of 'observe'. I was getting them at night in bed too (I think more noticeable then) but also at other times, just easier not to notice as I was busy with other things.

When I gave up wheat/gluten (due to gut issues) I realised 95% of the ectopics stopped. I hardly get them at all now! I can get them from histamine reactions but usually I keep that fairly well-contained.

Certainly low ferritin won't be helping, that can cause breathlessness as well as fatigue.

I had this regularly when I was peri menopausal, 15 years ago though when they didn't call it peri menopause, I just felt awful for two weeks of every month when my estrogen levels were at their lowest.

Interesting. A lot of people I know getting this are late 30s/40.

@Rina66 can I ask what age you were when you had this and was it also affecting you falling asleep?

I was 43 @LouiseMon12 and yes it was always as I was drifting off, whether I was in bed or on the sofa! I had an ECG, nothing was found, my blood pressure has always been low, so no change there either. It wasn't until I started listening to Louise Newson podcasts in the lockdown that I put all the pieces together.

@LouiseMon12 I am not sure - my iron is a bit low at the moment but I haven’t been getting symptoms. It’s a mystery!

I've been having weird thumps while lying in bed at night for about a year but I've been convinced that it was to do with trapped wind! It almost feels like my heart 'holds its breath' for a few seconds and then there's a thud, or occasionally two or three, really high up, almost in my throat. I've always had low ferritin so that makes sense.

This thread has reassured me. This has been happening to me too, it's very scary. I've had a couple of days where my heart rate has struggled to get above 52bpm with horrible symptoms.