Why Your Heart Races and You Feel Anxiety After a Big Meal
It may happen soon after a big meal or a few hours after: a racing heart well over 100 beats per minute and lots of anxiety.
You may have connected the dots early on, or it may have taken awhile, but you now know it for sure:
There is something about eating a heavy meal – whether carb loaded or fat rich – that ridiculously speeds up your pulse and leaves you full of anxiety.
Initially, the anxiety is not from worrying why your heart rate is going at warp speed. In fact, you typically begin feeling anxious but do not know why.
And then you realize that your heart is speeding away like a freight train.
These two symptoms are quite noticeable you’re at rest, such as using a computer or watching TV.
And not long before, you had devoured a ton of carbs. Maybe there was some fat in there too.
Postprandial Tachycardia: Heart Races Soon After Eating a Lot of Food
“Postprandial tachycardia simply means a rapid heart rate after eating,” says Morton Tavel, MD, Clinical Professor Emeritus of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, and author of “Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks: A PHYSICIAN’S ADVICE.”
Dr. Tavel explains, “The type of ‘tachycardia’ described is usually called ‘sinus tachycardia,’ which refers to the ordinary type of rapid heart rates that exceed 100 beats/minute and accompanies such mundane activities as exercise and anxiety.
“After eating a meal, the heart rate may increase a bit in response to the stress imposed by a large meal because digestion demands about a 30% increase of cardiac output, but seldom does the heart rate rise to exceed 100/min.”
Heart Rate Exceeds 100 Beats Per Minute After Eating a Heavy Meal
However, for some individuals, their heart rate soars over 100, even 120 beats per minute.
Are these out of shape, sedentary people who smoke and drink and wouldn’t know a green salad if it smacked them in the face?
Actually, according to a Fitbit thread, there’s a lot of postprandial tachycardia going around among avid exercisers – and well over a hundred beats a minute.
It’s not that exercise enthusiasts are prone to this situation.
But rather, they are more likely to be very aware of what’s going on with their bodies – more in tune with their vitals – than would be a person who’s not health-conscious. They are more likely to notice something unusual.
In addition to the pulse speeding up to conduct the work of digestion, a few other things are going on.
When you eat a lot at one sitting, there’s usually a high amount of carbs. A lot of calories at once, regardless of macronutrient ratios, will make the heart work harder to support the digestive process.
But a whopping slug of carbohydrates will shoot up the blood sugar levels. This triggers insulin production from the pancreas to shuttle the blood sugar (glucose) to muscle cells – for their fuel.
The pancreas may overreact to a big meal by secreting too much insulin. This results in glucose levels that are lower than desirable.
For some individuals, even fitness enthusiasts, their glucose level may dip low enough to change the hormonal environment of the body.
Stress hormones are released. These fire up the sympathetic nervous system. This is the same system that’s stimulated when you’re faced with a perceived threat: the fight or flight response.
- The “threat” may be a true threat such as hearing a window in your house suddenly shatter in the middle of the night.
- Or, it may be your boss at work – who has it in for you – summoning you to his office.
When the body shifts into fight or flight mode, the heart rate accelerates, senses are heightened, blood pressure rises and there’s that edgy feeling of suspense.
These responses help prepare the body for a fight or escape from danger.
This cascade of hormonal reactions to the initial insult of all that blood sugar result in two very noticeable symptoms: a very elevated heart rate and an edge-of-the-seat anxiety.
What to Do if Big Meals Make Your Heart Race Like a Thoroughbred
“It is possible that in rare instances, meals may trigger ‘ectopic’ tachycardias, which are abnormal forms of heart rhythm disorders,” says Dr. Tavel.
“And if heart rates are excessively fast, say, greater than 120, one should seek specialized care from a physician versed in cardiac conditions.”
Next time your heart rate blasts out of orbit after chowing down a large amount of food, calmly feel your pulse.
Though it’s very fast, is it a steady fast or does it seem to be erratic and unable to make up its mind?
Other symptoms such as faintness or chest pain?
A steady pulse in the absence of other physical symptoms is more reassuring than an erratic heartbeat, especially with other symptoms.
Nevertheless, even if your heart rate gradually calms down in a predictable way at some point after eating, you should mention this to a cardiologist just to be sure you are doing quite fine.
The anxiety, though caused by the activation of the sympathetic nervous system, is also reinforced by the realization that your heart rate is way over 100.
Next time you’re in the mood to gorge on more food than you need at one sitting, practice portion control.
Dr. Tavel’s medical research includes over 125 publications, editorials and book reviews in peer-reviewed national medical journals. He was formerly director of the cardiac rehabilitation program at St. Vincent Hospital in Indiana. mortontavel.com
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Freepik.com
Source: community.fitbit.com/t5/Eat-Well/HR-users-Increased-heart-rate-after-eating/td-p/927029
Different Kinds of Spasticity in Multiple Sclerosis
The spasticity of multiple sclerosis doesn’t come in just one flavor.
MS is an autuimmune disease involving the damage of the protective myelin sheath around nerve fibers and cells in the spinal cord and brain.
When this sheath is damaged, a disruption of nerve signals between the brain and muscles results.
Over time, the damage can be permanent (scarring or sclerosis) and in multiple areas involving the nervous system.
The disease, however, may also go into remission for very long periods, during which the patient can do hard gym workouts, do 10K’s and even go ice climbing.
One of the symptoms of MS is a prolonged contraction of muscles. This is called spasticity.
Different Ways MS Spasticity Presents
“Spasticity can come in a ‘variety of flavors’ with MS,” says Mitzi J. Williams, MD, clinical neurologist with Morehouse School of Medicine, an MS specialist and clinical advisor for the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation.
Dr. Williams explains, “People can have tightness of the muscles that feels like a rubber band, cramping like ‘Charlie horses, or a spasm that can actually make the extremity jerk or kick.
“Sometimes they can also have extensor or flexor spasms where the extremity will get ‘stuck’ in a cramp when they try to flex or extend it.
“Example, someone will try to kick their leg out [such as extending it while in an airplane seat], and it will go into a spasm, and the leg will stay straight and take seconds to minutes to relax.
“Clonus is a severe form of spasticity where the muscles usually of the foot can jerk involuntarily when placed in certain positions.
“This is usually alleviated when they change the position of the foot.”
How to Treat Spasticity from MS
Dr. Williams exlains, “Spasticity can be treated in a variety of ways. You can add regular stretching including yoga into your daily routine.”
Freepik.com, katemangostar
“Also, you can work with you doctor to see if physical therapy or medications would be of benefit to help the symptoms.
“It is also important to be aware that certain conditions like extremes of temperature, fever or infection, and fatigue can temporarily make spasticity worse.”
Dr. Williams is author of “MS Made Simple: The Essential Guide to Understanding Your Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosis.” She is a member of the American Academy of Neurology.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Shutterstock/Lightspring
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Can Sleep Apnea Cause Chest Pain at Night?
If you’re having chest pain at night in bed, it sure would be more reassuring to know it’s from sleep apnea than a heart attack or heart disease.
Those who’ve never been tested for sleep apnea may by lying there, feeling the pain in their chest, trying to come up with less serious explanations than a bad heart.
One of those that might cross their mind is sleep apnea. It causes immediate symptoms such as gasping for breath overnight, as witnessed by others, as well as being awakened repeatedly by a choking sensation.
“Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is caused by complete or partial obstructions of one’s upper airway — there are repetitive episodes of shallow or stopped breathing during sleep, correlating with reductions of blood oxygen saturation,” says Morton Tavel, MD, Clinical Professor Emeritus of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, and author of “Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks: A PHYSICIAN’S ADVICE.”
“These episodes of decreased breathing, called apneas (literally, ‘without breath’), typically last 20 to 40 seconds. OSA is almost always accompanied by snoring.
“Resulting symptoms during the daytime consist of excessive sleepiness and fatigue.”
In addition to those, the person with untreated OSA may suffer from irritability, impaired concentration and frequent napping that fails to recharge him – or her.
Morning headaches that vanish soon after getting up for the day are another well-documented symptom of untreated sleep apnea.
But can OSA cause chest pain, whether during the day or night?
©Lorra Garrick
“Individuals suffering from this disorder are often obese, have high blood pressure and commonly have heart disease,” continues Dr. Tavel.
“Although the heart disease, in itself, may cause chest pain described as angina, the OSA is not associated with this symptom.”
A paper in Mayo Clinic Proceedings (Loui et al, March 1994) describes the case of three obese people who were experiencing chest pain at night (and during the day though less prominently) – along with episodic shortness of breath and perceived heart palpitations.
A sleep study revealed severe OSA in all three of these subjects. But a catheter angiogram of their coronary arteries revealed less obstructive plaque buildup as would be expected for the degree of their reported symptoms.
The study authors could only conclude that when patients report chest pain, their doctor should pursue the possibility of sleep apnea by inquiring if the patient snores and suffers from excessive daytime grogginess.
The authors were not able to definitively affirm that untreated OSA directly causes chest pain.
Remember, the patients were obese and already had plaque buildup. The possibility that acid reflex overnight or during the day, as the cause of the chest pain, was not investigated.
Chest Pain and Untreated Sleep Apnea
• Untreated OSA is a risk factor for problems with the heart that can cause chest pain: coronary artery disease, chronic heart failure and atrial fibrillation.
• Thus, it wouldn’t be surprising if someone with bouts of nighttime chest pain is found to have both OSA and one of the three cardiac conditions mentioned above.
• Though obesity is a major risk factor for OSA, it’s not the only risk factor. This is why thin people, including women, can have this often misdiagnosed condition.
For example, a naturally small airway, excess pharyngeal tissue and/or large tongue base can cause an obstruction during sleep, when these tissues are very relaxed, leading to apnea.
• The episodes of ceased breathing overnight cause internal disruptions such as reduced blood oxygen and increased heart rate and blood pressure, but these would not cause chest pain.
Dr. Tavel’s medical research includes over 125 publications, editorials and book reviews in peer-reviewed national medical journals. He was formerly director of the cardiac rehabilitation program at St. Vincent Hospital in Indiana. mortontavel.com
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Shutterstock/airdone
Source: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8133662
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