Fast Heart Rate After Drinking Alcohol

39yr old male - this has been happening to me for about 6-months. First time I was rather drunk one night (beer & rum/cokes), the next morning had a cup of coffee, and about 1-hr later thought I was having a heart attack. Went to an emergency clinic - EKG, etc. OK, dr thought it might be a stomach issue or just too much too drink. I haven't been that drunk since, but:

Now even after 2-3 beers, like clockwork I'll wake-up 4-5hrs later (not going to bed drunk or barley buzzed and plenty of water) with high heart rate, then breathing difficulties for about 90-120 minutes. It is truly becoming a most aweful experience to the point I'm afraid to ever drink again. I went to the dr., EKG, Echocardiogram, stress-test (treadmill) and blood work, ALL EXCELLENT. I'm losing my mind trying to figure out what is going on. Been drinking on weekends since college - maybe 8 drinks over 2 or 3-nights, and NEVER had any issues - till about 6-months ago. Don't smoke, high activity level, no weight issues etc. Dr. put me on prilosec (stops acid production in stomach) thinking it might help....it hasn't.

Thought alcohol might be triggering an existing condition, but after reading this thread - seems that it's definitely something else. Please let us know if the thyroid medicine or magnesium supplements stop this madness! This only happens after drinking - and seems to occur almost every time now. Also, it seems I have heart pains and discomfort the day after these events too. Coffee the day after also seems to compound the heart area discomfort.

I'm glad to see others who have experienced this. People usually look at me like I'm crazy when I mention this happens to me.
I do have issues with anxiety. But the fast heartrate is clearly alcohol related. I drink water before going to bed, try to stop drinking well before going to bed. That only results in the fast heart rate starting about an hour after I fall asleep vs. 4 hours later. It is worse if I've had sugary alcohol drinks. I stick to lite beer but if I get to the 4 or 5 range it will happen. It has got to the point I don't want to drink anymore. I feel like it's yet another thing I have to give up. We are not big drinkers (((anymore))) but I'd still like to have the occassional few drinks. I used to drink up to 8 sometimes more in my younger years. What has changed? Have I damaged my body to where it can't tolerate alcohol anymore?
I have to put so much thought into drinking a few beers then of course worrying about how it will affect me that it's not enjoyable so why bother?
I have not mentioned it to my Dr. He really frowns upon drinking. I've mentioned heart "skipping" , "palpitations" etc. because I do experience those sometimes. I get my routine physical EKG, chest x-ray, blood work etc. He doesn't think anything is wrong with my heart. I know if I mention the racing with alcohol he'll tell me not to drink. I've got the alcohol speech from him back when I told him I'd drink 6 to 8 beers.

Also, I have low thyroid and anxiety issues. I get hangovers very easily too. I have no idea how I used to drink as much as did! I'm 31 (almost 32)

I'm glad to see this is a common occurence, and a lot of what has been said is linked.
When you drink your blood gets thinner, same with when you take ibuprofen/pain killers. Therefor your heart can pump the blood a lot faster, which can lead to higher blood pressure. Not to mention dehydration has a HUGE effect on the heart, and even on your heart rate. In order for your body to detoxify itself it needs to push the alcohol out through the bloodstream, through digestion, and through your pores (hence symptoms of a hangover).

It all makes a lot of sense, and can by amplified by your mood and caffeine intake, also what you consume the day of and day after drinking.

When I drink I am fine until night, as with many of you. My heart is racing, my body feels irritable, I'm constantly peeing...and then I wake up to a fast heart rate plus a few other symptoms. As the day goes on my heart rate continues to slow down, and the straining in my hands (where they make a fist because of high heart rate) goes down.
Monitor how much you drink! Do not wake up the following morning and immediately drink a cup of coffee. Drink water and if you absolutely must eat, have fruit. Let your body get rid of the poison!

18, otherwise healthy, also have a fast and pounding heart after drinking (Though usually straight after, as opposed to waking up)

One thing Id add is that it seems to not just be alcohol which causes it - I used to smoke Marjuana fairly regualrly (once of twice a week until for a few months until recently) and it gave a similar effect, though much much worse - heart was pounding and as people have said felt like it was about to explode, and the first time it happened bpm was well over 150, terrifying. Managed to get to sleep but even hours later when I woke up it was the same. This happened on a couple of occaisons since, until I gave up smoking the stuff for that reason.

Now im starting to find alcohol has the same effect - it's nowhere near as bad but still scary. I've already had to stop hanging out with my smoking friends, and im about to go to university - I don't want to not be able to drink there!

Also, like someone said I often feel better when totally hammered than after 3 or 4 drinks - though maybe I jsut become unaware of my heart rate.

Also, another worryign thing is taht since they have started I've been having chest pains and general fatigue. I've seen two doctors, first of whom put it down to panic attacks, and the second gave me ranitadine (Thought the chest pains might be a result of stomach acid I guess) though he asked me to see him again after my EKG which came out fine.

I guess one encouraging thing is that having read the 15 odd pages on this it doesn't seem like anyone has been seriously harmed by the heightened heart rates - no heart attacks ect (touch wood), and it's sort of good to see it seems to be a kinda common problem.

So how do you explain this happening after one drink?

I do have a automatic blood pressure cuff with a digital readout for both the blood pressure and pulse. It also lets me know if I have an irregular heartbeat. I too have this same problem with the pounding elevated heart beat about 4 hours after drinking alcohol, and have had it for about a year now. I had an episode last night but this was slightly different because instead of being asleep when it happened, it happened when I was reading in bed. I can't say that it started all of a sudden, I think the pounding just became more and more pronounced until I was uncomfortably aware of it. I only had exactly 5 ounces of a Cabernet/Merlot from Chile. I heard it is good for your heart and I am a 41 year old female who is 5.5 and 3/4 and weighs 155 lbs. My normal blood pressure runs between 115 - 125/75 - 80 with a pulse between 68 - 75. The day after the event my blood pressure is 122/78 with my pulse at 75. I took my bloodpressure and pulse 3 different times during the event. I used both arms to make sure I was getting as accurate as possible. My bloodpressure was 95/59 with 84 pulse, 98/59 with 92 pulse rate and 94/59 with 86 pulse. I found it interesting that the bottom number didn't seem to vary at all. I used to have a really low blood pressure(80/60) but that has changed in the last couple of years. I have had all the heart checks (several EKGs, heart stress test, holter monitor) and all came back very normal and very healthy! I have found that the heart pounding is not really as fast as it actually feels. It does help to actually take your pulse because it is scary and can make you feel better to realize it's not as bad as you think. I used to get scared during this episodes but now that I know my heart is strong I don't have anymore panic and am more curious as to why and what can be done to correct it. I have tried taking magnesium on the days that I might have some alcohol and that does help some but doesn't cure it. I don't drink anything during the day but water. I keep a glass beside me at all time. I also consume 2 glasses of water for every glass of wine but find that while it might help a little it doesn't cure it. I don't drink more than 3 - 4 glasses of wine in a single day and I usually only have wine on date night with my husband which is only once every 2 weeks. I am doing as much research on this as I can because I make fruit wines and my husband and I wanted to start a winery when we retire. Not being able to taste the wine becomes a hardship. I have noticed something similar when I eat certain foods. Dairy products seem to cause it like yogurt and milk. The pounding isn't nearly as bad when it happens because of food as it is with alcohol but is still present. My thryoid does run on the low side(or high side being that it is the opposite) of normal but not enough for a doctor to treat me with thyroid pills although I haven't had a test in over a year. I do have heart palpitations as well on occasion. Sometimes during this event with the pounding heart and most often they are more frequent during the night. I think I may be pre-menopausal. My estrogen levels did come back low. I don't drink any caffeine. Caffeine seemed to cause some of the same problems but more caused a feeling like my chest was heavy with increased palps so I cut out any caffeine. I quit smoking a year ago. I drank heavily for about a year, 10 years ago but drink very little now. Sorry for the long post but I know there is a doctor out there that is looking for answers so I wanted to give as much information as possible. I will keep track of this post because I would love to find out a solution. Those that took thyroid and seem to be helped, is it still working? Try some red wine (which seems to be the worst) and let us know! :-)

Carol

Hi Carol, thanks for providing so much information! Don't apologize for the long post, I think it was very helpful so that's exactly what we need. I really appreciate it.

I've been doing a little more research to see if I could put my experiences with what others have come up with. With my low blood pressure during this event I ruled out tyramine intolerance as that causes a high blood pressure. I haven't been able to test for sugar during an event that is caused by alcohol but I have when I have had a like event with food and my sugar is always very normal. I did notice that a lot of people of mentioned having indigestion and I know that this can cause a lot more problems than we give it credit for. I also have a lot of trouble with this and especially when I drink wine. I thought I would test this since I had a wine tasting I had promised to attend with a friend. I took an advanced multivitamin, a vitamin C and a Magnesium pill before I went along with an over the counter ranitidine(zantac). I attended the function and drank 8 half glasses of wine (2.5 ounces each) 2 of them were red wines. I came home 4 hours later and took another zantac and a couple of tums and then drank water the rest of the evening before I went to bed. I know that when I came home, I took my blood pressure and it was 106/61 with a pulse of 84 at rest. When I took my pulse while I was up and moving it got as high as 100 but I did not have the pounding feeling in my body at any time. I did let the alcohol pretty much wear off before I went to sleep however. I did take an over the counter sominex which I take every night and this hasn't stopped the pounding chest before. I went to sleep fine and slept the whole night!!! I was definitely encouraged by this. I can't say this is a fix all by any means but I will sure try this again and keep trying it until it proves that it isn't working! :-) I will let you all know what I find!

Carol

I think that you're doing a great job! Seriously. Thanks again for all the info. I just thought you should hear that so you keep helping and providing information :-)

Thank you Bluedog! I appreciate your encouragement. I have had a couple of other occasions now where I have had 3 glasses of wine and one of those times, I didn't take any magnesium but still took the ranitidine and I did not have an adverse event! I am very excited about it. I did stick to the white wines though. I will still keep testing it out and keep everyone informed. I would love to know if anyone else tries using an acid reflux medicene and if it works for them or not. :-)

Carol

No problem at all! I would like to see if that method works as well. Does anyone else have experience with this?

is anybody here on any medications at all OR stopped any recently? Meds can cause these problems when drinking.

I used to be able to drink 20-30 drinks in a day and had no problems. My hangovers weren't even that bad really. I was on trial low dose thyroid medicine for several months for hypothyroidism awhile back because I was having some skin problems. I later figured out I had celiac disease and gluten intolerance. I'm 33, overweight and a light smoker. I didn't have problems with rapid heart rate until several months after I stopped taking thyroid medicine and started my gluten free diet. Lately I get totally blasted off just a few drinks and suffer very high BPM at night. Scares the bejebuz out of me. Also after a couple drinks it seems I have some heart palpatations. Been to the doc and they say my heart is good. It seems to help if drink more (8-10 drinks) but I get really drunk and hungover the next day. I found drinking half a gallon of water and stopping drinking early helps. I really don't drink as much as I use to so my social life really stinks. Oh yeah, my liver tests good too. I'm trying to quit smoking to see if that helps.

I to have a resting heart most mournings of 67 to 70 but when I drink rum n coke the night before my heart rate has shot up to 130 in the mourning but when I don,t drink I cant get my heart up to 130 even after thirty minutes on the bike at the gym,,,,go figure,,,I say to others don,t drink to much and try exercise for stress instead of alcohol,,,,,

I am a 27 year old man and also feel very relieved to find other people with the same problems. My issues began at 25 before which i seemingly didn't have a care in the world but it all began after a silly night taking a herbal ecstacy, drinking and smoking. My heart was pounding out of my chest and i could not sleep etc. I had also just broken up with my girlfriend of the time and could not stop thinking about that coupled with a relatively stressfull job. Since then i have stopped taking drugs, smoking, have a lovely girlfriend and a less stressful job. Am i still woken up in the middle of the night with palpatations after drinking? Yes, and i find sitting up in bed, re-hydrating and controlling my breathing helps. I do find it very difficult to get back to sleep and it is only really until later the following day that i begin feeling normal. This is obviously after having a few good meals and keeping myslef well watered. I find that i really don't enjoy nights out anymore and hold back on my consumption in the full knowledge of what will happen in the middle of the night. I'm at the point with it where i just think the whole thing is very irritating and boring. My problem also isn't exclusive to alcohol and i experience chest pain when stressed at work plus my heart can beat very hard at any level of confrontation. I can also experience pins and needles in my left arm and back pain again on the left hand side (which panics me more as isn't this heart attack territory?). I went to the doctor who took my blood pressure + did a physical examination and could not see any issue. I also went into a walk in centre after an episode at work but by the time i was seen to and rigged up to the ECG they also could see no issue. All said it could probably be panic attacks, anxiety. On the 2nd visit to the doctor he went down the whole acid production in the stomach route which one of you also commented on and i was prescribed some useless tablet. On the third visit to the doctor he had no answers for me and i ended up promting him into blood tests, the results of which were clear although they revealed a slight concern on my liver to which he asked me to cut down on my binge drinking weekends. After this i have not returned to the doctor as i feel like a hypocondriact. Reading your comments does put me at ease though and i will try some of your helpful tips.