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What Causes Seizures During Sleep?
Question: heart seizures while sleeping. I sleep on my left side. It started with one sharp pain Tuesday night and three or four last night. I am a 64 year old male with a history of a stroke three years ago.
Brief Answer:
Require more detials
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thanks for asking.
I am Dr. Prakash HM and I will be answering your query.
Before answering your query, I have one small doubt.
Are you talking about arrythmias or heart attack.
Also please answer the following queries:
Was the pain on right side or left side?
Any specific time or position?
How was the pain relieved?
You felt any burning pain other than sharp pain. ?
Did it vary with position or with breathing. ?
Does deep breathing increase pain?
Do you any other chronic infections like diabetes mellitus? Painless myocardial infarction risk will be present in diabetes mellitus.
Heart attack possibilities are low as you are already on anti-coagulants and anti-platelet agents due to your history of stroke.
Possibility of arrythmia or other disease requires more history.
Pain around the chest should not be ignored at this age. Do get an ECG. It will rule out any ongoing myocardial infarction or arrythmias.
Do get back with more history.
Take care.
Dr. Prakash HM
Require more detials
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thanks for asking.
I am Dr. Prakash HM and I will be answering your query.
Before answering your query, I have one small doubt.
Are you talking about arrythmias or heart attack.
Also please answer the following queries:
Was the pain on right side or left side?
Any specific time or position?
How was the pain relieved?
You felt any burning pain other than sharp pain. ?
Did it vary with position or with breathing. ?
Does deep breathing increase pain?
Do you any other chronic infections like diabetes mellitus? Painless myocardial infarction risk will be present in diabetes mellitus.
Heart attack possibilities are low as you are already on anti-coagulants and anti-platelet agents due to your history of stroke.
Possibility of arrythmia or other disease requires more history.
Pain around the chest should not be ignored at this age. Do get an ECG. It will rule out any ongoing myocardial infarction or arrythmias.
Do get back with more history.
Take care.
Dr. Prakash HM
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
To answer your questions, it felt like a muscle spasm, in the heart of course. It was painful. Pain was limited to just the left side. As I said, I only sleep on my left side. The pain stopped after a few minutes. No burning, did not try deep breathing. I am not on any medications. I have been a runner for 45 years. I do take aspirins.
Brief Answer:
Muscle spasm due to electrolyte abnormalities.
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thanks for asking again.
Muscle spasm could be due to calcium or potassium deficiency.
It could be nutritional or possibly due to your exercises leading onto dehydration and loss of minerals.
As the pain frequency is increasing, nutritional supplementation is essential. Calcium supplementation along with potassium rich diet should be helpful.
However, it is not cardiac as cardiac muscles innervation more often presents with constricting pain and it would be more continuous.
This present muscle spasm could be due to the chest muscles like pectoralis and intercoastal spasm.
Pleuritic pain are usually sharp pains. During deep breathing, it will get exacerbated. However, as you do not have respiratory difficulty, not to worry.
Only disturbing fact is the pain occurring only at night. Try calcium supplements along with diet rich in bananas, fish, nuts, to improve potassium levels.
Take a muscle relaxant, it should help.
I would not advise you to take oral potassium with out evaluation as low or high potassium is always serious and oral potassium capsules intake without evaluation could cause serious neuromuscular disturbances.
If you can possibly meet your doctor, do get serum calcium and potassium levels evaluated along with an ECG.
Take rest. Avoid stress.
Any further queries, happy to help again.
Dr. Prakash HM
Muscle spasm due to electrolyte abnormalities.
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thanks for asking again.
Muscle spasm could be due to calcium or potassium deficiency.
It could be nutritional or possibly due to your exercises leading onto dehydration and loss of minerals.
As the pain frequency is increasing, nutritional supplementation is essential. Calcium supplementation along with potassium rich diet should be helpful.
However, it is not cardiac as cardiac muscles innervation more often presents with constricting pain and it would be more continuous.
This present muscle spasm could be due to the chest muscles like pectoralis and intercoastal spasm.
Pleuritic pain are usually sharp pains. During deep breathing, it will get exacerbated. However, as you do not have respiratory difficulty, not to worry.
Only disturbing fact is the pain occurring only at night. Try calcium supplements along with diet rich in bananas, fish, nuts, to improve potassium levels.
Take a muscle relaxant, it should help.
I would not advise you to take oral potassium with out evaluation as low or high potassium is always serious and oral potassium capsules intake without evaluation could cause serious neuromuscular disturbances.
If you can possibly meet your doctor, do get serum calcium and potassium levels evaluated along with an ECG.
Take rest. Avoid stress.
Any further queries, happy to help again.
Dr. Prakash HM
Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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