Last night at around 10:00 PM I received a violent threat over the telephone. It was the culmination of a rather emotional series of events which I don’t care to relate.
At the time I was surprisingly calm. I showed I wasn’t afraid by responding with my characteristic sarcasm and condescension, and coolly hanging up. But afterwards I noticed my heart beating very fast. No big deal, I thought; this is to be expected. I get nervous easily, and the truth is, I was sort of afraid.
However, it is now 5:40 AM and though my fear has entirely subsided, my heart rate (if I timed it correctly) is 134. It hasn’t slowed a bit, and I’m shaking all over.
I got about two hours of sleep last night, but my heart did not slow at all before, during, or after; I fell asleep and awoke with my heart racing as always.
Being horribly ignorant about this and most health issues, I don’t know how abnormal this is. I also don’t know if this is related to the events of last night or not. So, Dopers, while I know this isn’t the place to seek professional medical advice, I figure there must be some common knowledge on this issue that I lack. So I’m asking you: should I be worried about this?
As a teenager, I took such miserable care of my body that my vital signs were all over the map. Having eaten well, rested, and gotten plenty of water, my heart rate would be in the low 50s and my temperature would be a degree or two cooler than 98.6F. Add in emotional stress, physical workouts, and so on, however, and any little illness would send me askew. A few years later I met a guy whose resting pulse rate was in the low hundreds.
My advice: drink lots of water, cut the caffeine out of your diet, make sure you’re out exercising twice or thrice a week, and if you continue to experience an elevated pulse, see a doctor.
IANAD Disclaimer.
Probably high adrenalin ‘fight or flight’ response which after hinging up and having the pschitz scared out of you the aftermath was worse that the phone encounter.
Get your act together and AVOID getting into an unfortunate emotional situations which you obviously don’t handle well.
In other word take advantage of this experience and GROW UP & MATURE!
Forget about being sarcastic and condescending. It gets you nowhere good, but irritates others and gets you further into trouble.
Thank you for the advice, Jurph. You’re right; I don’t take very good care of myself. I generally eat well, and drink mostly water, but I need to exercise much more than I do.
spingears, while I know you are trying to help, you have no idea what my situation is and I don’t appreciate your preaching to me. If I had wanted personal counsel I would have asked for it.
:smack: So I was a bit rough. OTOH he sorely needs to make some changes and it often takes a severe incident to wake him up to the fact.
While there may circumstance he can’t change there a many things he can and should.
Probably a combination of all of those things that have been mentioned. You mentioned the lack of sleep (I know when I don’t get near enough sleep, my HR is faster and I feel like crap), the threat (the fight or flight thing), and the fever that you discovered later. The fever’s probably just a coincidence; i don’t think emotions would affect your body temperature, but if you have let your health become run down lately, you could be more susceptible to viruses and such. And it is the season for that.
How do you know he needs to make major life changes? What do you know about the OP’s life that they haven’t revealed here? You know nothing about the situation at hand, and whatever long-term patterns you’re seeing in the OP’s life are entirely your own imagination.
It is obvious that something is drastically going awry and needs professional attention.
A racing heart is NOT trivial but should be checked out.
The SDMB’s may provide suggestions but not professional treatment.
What would you suggest?
Just a ‘few’ years, dealing with all kinds of people with all kinds of problems, in my various situations of employment in a supervisory position.
He is obvously hurting. What do you call it, enjoying himself?
I have had to deal with all too many people who adamantly insist on following a path of action which is contray to their own best long term self interest.
All for some short time satisfaction. Then they end up with the short end of the stick.
Not much either you or I can say is going to be of help if he isn’t inclinded to get off the dime.
I really feel sorry for him.
“few years” translates into sixty years in the school of hard knocks,
You’re seriously projecting your own deal onto the OP.
Perhaps the caller was an ex-girlfriend/boyfriend that the OP just broke up with because they were abusive. Yep - taking care of yourself - bad path.
Perhaps it was a drunk realitive - I used to get calls like that from my exroommate’s family that were too stunned to figure out she didn’t live there anymore - obviously I’m headed down the wrong path.
Perhaps it was a wrong number. That’s clearly the OP’s doing as well.
However, don’t let any of these possibilities or the myraid of other possibilities sway you from your opinion. After all, you’ve lived for 60 years. You must know everything, about everyone, even people you’ve never met, on a message board. Yeppers.
rkts, you should think seriously about seeking mediacl attention. I have a heart condition which causes my pulse to race and it’s largely controlled thru medication. Although my own health was not seriously in danger (or so my cardiologist tells me), others with the same condition can suffer serious consequences. That doesn’t mean you’ve got the same problems, esp. given your situation, but why not give it a shot?
springears I once received a violent threat when i was 17 for the crime of going out with a girl who this other dude had (unsuccessfully) wanted to go out with, something I didn’t even know about at the time. While certain lifestyles tend to be more susceptible to this kind of thing, you don’t know enough about the OP’s situation to assume he’s doing anything incorrect. That said, rkts, you should inform the police. Making threats is often a crime.
rkts, I second the idea that you may want to talk to a doctor. There is a common minor heart defect (Mitral Valve Prolapse) which is linked to racing heartbeats and/or panic attacks in some people. (It’s otherwise pretty benign.) There are almost certainly more serious conditions. Or it may be nothing – just your body dealing with the adrenaline. If it is something physical, the sooner you know, the better off you are. (For example, for people with MVP doctors recommend taking antibiotics before dental work, to keep bacteria out of the bloodstream.)
rkts, contact your doctor. You may be stuck in paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia. Or not. Either way, you won’t find out by soliciting opinions on a message board.
[cue organ]
And so, with the OP being answered to the satisfaction of the OP-er, we bring
to a close today’s adventure of Is there as Doctor in the House?.
[end theme song]
closed, by samclem GQ moderator
*Thank Og there were three in a row. This guy could’ve been dead if only two had posted. :rolleyes: