Heart stopping moments before sleep.

Pollyperkins I get sleep paralysis, too, and it's awful. I'm usually having a dream but am also aware of my surroundings at the same time. Sometimes I can move my feet a bit and can alert dh who will then wake me up properly. Sometimes I think I'm screaming my head off but dh says I'm just making tiny little squeaking noises.

Like you, if I don't come to properly, I can then go back into it again. It's very distressing and I've no idea how they can be prevented.

Do you drink a lot of coffee or caffeinated drinks OP? I used to experience something similar when I used to drink a lot of coffee (about 8 cups a day) and diet coke (3 - 4 cans a day). I gradually cut down to 2 cups and 1 can a day and it stopped. Best to talk to your doctor about it though to be on the safe side.

Thank you so much for all your thoughtful replies. It seems this is quite common. I have to say, that what I am experiencing IS different to the 'dropping off the kerb' jolt. I've had that previously, and that's more of a one off thing before sleep. My scary thing happens sometimes 3 or 4 times a night, and is accompanied by what Helena1 described perfectly as the stomach flip/driving over a hump backed bridge thing, only it feels like it's my heart that is 'flipping'. Sadly, there is no handsome man in the vicinity of my bedroom! I'll get it checked out, though I fear some busy doctor will simply tell me about 'sleep hygiene', and suggest all the usual, warm baths, cool rooms, winding down, and milky drinks. Don't they think we are clever enough to have tried all that!

I get this too. Just as I'm drifting off I get this awful feeling. I also wake two or three times a night gasping and coughing. Going to sleep is not much fun any more.

pompa Yes, I suppose that makes sense if the spin in my head is caused by a large surge of blood rather than a drop in blood pressure. The ectopic certainly feels like an extra large beat in my chest as you describe.

could be sleep apnea?

I was told that an ectopic beat was more dramatic because the heart continues to fill with blood whilst it is beating incorrectly. When it beats correctly it pumps far more blood than normal on that beat making it feel like a thump in the chest and far more noticeable.

pompa The occasions I was referring to when my heart stopped were when the doctors have used Adenosine to stop it completely, but I don't understand why I feel less when that happens than when I get an ectopic. It seems back to front.

Most nights when I've decided it's time to sleep, and I've put down my book and switched off the lamp, I get a stomach-flipping sensation much like going over a hump-backed bridge in the back seat of a car - it doesn't happen if I accidentally drift off to sleep while reading or watching TV so it must be something to do with the conscious effort of getting to sleep. I usually find it helps if I focus on my breathing and try to relax...

I do get rhe jerking awake thing (so does DH) and also hear phone ring (when it hasnt) the more worrying thing for me is being half awake but paralysed and sometimes unable to breathe properly. Its a relief to wake up properly but if Im now ceredul will slip right back into it. Its horrible. Have always had it

Yes I get it to and I have a pacemaker.

As I understand ectopic heartbeats, the heart doesn't actually stop (the pulse does). What happens is that another part of the heart muscle initiates the heartbeat, which means that it beats, but fails to pump, the heart continues to fill with blood and when the next correct beat occurs (usually within 1 or 2 beats) the heart is fuller than normal and you can get a sensation of the thump in your chest.

Stimulants such as caffeine are what can cause this faulty initiation of the heart muscle.

I was already getting ectopics for donkeys years before developing AF, sometimes the room does a pirouette as it misses a beat, sometimes not. I've had my heart stopped altogether several times, and it intrigues me that there's no loss of consciousness at all then though. I don't know how long it takes before you pass out, but I can vouch that it's more than 5 or 6 seconds.

I sometimes get the tripping up jolt just as I am falling asleep and sometimes, when asleep, think I hear the phone. Just one ring and I'm awake. I've never understood it but I imagine it is in my head.

I know what you mean about feeling your heart is stopping. I get this and it is not the same as falling off the kerb as you are falling asleep. Falling off the kerb does not give the panic feeling that the heart stop does.

This feeling of falling just as you go to sleep is called a A hypnic jerk or hypnagogic jerk, this web page explains all. I get these, but it not the same as the ectopic heartbeat, that is apparent when you are conscious, especially when laying quietly in bed.

www.sleepeducation.org/news/2013/08/22/sleep-starts

I'm really pleased to hear that I'm not the only one. I've suffered this on & off for years & can really sympathise with you, naughtynanny The sensation is so horrible & can happen several times a night - so bad that I dread going to sleep. I read up on the internet & it does seem to be normal - albeit unpleasant. It sometimes seems to be a symptom of tiredness - which is a pain because I only get more tired, waking myself up like this!

I have recently been diagnosed with an erratic heart beat which is also deemed to be normal - but as I wasn't suffering from the 'jerking' problem at the time, I forgot to ask if it might be related.

I would still suggest that you get checked out just to sure, though.

Another one here. I get the sudden sensation of falling and it does jolt me awake, but not wide awake and I usually get off to sleep soon after. Another sensation I get frequently is what feels like an electrical current zinging through my head, horizontally from one ear to the other. It can be very strong, or quite mild. It is aural as well as sensory . The strong ones are really quite loud in my head! And like the 'falling' sensation, I am generally asleep pretty soon afterwards.

If you check your pulse, does it actually stop ?.. If it does, this could be an ectopic heart beat. I suffered from them for some while. It was caused by a combination of stress and too much caffeine, once I eliminated one of these (the caffeine) the problem diminished. My Dr. carried out an ECG, confirmed the problem and refered me to a consultant. The end result was that it was not considered serious. and no action other than reducing caffeine was taken.

However if you really think your heart is stopping, you should get it checked out, most doctors can perform an ECG at their surgery.

Another who gets the same 'falling' sensation when going to sleep. It's annoying but I hadn't considered that it was a physical warning. Lately I've been getting the loud bangs or the doorbell or the phone ringing noises sensations. I do not know what that is about!

I think if you're waking up breathless 3-4 times a night you need to see your doctor.

I get it too, have had it most of my life. It's occasional and has never been mentioned in connection with the heart disease I have developed. I don't feel scared and don't quite fully wake. I go straight off to sleep very soon after the 'jump'.

I'm going over a cliff edge when it happens to me-was also talking about salt and pepper last night as I fell off! Bizarre but harmless.

Me too - OH once explained to me what it was - something about the sympathetic nervous system. He didn't seem bothered.

Another one here who gets it.
It's annoying, I seem to be drifting away nicely when bump! It's like a bunnyhop in my chest.
Glad to know it's normal though, because I have had heart problems in the past.