Betty,

About ten years ago I found out I had a little problem called paroxysmal
atrial tachycardia (PAT), now more commonly known as supra-ventricular
tachycardia (PSVT).  In layman's terms, there is more than one electrical
pathway in my heart that causes extra beats when the adrenal glands are
stimulated through certain meds or stress.  In 1990, I was in ICU for three
days with a cardiac rate of 190 bpm, but a normal sinus wave.  The syndrome
in and of itself is not dangerous, though if left unchecked the heart can
literally "wear itself out" in a matter of days.

Sometimes I know the stimulus that starts this phenomenon, usually not.  It
isn't CP related.  If you're prone to a fast heart rate, you need to be
careful of common stimulants like:

caffiene
decongestants like Sudafed
epinephrine
lidocaine or xylocaine
any vaso-constrictor

Like I said, the tachycardia itself is not life-threatening.  Scary, though,
because your adrenals and other stress-hormone glands are dumping massive
amounts of fight-or flight goodies into your bloodstream.  You have that
same sensation that you get when you're badly startled, but the feeling
doesn't go away.  Yuck!
-----Original Message-----
From: Betty Alfred [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, March 01, 2000 7:26 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Carla, please email me


In a message dated 03/01/2000 10:10:42 AM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

<< The medication in your inhaler could possibly be causing the tachycardia
 (fast heart rate)--especially if the meds are epinephrine-based.
  >>

OH!  This sounds like the reason I have similar problems at the dentist.  He
now uses carbocain instead of xylocaine since the latter is epinephrine
based.