<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Thank you all so much for your responses, I received 21 The four science literature articles (thank you Ron Hoggan) were interesting – I can send original articles to anyone who wants them, summary is:
1. Celiacs are at increased risk for atrial fibrillation (28,637 Swedish Celiac patients)
2. Celiacs have an increased risk of ischemic heart disease (44,000 Swedish patients)
3.  Systolic dysfunction of the left ventricle was detected in almost all 20 Turkish children with coeliac disease in whom serum IgA Antiendomysial Antibody reactivity is prominent. (celiac kids not on gluten-free diets, I presume)
4. In differential diagnosis of ischemic stroke, Celiac disease should be kept in mind (case study of 8 year old girl)
**
RESPONSES BELOW:
The connection with heart disease and celiac disease is vague, but real. We celiacs more often die of heart problems than cancer, but the exact mechanism hasn't been fully explored. Some think it may just be a result of general inflammation, and ischemic heart disease has been shown to have a higher prevalence in celiac patients. Others suspect a direct antibody attack.Celiac antibodies, however, have definitely been found on thyroid receptors and there have been small studies that have shown that some people with both celiac and autoimmune thyroid diseases respond to a gluten-free diet by needing less thyroid medication (some are able to go off it and go into permanent remission). Although high altitudes will exasperate any tendency for heart palps, they are known to be symptoms of both Hashimoto's thyroid disease (causes low thyroid production) and Graves' disease (causes high thyroid production). As many thyroid patients have found, including me, doctors aren't always great at reading thyroid labs. There is rift between docs who are lax and docs who are more vigilant who will be more pro-active. 
**
Anemia is a common symptom of celiac. It would seem logical that if there isn't enough hemoglobin/red blood cells to carry oxygen to cells under normal circumstances, ill effects would be amplified at higher altitudes where air in thinner.
**
I never knew there was a connection between high altitude and irregular heartbeat.  I have a-fib, irregular heartbeat, etc. and live at or near sea level (Wilmington, NC).  I also have sleep apnea.  Two months ago I got a pacemaker.  Have been on a gluten free diet for 3 years with some health benefits (acid reflux and heartburn gone, hip pain gone).  At age 71,  I really didn't expect to see a difference in hip pain!  Best of luck with your son, he's too young to have to go through all this!
**
Being a nutritionist with celiac disease and atrial fib (haven't been to high altitude locations), thought this site and article might be of interest.  It discusses iron deficiency which is common with CD and also the last couple of sentences mentions the difference of serum transferring receptors and serum iron binding capacity in high altitude.
http://library.med.utah.edu/WebPath/TUTORIAL/IRON/IRON.html
**
 I've lived and worked in a hospital in a high mountain valley in New Mexico, north of Los Alamos, and had no problems.  My symptoms did not express until I was in my mid-40's, and at 64 I am living at about 600 ft. above sea level, and have what has been diagnosed as "Vaso-Vagal Syndrome". It entails my getting faint first and my face breaking out in sweat, then my BP drops, then my heart rate drops.  I have been maintained on low level Hydrocortisone for this, and have not had another episode (but I know what it feels like coming on, and I go find a place to lie down before I actually pass out).  So I don't think CD and cardiac problems and high altitude living are actually all related.I also find that hydration, Potassium level,  and blood sugar can all play a role in my symptoms.  Your son may be sensitive to any or all of these three events.
**
I don't know if this applies to your son, but anemia is a very common occurrence with celiac and might have been the cause of his cardiac symptoms. Anemia combined with altitude would compound issues with getting enough oxygen to where it needs to go. Again this may or may not carry over to your son but I vacationed in Breckenridge, CO (10,000 feet where we were staying) this summer and had no more issues than anyone else dealing with the altitude. I'm very sure it would not have gone well at all had I done it 2 years ago with undiagnosed celiac and the secondary fairly severe anemia that I had at the time.
**
I have not been officially diagnosed with Celiac, but I have many of the symptoms, including those your son is suffering from.  It took me about 6 weeks after moving here (7000 ft elevation) to sleep, and to function without a headache.  They say it takes a year for your blood to fully adjust to the altitude.  Perhaps he has more going on than Celiac, or is not managing it well enough.  My sensitivities all go down at sea level, and I sleep better.  
**
Sometimes people with Celiac can have anemia. Hi altitudes have less oxygen present in the air, so all people's bodies have to make do with less oxygen than there is at ground level. People with anemia can notice great effects. I had anemia in the past, and found flying to be exhausting - I was exhausted for several days afterward. Apparently the amount of oxygen in plane cabins is less than at ground level, and that was the source of that problem.
**
I happen to be from Colorado, also, and from a Celiac family. This may not answer your question, but I too am from the group of Celiacs, if there is such a group, that gets fibromyalgia symptoms from eating gluten, and I also tend to get iron deficiency, which leads to palpitations, dizziness, fatigue.  I'm no doctor, but I wonder if your son's cardiac symptoms indeed will resolve after several months GF.  My own findings have been that I get lots of weird symptoms due to the bodily confusion caused by gluten, but that most of them improve and/or resolve when I'm GF. 
**
I get heart palps and racing heart due to gas traveling from my stomach into my esophagus. Although it's improved after 3 years, I still have it. Can be scary. I am being put in PPI because doctor wants to see if it has to do with stomach expansion which can irritate the lower vagal nerve and cause these heart palpitations. Don't know if that's of any significance to you but shouldn't be ruled out. I don't remember what it is called, but it has to do with the expansion of the stomach due to gas. I'm told as I continue to get better, this should eliminate itself. We'll see.
**
Interesting question. My father was diagnosed with celiac at age 83, after a lifetime of the symptoms you describe below. He also had a heart syndrome that they called Wolfe Parkinson White (http://www.medhelp.org/medical-information/show/4093/Wolff-Parkinson-White-syndrome). He died at 85 having suffered several years of debilitating effects, quite likely as a result of undiagnosed celiac. I was diagnosed with non-celiac gluten intolerance at age 42 or so. To tell the truth, I was told I did not have celiac and that I should continue eating gluten and stop being crazy. I kept to the GF diet because my body was speaking loud and clear, and learned of this new diagnosis only a few years ago. One of my 3 kids has celiac. When I get some gluten, I have strange sensations in my upper chest, irregular heart beats, and not dizziness but something milder. I also suffer GI issues, sleep disruption, headaches, food cravings, and memory issues. I've been G-F for 15 years. I find these sensations are no worse at altitude than at sea level
**
My own atrial fib cleared up on a GF diet (along with the anemia, restless legs, etc.) Could his symptoms have been tied in with anemia?
**
Was he anemic?  Extremely low hemoglobin can cause heart problems and even cardiac arrest.  Prior to my diagnosis, I was having some irregularities at normal elevations.  I started taking iron pills and the problems subsided. Just a thought.
**
Bingo, low iron translates to iron deficiency anemia which would account for the symptoms you describe, some of which I was having at almost sea level. My iron and hemoglobin level came back up over a period of about 6 months. I did have iron infusions in between my anemia diagnosis and my celiac diagnosis which jump started the process a bit so it's difficult to say how my experience might relate to your son's but he has the advantages of youth and an earlier diagnosis. I would bet that if he tests with a normal hemoglobin level and a reasonable iron level a return to elevation would be just like anyone else.
**
I don't know if this applies to your son, but anemia is a very common occurrence with celiac and might have been the cause of his cardiac symptoms. Anemia combined with altitude would compound issues with getting enough oxygen to where it needs to go. Again this may or may not carry over to your son but I vacationed in Breckenridge, CO (10,000 feet where we were staying) this summer and had no more issues than anyone else dealing with the altitude. I'm very sure it would not have gone well at all had I done it 2 years ago with undiagnosed celiac and the secondary fairly severe anemia that I had at the time.
**
I was intrigued by your email.  You have put into words what I have long wondered about myself. I live in Alberta and although my elevation is not as high as 7,000 ft, I noticed a remarkable difference in the way my heart acted when I walked up a small hill (I had moved from the lower elevations of the east just after being diagnosed with Celiac.)  I thought my heart had been damaged by the Celiac because it felt irregular.  It never dawned on me that there might be a connection with high elevation and celiac.  However, I wonder if it's actually due to other food intolerances rather than the Celiace.  If you write "Celiac and Breathing" in Google, you can see people's experiences.  Here is one link:  http://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/topic/30248-trouble-breathing-bloating/
**
I am celiac (30yrs irritable bowel, fibromyalgia, history of vascular migraine, blood test positive, much better off gluten). My daughter is biopsied celiac, also has ulcerative colitis (probable candida overgrowth being treated and getting better), connective tissue disorder (runs in both parents families), and racing heart, TOO LOW blood pressure. Dx is postural orthostatic tachycardia and hypotension.  If she stands too long her pressure drops.  She is currently on salt pills and extra water; I wanted her checked for adrenal malfunction when we go back to the cardiologist. There is alot of cardiac stuff in my dad's family and stroke.  Palpitations run in my mother's family, and my maternal grandmother dropped dead in the 60s (probable 'sudden cardiac death' as they call it now).  Also diabetes in my mother's family. I would check the children's blood pressure at rest and after activity, and use a kid size cuff so the reading is accurate.
In our daugther's case whenver she feels weird, dizzy, gets fuzzy vision, etc. her blood pressure is too low.  I am wondering if her blood vessels are too elastic because she has all the signs for hypermobility as diagnosed by a geneticist at Hershey PA medical center. Does he have any signs of hypermobility that could be a connective tissue issue.Digestive issues go with hypermobility for some reason. The website www.ctds.info has been helpful to us.

*Please provide references to back up claims of a product being GF or not GF*
*******
To unsubscribe, email: mailto:[log in to unmask]
*******