Last time I went to ER with this my BP mach and hospital finger pulse rate units could not read my fast afib. They found another pulse measure device they taped to my finger so they could see the afib and beats: constant 140-143bpm. They said anything over about 100 for long time should be trip to ER. Anyway, they tried 3 different chemicals in my IV over 1 hour, no change. Then they tried this last one, Cartia, and IMMEDIATELY it dropped to solid 80 - still Afibing around but at least it slowed. Took all of 1 second after they pushed it into IV. They sent me home with a prescription of it in pill form; next week my cardiologist when he did f-up visit said stop taking that stuff it is not needed. But I kept the bottle just in case... cartia xp cap 240/24hr. expensive @ $35 for 30.

What is a "RMSA?"

@catmom777 You did the right thing to use your blood pressure monitor and call for help after your erratic heart rate. I understand not wanting to go to the emergency room, but if in doubt, you should go. Those could be symptoms of a heart attack to wake up with a crazy heart rate if you hadn't just had a nightmare. In a heart attack, part of the heart muscle dies weakening your heart. Don't take chances with your heart. I took myself to the emergency room one day when my resting heart rate was 120. It was a breathing problem caused by a chest full of phlegm due to an infection and my heart was compensating trying to deliver the oxygen my body needed.

If you haven't already, please see a cardiologist. You need to discuss your decisions about taking prescriptions. I know we all have concerns about bad effects from drugs, and it's good to ask questions about them, but a decision that you make on your own can be serious. Don't guess with your heart. You do need to figure out why you are having an electrolyte imbalance and if there is another disease behind that causing the issues that then affect your heart. The kidneys are part of the balance by excreting wastes and reabsorbing nutrients. My mom had some kidney problems and her potassium blood levels were very elevated which put her at increased risk of a heart attack, and for awhile, she had to eliminate potassium in her diet. She had an emergency treatment with something to bring down the critical potassium levels. Her kidneys eventually recovered and she is OK now. I think this happened as a result of the numerous pain medicines she was given in a long recovery after breaking her pelvis,ankle and foot. She had gone through a 3 month rehab stay and they were always dosing her with drugs, and I caught them overdosing her in the hospital and saw how it affected her breathing. She also developed slight jaundice because her liver wasn't happy after all that either.

My dad was a heart patient, and I saw what he went through and cared for him in end stage heart failure. He had an electrical problem where his heart did not correctly initiate the signals to coordinate his heart beat. He had afib, and I saw that on the monitors every time I was in the emergency room with him. He had a pacemaker/defibrillator that saved his life several times. I sent him to the emergency room many times when he didn't recognize the problem. He also had had a head injury years earlier and lost the ability of critical thinking and reasoning. He took a drug for the electrical heart problem. Eventually, he had an ablation to stop the erroneous signals from the heart node. He had a first heart attack at 50, then 2 years later, a quadruple bypass.

So please consult a cardiologist and discuss everything you take, supplements, prescription drugs that you take, and those that you are waiting to see if you need before taking them. Discuss your diet and if it is deficient in nutrients. The decisions about regulating blood pressure with medications and regulating heart rate should be made by a medical professional and as patients we should be an active participant in that discussion with our doctors.