kidneys and heart

[twiggymoo]

My heart has been acting funny for a while now.  I don't have heart issues and never have.  I get palpitations, and fast beats and it never seems to be "at rest".  Always seems to be hyper.  Do the kidneys affect the heart??
Last night was terrible.  I couldn't sleep and had to get up and sit for a while.  My heart rate was pounding and I thought maybe it was something I ate.
I have a followup appt w/my neph next week because they wanted to put me on dialysis last week but took labs again and those were a little better than a week previous.

[carson]

Okay, maybe I'm out of line here but I think there my be a connection in your case...as most kidney patients don't die of their disease but Coronary Artery Disease. It's really important for us to take care of ourselves by diet and exercise - probably more so than the regular Joe.

[texasstyle]

Yes it does. Kidneys with little, or no function are'nt able to rid your body of Potassuim. Potassium is the battery or "charge" for heart as well as other functions. In most renal patients it is high but too low of Potassium cn have the same effect. Of course there are certainly many other reasons why you could be feeling like this. Even anxiety can increase your heart rate. If you ever feel that something is definetly not right in the mean time, seek medical attn. right away. it's better to be safe than sorry.  I hope this situation gets straightend out soon so you can go back to feeling better. Ohh yeah, Renal failure can be a result from prolonged hypertension (high blood pressure). Hypertension can effect your heart but this may not be your case. Just saying...lol.Are you taking  any new meds? Sometimes meds can have some funny side effects.

[RightSide]

twiggymoo:

I agree with "carson".

There are a number of ways that kidney disease can end up affecting the heart--electrolyte disturbances, anemia which makes the heart strain harder, buildup of toxins that can lead to atherosclerosis, etc.

Also, some medications can have cardiovascular side effects.  I had lots of cardiovascular trouble with Sudafed, Tagamet, etc.

You should definitely ask your neph about it soon.  He'll probably have you take an EKG and perhaps also see a cardiologist.  But first, review with him all the meds you're taking.

[twiggymoo]

Thank you all for your responses.  I will have to watch my diet and exercise.  I had a colonoscopy last week, so my colon was emptied and that could have contributed to the imbalances - I had also a couple of days before that received a prescription of kayalexate to lower potassium levels because they were 5.1.  So after emptying out my colon and right after the colonoscopy, I started taking the kayalexate and maybe that brought my potassium too low.  Potassium is my friend!   I need to respect it, not completely avoid it.  I surely don't want coronary artery disease.   I never knew kidneys do so much. 

[*kana*]

You also might be anemia.  I get super tachy when my blood lvl drops. 

Potassium or other electric imbalance will give you those symptoms.  When a person is on dialysis for a long time and if phosphorus levels are always high then you can get calcium deposits on your heart valves and arteries.  The other thing is to avoid a chest cath for hemo dialysis.  Many people are not aware of the huge danger of infections with a hemo cath in the heart.  I work as a cardiac sonographer and I can tell you that we see a lot of infected chest caths.  The infections spreads to the valves and then you need open heart. 
Request blood work if the symptoms continue. 

[Riki]

The other thing is to avoid a chest cath for hemo dialysis.  Many people are not aware of the huge danger of infections with a hemo cath in the heart.  I work as a cardiac sonographer and I can tell you that we see a lot of infected chest caths.  The infections spreads to the valves and then you need open heart. 

This is why I wanted mine out so badly.  I was afraid of some kind of infection, since peritonitis killed my chances of going back on PD, but I couldn't seem to get the 2 nephs in my province to understand that since I'd had it in for a year and a half, I'd been pretty damn lucky to that point, and I didn't want to press it.  My mom finally blasted one of them over the phone, and I think she scared him. *L*  I had it taken out that day.

[MooseMom]

I've had palpitations in the past...rapid heartbeats.  It really worried me, but I suspected it was stress related, but I wasn't sure.  Since I am trying to get on the transplant list, I've recently had a lot of cardiac tests...stress tests, 2D echocardiograms, ultrasounds plus all of the regular blood tests.  After the results of all the tests, I had my first ever consultation with a cardiologist.  I told her about the palpitations and racing heartrate.  She asked me a lot of questions because she needed to be absolutely sure that my heart was OK for transplantation.  She ordered a doppler ultrasound of my carotids.  I told her that I honestly felt that the palpitations were due to stress...I've been scared for 6 years now about all of this kidney stuff and dialysis.  It's bigtime scary.  I told her that if I could relax my mind and/or distract myself, my heartrate would slow down.

After all the testing was concluded, she told my that my heart was in great shape.  This is after 20 years of having fsgs and with an eGFR of 18-16.  And you know what?  Now that I have reassured about my cardiac health, a HUGE burden has been lifted off my shoulders, and I don't get palpitations anymore.  I think people underestimate the extreme stress caused by CKD, especially if you have D somewhere lurking in the shadows, and you don't know when it will come out and yell "BOO!"  In answer to your question, yes, kidneys affect the heart, but so does stress.  Find out so that you can put your mind at rest.