I was wondering if anyone else has heart problems directly related to RSD/CRPS? The reason I am asking is I just got out of the hospital with a bout of sustained tachycardia (110-140 bpm) that cannot be tied to any other medical condition. I had both an echo cardiogram and stress test done and they came back clean. I have a history of SVT (Supraventricular Tachycardia--heart rate over 150bpm) and tachycardia that started about four years ago. I had several episodes and was put on medication (Zebeta) to control it. At that time I was having a ton of other medical problems--anemia, high lymphocyte count, low neutrophil count (all of which made me the lucky recipient of a bone marrow biopsy, which thankfully was negative.) I had just been diagnosed with RSD/CRPS after a cervical fusion had failed. And I also found out I had Sjogren's Syndrome that was affecting my eyes in a major way (corneal damage--luckily not permanent). So needless to say it was a toss up as to what actually caused the SVT & tachycardia at that time. I remained on the Zebeta and for 4 years have not had any problems. Then two weeks ago I had an episode where I felt my heart racing so I took my heart rate and it was 135. I took an extra dose of Zebeta and after a few hours it went back down to normal. Then last Sat. I felt my heart racing again and I took my heart rate and it was 143. I took an additional Zebeta and my husband and I went to see a movie, shopping for Father's Day gifts, and then out to dinner for our 23rd Anniversary. During dinner I started having chest pain on my left side. However, my RSD/CRPS is in my chest wall (as well as both arms and shoulders, my ribs on both sides, and my upper back) so this is not uncommon. I monitored my heart rate throughout the day and it ranged from 110-130. When we got home I took another dose of Zebeta and waited for about 1 1/2 hours and my heart rate went down slightly (in the 110s) but the pain got worse so I decided to go to the ER. I ended up in staying for several days and like I mentioned earlier, having multiple tests that all came back normal. The theory my cardiologist came up with is that the RSD/CRPS is affecting the cardiac plexus thereby causing the tachycardia. It makes sense to me. Just thought I would run this by everyone else and get some feedback.
Cricket