Heart rate during Keto adaptation

[Dshort]

I’m not actually doing Keto since I think I would have to get used to the recipes first, but I upped my fat, and decreased my carbohydrates.
Within a week my pulse rate was over 100. and still is I had added a small amount of MCT oil to my coffee. I searched and found online that it has caused fast heart bear. I stopped that two days ago but am still following high fat low carbs. Still high heart rate.
I have to wonder if there is a correlation even though i’m not strictly Keto. (Before I ate everything non or low fat so this increase in fats is a big difference for me.)

[Sonnysach]

Just adding my experience.

1. Was in Ketosis last month, noticed elevated heart rate, got scared and got out of Keto - heart rate went back to normal.
2. Tried to go back into Keto and started consuming full fat coconut milk and noticed heart rate going up. Assumed that I have Coconut allergy, stopped it, stopped trying for Keto and the heart rate went back down.
3. Tried MCT oil to see if it would impact heart rate. MCT put me in Keto and heart rate went up. Figured that MCT oil is from Coconuts so stopped it. Fell out of Keto. But this time I continued Low carb, High Fat. Some mornings I wake up in slight Ketosis. Heart rate is still elevated, rises after a fatty meal. Supplementing with Magnesium, Himalayan Salt and Potassium and Bone broth. Sometimes I see a difference, other times I don’t.

Absolutely frustrating.

[cjconcep]

I know this thread is super old, but thought I would add in my experience just in case someone in the future finds it useful!

I’m on my 4th day of ketosis, but it was last night when I noticed my heart rate being abnormally high while going to bed. Typically, my resting heart rate is around mid-high 60’s. I measured it last night and it was high 70’s. It was definitely a cause of concern hence why I’m here.

According to what I’ve read, it’ll go back to normal after my body adjusts to this diet. I’ll try to update in a couple weeks on whether or not my heart rate goes back to normal.

[Cassandra_Benoit]

I just wanted to also say, that out of nowhere my heart rate when as high as 119 normally 70’s 80’s. I was panicking. I am on my 2nd week of keto. I am also experiencing the constant sweaty small, so I guess this is a side effect as well.
Anyway, it is night te and it is slowly going back down. Not where it used to be but below 100. Also, this morning I woke up 3.4 pounds lighter from yesterday. A total of 13.8 pounds down in l.5 weeks. So, I will monitor it. I also have HBP and my readings have been all over the place today as well.
Will update sporadically.

Good luck all.

[Sonnysach]

Hey everyone, after almost 2 months of dealing with high heart rate, I think I have finally figured out my issue. Here is my process to troubleshoot this issue:

1. At first I thought it was Keto in general and stopped it for a week to make sure it wasn’t a permanent condition.
2. HR went back so started Keto again. Thought the issue may be the full fat Coconut Milk so stopped it but the issue continued.
3. Stopped taking Synthroid to confirm it wasn’t overdose, but issue continued.
4. Thought it was low elecrolytes so starting taking lots of Sodium and some Magnesium and Potassium but the issue continued.
5. Noticed that HR went up after eating Almond butter so confirmed it using Apple Watch. So no more Almond butter.
6. Noticed HR went up after eating Macadamia nuts so eliminated them.
7. Noticed HR went up after eating Pecans so eliminated them.

At this point, I have lost an unacceptable amount of weight and the only fats that are not causing a reaction are Olive oil, Avocado and possibly Ghee (need to test).

I just started drinking spoonfuls of Olive oil to increase my calorie intake but feel weird about it. Would love to hear some feedback.

Thanks,
Sonny

[odedia]

Interesting!

I do eat almonds and macadamia nuts (probably more than I should).

[Sonnysach]

So scratch that theory. I drank two spoons of olive oil after lunch and no problems with HR but took it again in the evening on an empty stomach and HR raced. Wondering if it’s just related to high fat concentration? Seems like keto is just not for me…

I am moving to a Mediterranean diet with Intermittent fasting. I am very disappointed but I can’t continue anymore. Best of luck to everyone.

[atomicspacebunny]

1. Should people with adrenal fatigue do a Ketogenic Diet?

2. How to Test Your Adrenal Function - Dr. Jockers

3. How to Test Yourself for Adrenal Fatigue - Dr. Berg

4. Two Simple Tests for Adrenal Fatigue

5. Previous Post:

Lightheaded, dizziness advice

Possibilities: Orthostatic Hypotension? Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)? Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis? Intermittent Fasting & Hypoglycemia? References: 12 Strategies to Improve POTS Naturally? How to Test Your Adrenal Function? [image] Two Ways Your Brain Breaks And Exactly What You Can Do About It: Part 2 “…Interestingly, HPA axis dysregulation is 100% linked to the neurotransmitter imbalance issue you learned about earlier in this c…

[Msspriss]

Thus is happening to me right now! I went to the dr yesterday and my bp was high 140/90 he told me to stop salting everything and drink water to flush. By last night my bp was more normal but today my heart rate is crazy high. Just walking across my house raised it to 140. Resting it’s not gone below 88. Now normally I have a higher HR so 80 wouldnt be alarming for me but 140 is scaring me. I am drinking water. I ate a half a banana and half a sweet potato today thinking maybe I need more carbs. I’ve stuck to 20 carbs and no cheats. Been on for 3 weeks and lost 9 pounds. I think I’m going to transition back off keto and try to reset myself and then try again. I battled keto flu. I have not cheated and I love how clear headed I am. But I’m not messing around with my heart. Not sure where that leaves me now but I’ll try it again once my bp and heart rate stabilize

[Msspriss]

I am going through this right now. My resting heart rate hasnt gone below 88 and getting up to simply walk this morning it was 140. I’m terrified. I really want this to work. But not at the expense of my heart racing. I also have a feeling that maybe MCT oil is raising it too. Bummer. How did you do going off it and switching to Mediterranean? Hiw ling did it take for your heart rate to go down?

[Raja_Indra]

I have difficulty fasting more then 48 hours as well. And my theory on it is the lower the FAT in the food higher the blood pressure and higher the fat in your food, higher the heart rate. But because there are too many other influencing factors it is difficult to get consistent results unless you know and are able to control all the variables when on Keto diet experimenting with how much fat ?
I added an electrolyte powder to my oil cooked meal and my BP drop low so the minerals soluble in fat also matters. Meaning how you cook affect your HR and BP and they both compensate for each other.

[Nicholas_Burkwit]

Using a Fitbit to track my heart rate, I can say it’s definitely gone up these first few days on keto. Hoping I become fat adapters soon and it returns to normal as it kinda freaks me out (despite having no real reason to worry about it).

Pre-keto I was in the high 50s. I’m 5 days in now and I’m in the high 60s and sometimes 70s.

Also I’m noticing a much higher resting heart rate when asleep, and just trouble sleeping in general. Two screenshots attached to illustrate that.

[Nicholas_Burkwit]

[The_Agenda]

My pennies worth.

Day 12, some parts of the day I feel fine, but mainly after dinner I feel like crap, I’m in ketosis everyday according to the sticks.

My heart rate is up by 10bpm and I feel fatigued and my chest feels weird, the fatigue is debilitating, luckily I’m between contracts at moment so I rest, I find it hard to maintain tasks for any length of time sitting at my laptop. Something I’ve also noticed is I have a massively low tolerance to sudden sounds or shocks, my heart jumps even when a door opens for example.

I’m having 12g of salt, 600mg Magnesium taurate supplement, 200mg Potassium supplement plus I eat avocado and greens and I drink pints of water everyday.

This adaption feels so painful I’m waiting for that light at the end of the tunnel and wonder if I’ll ever reach it. It just feels like I’m doing damage to my body, it’s pretty scary going out on a limb here. Last night my heart woke me at 1am and in morning felt weird heaviness in chest, was ok the rest of day once up.

It’s good to read other people’s experiences here, it seems like a common thing however but we all seem to be at a loss despite following all the internet Keto advice.

Wish there were docs that had done more research on this.

I’m giving it until day 14 after that it’s surrender for me.

[The_Agenda]

Ok, I may have a small breakthrough on this, an earlier poster mentioned someone called Ellen Davis who had some thoughts on heart palps.

Anyway I looked up her website and she has an article about Hypoglycemia and that when first starting Keto and you are insulin resistance, the body chucks out more insulin than usual as it’s expecting a higher carb count. In doing so it can cause a blood sugar hypo.

I guessing it kicks you out of Ketosis but means you can feel better and kick it off again, hopefully it doesn’t take you back to square one.

I’ve just had a high heart beat/sweat episode, I didn’t take any glucose but feel better now and have taken my blood which is 5.7mmol quite high, so perhaps that’s after my body took evasive action. I may try some glucose next time.

Reactive Hypoglycemia

Quote:-
"Meanwhile, during this adjustment phase, your pancreas is still secreting enough insulin for the older, higher level of carbohydrate consumption. And because blood insulin levels are high, the body is dependent on carbohydrate for fuel, since stored fat can’t be accessed.

***Your body hums along with less carb intake for a couple of days because it can tap into the stored carb (glycogen) in your liver. But eventually, the glycogen stores get low, more insulin is secreted than actually needed, and a couple of hours later, you have a severe episode of hypoglycemia, aka low blood sugar.

Your body perceives that your blood glucose is too low, and starts evasive tactics to get the sugar it needs for your brain and red blood cells from somewhere. Your body increases it’s adrenalin (epinephrine) output to tell the liver to break down stored glycogen or amino acids into glucose FAST and dump it in the blood stream, while the nervous systems pumps out acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter which acts on the sweat glands, causing profuse sweating.

The adrenalin and acetylcholine cause symptoms that are associated with reactive hypoglycemia:

• heart palpitations or fibrillation
• dizziness
• light-headedness
• sweating
• headaches
• nervousness
• irritability
• shaking and tremors
• flushing
• craving for sweets
• intense hunger
• nausea, vomiting
• panic attack
• numbness/coldness in the extremities
• fatigue and shakiness, sometimes for hours afterwards

Generally, drinking or eating something that is high in carbohydrate, like orange juice or candy, relieves the majority of the symptoms after about 15 minutes."***

[The_Agenda]

Another update, the glucose tabs are only 4g of carbs, so as long as your carbs are at low then you’ll intentionally still be in Ketosis.

[Johan_Sandgren]

Im on my 2nd week of adaptation and have a higher HR, generally +10beats and it messes me up. Normal wking is 60 but now 70 or 72.

I have read above others experiences and feel a bit lighter but still what is causing this, and what can i do?

I will

• drink more water with sodium and make sure i get 10 grams per day to test.
• more olive oil
• additional micronutrients in regularly from pills and see what the effect is.
• measure regularly after a meal what my heart rate is the next 60min, like 30min after 60min after. 90 min after to deduce if some food content was causing it.
• eat no later than 18.00. Last night i ate at 21 stuffing myself and had a horrible sleep, and woke up 04, and hars time sleeping on.

Confusion but want to fat adapt!

Johan

[Annja]

Please be patient. I started keto about a year ago. Before keto my HR was 55-60. On keto it was 70-75 for many months. I tried everything with supplements, sleep, electrolytes, etc. No effect. I gave up and accepted the higher HR. Then a few months ago, without me changing anything, it dropped down to the old values, where it now resides.

Maybe there is just something about the adaptation that takes longer. I would like to know what it is, but I trust my body does what it needs to do.

[anon24390425]

Mine has dropped. Using a Fitbit to track my heart rate shows about a 15-20 drop while I am keto.

[Kelly_Wilbur]

Did you ever figure it out? I’m dealing with the same thing right now. Terrifying.