i have had 3 cycles of FEC and had the first of 3 dosetaxol on 9/1/17. I became very short of breath and had a very fast pulse (140 at rest). I have spent the last 3 days in hospital in coronary care and just came home today. My heart rate is still too fast, and goes up higher if I do the slightest thing. I will have an echocardiogram on Wednesday to compare to the baseline one I had before I started chemo. I hope there hasn't been any permanent damage to my heart. Has anyone else experienced this?

Katyjoy, have you experienced tachycardia before? I suffered it all my life but had it fixed after my first diagnosis back in 2011 so about 2013 I had it fixed as radiation aggravated it further. Its not actually a problem within the heart but the nerve pathways across the heart that throw it into this incredibly fast rhythm. I landed in hospital 2012 with possible heart muscle damage yikes! I had it fixed with an ablation, which they cautorize the nerve pathways. When my heart now goes to go into that crazy rhythm it stops itself. I know through chemo, especially I was very short of breath and yes my heart felt funny also. Melinda xo

Dear KatyJoyi got my first tachycardia attack about halfway though my 2nd chemo, taxol. Almost certainly wasn't taxol but may have been partially triggered by my first chemo treatment A/C. Was totally oblivious of my fast heart rate - I have continued to be virtually symptom free. Was diagnosed with an arrhythmia, irregular heartbeat. Previous slight high blood pressure may also have been a factor, my cardiologist says unlikely on its own but possible if added to surgery (mastectomy) and chemo.I was temporarily a bit flattened by this but long story short, if it's an arrhythmia, it's managable and possibly reversible. Very wise to check your heart with an echocardiogram. Mine is fine, no change nearly 4 years later. It makes no practical difference to my life, I take a couple of pills including a blood thinner as the risk with an arrhythmia is clotting and possible stroke. Big advantage Is that your chances of deep vein thrombosis if you fly long distance gets significantly reduced! Always look for the positive!I hope this is a temporary issue, and quickly resolved. Best wishes.

Thanks Melinda, no I haven't had tachycardia before and my baseline echo was normal. I have been frustrated with feeling short of breath, weak and just really unfit through chemo but the nurses in onc said its normal and I just have to cut myself some slack. Maybe this problem has been building up? Hopefully the benefits of this treatment will outweigh the risk. It's pretty frightening. It's good to know your ablation was successful

Tachycardia is often caused by the electrical system of the heart malfunctioning. The heart may be otherwise perfectly healthy. Cardioversion (electric shock) is one treatment (don't worry, it's painless and done under anaesthesia!) so is ablation, but your symptoms may be temporary and caused by something else. See what happens next week. Shortness of breath, palpitations and nasty fluttery feelings in the stomach are frequently experienced. Alarming but not necessarily harmful.

Oh everything you described i too went through and it didn't stop until i finished. It is frightening about my 4th taxol i passed out and couldn't breathe. Definitely chemo related. It did get better im 1yr post and no probs now. X

Chemo induced tachycardia | BCNA Online Network

21 Replies

KatyJoy
Member
9 years ago
Thanks Nadi, I am also on Neulasta and had some mild bone pain with the first two injections after fec, but it was really excruciating after the dosetaxol. I went to the chemist to get naprosyn after reading some discussions here but they said I couldn't have it for the pain I had. Maybe if you tell them it's for period pain then you can get it over the counter? Anyway, I will have the echo tomorrow then talk to the breast care nurse about all of this. I'm really frightened about the next cycle. My fingertips and nails are really sore now too so I suppose that is the next bit.
Nadi
Member
9 years ago

I had four rounds of docetaxal. The shortness of breath and tachycardia only happened on rounds 2, 3 and 4. My dose wasn't altered but I think that was because I changed oncologists half way through and I convinced the second doctor to continue AFTER they did all the tests to rule out anything nasty like blood clot and heart probelms. My LVEF heart levels went down but that was because I was HER2+ and on herceptin which has a direct effect on the heart. That did cause delays to some of my treatments but from memory I think (?????) I had finished docetaxal by then. I also got excruciating bone pain but this they put down to neulasta injection. I got neutropenic after round 1 and was admitted to hospital in isolation for a week. After that I had neulasta for rounds 2, 3 and 4. Bone pain was severe. They gave me panadeine forte then endone but didn't work. I got the pain in my femurs and sternum which again made the ER doctors think I was having a heart attack thanks to severe chest pain, shortness of breath and tachycardia!!!! That's when they rang me husband at work and told him to get to emergency ASAP. The only thing that eased the bone pain from the neulasta was period pain tablets with naprosyn that you get over the counter at the chemist. One doctor said it was fine to take this, then the pharmacist at the hospital said not to take them. I took them anyway. We have to be guided by our doctors but it was reassuring to me that other women were going through the same 'weird' side effect. Even so, it's important to have all the tests to rule out anything. It's only after they rule every out that they then say to you "Oh we think it is a side effect from the treatment." Better to be safe than sorry.
Good luck
melclarity
Member
9 years ago
My bone, muscle and nerve pain hit day 3 and as the weeks went on there was no reprieve before the next infusion. I had 8 in total of Taxol and allergic to narcotics so panadol and ibuprofen was all I could take and yeah, didnt touch the sides of the relentless pain. Good news is? The breathing gets better as does the heart settle and pain eases once its all over!!! Hugs Melinda xo
KatyJoy
Member
9 years ago
Oh wow everyone, I'm starting to feel this is not such a weird side effect at all! Nadi, did you finish the course of dosetaxol? I have only had the first of 3 planned cycles. I am frightened about having the next two. Did they alter the dose? I also had excruciating bone and muscle pain that started on day 3 and lasted for 3 days really bad, nothing would touch it. It has now backed off and I am still achy but not so distressing. The cardiologist at the hospital thought the tachycardia was more likely to be from the epirubicin in the Fec than the dosetaxol. Anyway I will have the echocardiogram tomorrow then review by the team prior to my next chemo. I have also had scans to rule out blood clots, and blood tests to rule out heart damage and check my thyroid function, all ok so far. RNSW, that's a good idea, I will get a Fitbit.
Nadi
Member
9 years ago
Hi KatyJoy. YES YES YES I know how frightening this can be. I had the same with Docetaxal. My shortness of breath was more concerning to me than the tachycardia. I ended up in emergency 3 times because I felt I couldn't breathe. They did ultrasounds of the heart, echos, xrays and took a CT scan three times to check for a blood clot on the lungs. One time when I had the attack they rang my husband at work and told him to get to the hospital immediately which scared the daylight out of him! In the end it all stopped after I finished docetaxal. I remember other women on the network having the same experience. I changed chemo oncologists during treatment. My second doctor said this was a side effect of dexamethasone taken with docetaxal and that he had seen before but only in a few women. Here's hoping it is just that and it will all settle down like mine did about 4 - 6 weeks after your last dose of docetaxal. Good luck with everything.
RNSW
Member
9 years ago
Hi KatyJoy, sorry to hear you are in hospital. My heart rate sat to high after I finished chemo around 120. I saw a cardiologist and had tests done. My heart was fine but beating to fast side effect of chemo. He said it may return to normal but a year on he hasn't. I am on medication and I wear a fitbit that tracks my heart rate. It now rests at approximately 80 with the medication.
I hope it gets sorted for you quickly.
Rita xo
melclarity
Member
9 years ago
Oh everything you described i too went through and it didn't stop until i finished. It is frightening about my 4th taxol i passed out and couldn't breathe. Definitely chemo related. It did get better im 1yr post and no probs now. X
Afraser
Member
9 years ago
Tachycardia is often caused by the electrical system of the heart malfunctioning. The heart may be otherwise perfectly healthy. Cardioversion (electric shock) is one treatment (don't worry, it's painless and done under anaesthesia!) so is ablation, but your symptoms may be temporary and caused by something else. See what happens next week. Shortness of breath, palpitations and nasty fluttery feelings in the stomach are frequently experienced. Alarming but not necessarily harmful.
KatyJoy
Member
9 years ago
Thanks Melinda, no I haven't had tachycardia before and my baseline echo was normal. I have been frustrated with feeling short of breath, weak and just really unfit through chemo but the nurses in onc said its normal and I just have to cut myself some slack. Maybe this problem has been building up? Hopefully the benefits of this treatment will outweigh the risk. It's pretty frightening. It's good to know your ablation was successful
Afraser
Member
9 years ago
Dear KatyJoy

i got my first tachycardia attack about halfway though my 2nd chemo, taxol. Almost certainly wasn't taxol but may have been partially triggered by my first chemo treatment A/C. Was totally oblivious of my fast heart rate - I have continued to be virtually symptom free. Was diagnosed with an arrhythmia, irregular heartbeat. Previous slight high blood pressure may also have been a factor, my cardiologist says unlikely on its own but possible if added to surgery (mastectomy) and chemo.

I was temporarily a bit flattened by this but long story short, if it's an arrhythmia, it's managable and possibly reversible. Very wise to check your heart with an echocardiogram. Mine is fine, no change nearly 4 years later. It makes no practical difference to my life, I take a couple of pills including a blood thinner as the risk with an arrhythmia is clotting and possible stroke. Big advantage Is that your chances of deep vein thrombosis if you fly long distance gets significantly reduced! Always look for the positive!

I hope this is a temporary issue, and quickly resolved. Best wishes.

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Chemo induced tachycardia

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