I have fallen asleep and soon awakened with shortness of breath and rapid heart rate . This has only happened twice in a week and a half, but I sense there is something wrong. Overall, I feel I am healthy. I had some in depth tests on my heart around a year ago ( ekg , stress test, etc) that produced no issues. I do not smoke or drink and have no issues with anxiety . My breathing is good all other times and I feel fine with some pain in my upper back on occasion. Any suggestions as what this could be?
Hi, I think your occasional upper back pain could be caused by reflux and indigestion. This can manifest itself as pain radiating through to the back. At night, you may have had an episode of reflux which can commonly wake a person up with an episode of shortness of breath and sometimes coughing. My suggestion would be to try an over the counter antacid and take a Chat Doctor.  Sometimes sleeping in a slightly propped up position can reduce the chance of reflux.