Effect of Progressive supranuclear palsy on heart

[Hemantkh]

Hi, is there any effect on the heart rate or heart functioning due to psp.

[NannaB]

Hi, I can only speak for my husband but his heart was very strong and normal until the end. PSP doesn’t stop folk getting other illnesses and conditions though.

His heart beat did rise when he had what the GP called “neurological blips” when he couldn’t control his temperature due to damage to the relevant part of the brain so when his temeperature soared his heart beat increased but his heart was healthy and beat normally once his temperature went back to normal.

XxxX

[honjen43]

Interesting thought, but probably nothing proven to tie them together. You don't say why you ask, so I wonder if your patient is showing such symptoms.

My husband was diagnosed with probable CBD not PSP shortly before he died.

His last 3-4 years seemed fraught with one health problem after another. Gradual reduction in ability to walk, do garden, stay up a ladder without falling off, breathe easily on exercise, lack of clear thinking (which he covered up well for a long time), leading to periods when he went grey faced on exercise and took several hours to recover. He was sent to a specialist who suggested he was a candidate for a pacemaker, since his heart rate was very low (40-45bpm) but did not think it was essential for time being. He seemed to think a nerve at the bottom of his heart was not functioning very well. There was no consideration of Parkinson's or CBD at this time.

After collapsing on holiday overseas with me, I reported this incident and a pacemaker was fitted shortly after.

He also developed flakey and lumpy skin which was diagnosed as ichthyosis, but the treatment given was ineffective. I asked his GP if it could be psoriasis. He prescribed a sticky cream then being advertised on TV and his skin improved considerably! What is more, a large number of warty lumps fell off after several weeks of treatment.

Two years after the pacemaker fitted he went back to a cardiologist with similar problems to those before the fitting. The cardiologist could not make any conclusions as the pacemaker overrode any tests he tried to do. However, he watched him walk and asked if anyone had mentioned PD! A nurse relative had queried this to me about the time of his collapse; otherwise no one else had mentioned it.

The cardiologist appointment was 9 months before he died and subsequent treatment for Parkinson's had no effect.

So there is certainly a question mark around my observation of my husband's deteriorating health, although no medical professional has tied them all together.

Others on this site have mentioned problems with itchy scaley skin - so who knows !!

Now it is documented here for others to note, and to add their symptoms and treatments and other comments!

Hugs

Jen xxx

[Dadshelper]

Dad had CBD and his doctor said up to to the end his heart was "health as a horse".

Ron

[lindaD_]

my husand was diagnosed with atrial fibrilation before he was diagnosed with anything else.but his heart was strong

[AJK2001]

My Mum has had a silent heart attack since being diagnosed with PSP. No-one has ever mentioned that the 2 are linked but then so little is known about the condition I guess the clinicians don't know. I am pretty certain the heart team at the hospital had never come across PSP before.

[racinlady]

Hi, My husband has PSP and also has congestive heart failure. I've never felt like they were connected, but I suppose they could be. He actually was diagnosed with both within a week of each other. The doctors never suggested that there was any connection. The neurologist advised against bypass surgery. He said people with PSP have a poor outcome because they really can't do the rehab required following bypass surgery.