Worried about heart rate

[Keibra]

Hi guys I'm back. I'm not sure I am posting in right forum but I'm a bit worried. I have had 1 episode of a.f in 2016.

Lately my resting heart rate has been low. Today it went to 43bpm and I started to feel like it was beating in my throat. Usually my resting heart rate is 65-70 bpm.

I have had ecg and event monitor and both were normal. The same thing happened a couple of months back and the doctor lowered my dose of bisoprolol from 10mg to 7.5mg.

My question is do you think the bisoprolol is doing the rate dropping and I need a lower dose or should I be more worried? I'm also on losartan and amlodipine

My blood pressure is 110/73. I'm not an athlete by any means

Thanks

Tracy

[Hidden]

Hi Tracy,

I'm on 5 mg of Bisoprolol, which I take at night. This happens to me about 4 to 5 times a year, for no particular reason. I just write it off to the Bisoprolol getting a bit carried away 😊

I'm active but not sporty and my average resting heart rate is around 62 to 67 bpm. On such occasions it can drop to 46 bpm! On such occasions my BP usually increase, it is normally about 125/70 ( assisted by medication of course).

At times my extremities ( hands and feet) go ice cold (even in summer). I feel crap! Usually go to bed with a hot water bottle which I hug and also have a mug of hot sweet coffee. Usually fall asleep for up to 4 hours wake up with normal heart rate and once I'm up and about feel fine.

John

[Keibra in reply to Hidden]

Thanks John nice to know I'm not alone. I will try and speak to my doctor though as maybe 7.5mg is still too much. I was on 5mg before the 1 off a.f attack (at least I hope it will be a 1 off) in 2016.

[Hidden in reply to Keibra]

Good luck Tracy, my view is that 7.5 is way too high and that if 5 mg did something to controlling your HR earlier then stay on that amount until such time as your AF takes off again - heaven forbid 😉 Hopefully that ain't gonna happen.

[Hidden]

Whilst on this theme, before AF hit in January 2010my average resting HR was at the top end of the accepted normal range,i.e 88 BPM. So the Bisoprolol has done its job. However, in 2013 because of this tendency to drop down to 55 and on occasions down to 46 my GP tried reducing my dose by 1.25mg. Didn't work, HR shot back up to the low 80's almost immediately. 😣 So for me, 5mg is the dose I'm stuck with. Not that it bothers me, but it's worth a try to minimise the dose.

[Tako2009]

Hi Tracey. My cardiologist increased my bisoprolol to 7.5mg when I was first diagnosed with AF. And my heart rate dropped alarmingly- with trial and error we established I can tolerate best 2.5mg or possibly 5mg at a push. I would ask your doctor if he can reduce the dose you are on or try an alternative. Also as has been mentioned taking it at night is worth a try although in my case it didn’t help.

Good luck getting this sorted!

[Mickhall]

Keibra

The thing is this happened to me yesterday, my heart rate went down to 41 and stayed around there for a couple of hours with me feeling poorly but later in the day it rose into the 70s. It has happened before, although not quite that low but as a wise old bird told me on another thred A F is a long journey and as hard as it is sometimes it is best to use the maxim of Corporal Jones and “don’t panic.” I would suggest see how things pan out over the next few days. Good luck. Ps sadly I don’t always take my own advice when it comes to not panicking 😩

[secondtry]

Hi Tracy, my blood pressure is similar and my HR always lowish around 60 when first diagnosed with Lone PAF. My cardiologist put me on just Flecainide at a medium 200mgs/day dose and despite checking twice with him (after reading here) that I should be having another drug with it (not sure whether thats Bisoprolol or other), he is adamant anything else would make me feel unwell. For four years, he has been right and I have been fine. Good luck, listen to your body, it is one of your medical advisers.

[Bagrat in reply to secondtry]

Me too. Flecainide and anticoagulant for 6 years. Still here.

[Polski]

Remember that Bisoprolol is usually used to lower blood pressure, which has the effect of lowering heart rate, which is why it is used to treat AF. Your blood pressure is low, presumably parly due to the Bisoprolol. You might feel better on a slightly lower dose.

[lee49uk]

Hi keibra

I have low resting heart rate 37-42bpm without being on any kind of medication and also get AFib and other wobbly heart beats etc still awaiting a referral after some years of this. Best advice i can give is try not to panic as we all know that drops you into a vicious cycle. You are certainly not alone there is a huge group of amazing people here for advice and support. I do feel for you i honestly can't comment on the tablets you are taking as i don't have any experience with such things at this point.

Ironically i panic if my resting rate hits 70 because mine is usually so low !

You are certainly in the right place to aleve your fears this is an amazing place with some incredible people on hand. Others here will have far more knowledge than me to help you just wanted to say hi and wish you well. I Hope the help you get here is matched by the help you get from your doctor. all the best.

[Keibra]

Hi guys I went to doctors today and had an ecg which showed bradycardic beats at 53bpm. The doctor has lowered my dose of bisoprolol to 5mg now with a view to weaning me off them eventually. I have to go back in a month.

I am so glad they saw it was low... I'm not mad after all!!

[Keibra in reply to Keibra]

New question how long will it take for the new dose of 5mg to work? I'm feeling awful right now

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