Slow heart rate

[Rachelanx50]

Hi everyone i hope you're all well. I was just wondering if any of you with paf ever have bouts of slow heart rate

[jedimasterlincoln]

Yes, on occasion, I've run as low as 45. I usually can tell something's up because I go unusually tired. As yet I don't really know why it happens, I've taken my regular medications as usual, it has usually been at night.

[Rachelanx50 in reply to jedimasterlincoln]

Hiya mine is normally after waking up I've just had a nap and it was 53 when i woke up

[Hidden]

I have PAF, thankfully it has behaved since spring. My resting heart rate is in the 50’s. Occasionally it drops into upper 40’s when I’m sleeping( according to my fitbit). It is slow because I take a very low dose betablockers. Doc said if we ever need to go higher dose, I may have to have pacemaker but I’m hoping we don’t need to cross that bridge How low does yours get?

[Rachelanx50 in reply to Hidden]

Hi Hoskins mine never goes lower than 50 but its always on waking except for today i was thinking that it may be because I'm especially tired today having had a bad nights sleep

[cicek]

My pulse is nearly always 45 or below. Goes lower during sleeping. I am on Bisoprolol so I assume quite normal. When I was being diagnosed and had a monitor attached my HR went down to 33 during sleep. GP aware of all of this and doesn't seem concerned.

[Rachelanx50 in reply to cicek]

Thats reassuring cicek thanks 🙂

[doodle68]

Hi Rachel my heart rate is quite low since I started taking beta blockers in the 40's 50's generally, As Dr Gupta says in his video 'it is only a number the main thing is how you feel and do you have any symptoms'. My high blood pressure is under control and my heart rate during episodes of P-AF usually lower than it used to be at around 130 so I will settle for that.

I was a bit concerned last Friday night when I had an episode of P-AF and felt a different 'odd' to the odd I usually feel during AF so I recorded it on my Kardia only to find my heart rate was 32 making the reading unclassified. I tried a couple more readings and it was the same 32 and irregular still and not the usual fast heart rate I get when in AF so I decided the best thing to do was to go to sleep and hope I woke up in the morning. So I did just that and was ok by morning with a HR of 48 and no AF .

[Rachelanx50 in reply to doodle68]

Hi doodle I've watched most of dr guptas videos i found them a great help with my anxiety especially so thanks for that. I think you are so brave with all you go through i think i would have cracked up by now. That saying it wouldn't take much 🙄

[Rachelanx50]

Thats reassuringly for me then John thanks

[Hidden]

Hi,

Mine occasionally drops to 46. Prior to pAF my average was around 88 to 90. In those days my average blood pressure was around 136/85.

I've been on 5 mg Bisoprolol for 9 years and my average HR is now around 63. My average BP is now 126/70.

It usually drops to 46 when I'm home relaxing and occurs mostly late morning. It is accompanied by my hands and feet going ice cold. I go to bed with a mug of hot sweet coffee and hug a hot water bottle, fall asleep and wake up 3 hrs or so later feeling fine and with a normal HR.

Happens two or 3 times a year with no warning.

John

[Hidden]

Having a slow heart rate is perhaps only a problem if it is accompanied by dizziness or lack of energy or feeling unwell or perhaps cold hands and feet. If one feels OK, does it matter that much what the figures say? Some of us do quite well with a heart rate that's normally somewhere around 50.

[CoalmineCanary]

Mine was around 53 resting and 48 or so sleeping. They told me it got down to 38 once while sleeping. That scares me, but not them. I was not on any meds to cause it either. Since my ablation almost 4 months ago, I haven't gotten back to that low of a rate yet. My resting is 64 now - it has slowly came down from high 80's after the ablation. I am okay with that. Again, I am not on any medications that would cause it.

[opal11uk]

Yes, I have and as a consequence now have a trusty pacemaker and am now paced a 60 revs per minute.

[shaldonkoolma]

Hi Rachel I was on FLECANIDE 50mg twice daily and nebivolol 2.5mg once daily. My pulse was usually high 50s, but sometimes in low 40s and I didn't feel well when this was happening, I knew it was low, like i know when in af. I say it in the past tense as since my ablation it has been higher.

My cardiologist did not want to increase my meds because of this when my af started to come back more frequently as he did not want this to worsen, hence the ablation.

[radagast58]

Hiya

Beta blockers slow your heart rate. That's partly why they work. I know it's really difficult but try not to get too obsessed with numbers. If you feel ok the chances are you are fine

I never do my pulse unless I have palpitations and feel unwell and only do my BP if I have persistent dizziness.

I'm determined not to let this demon PAF rule my life!!

The caveat to this if you feel unwell and have persistent dizziness, shortness of breath at rest, chest pain or tightness or palpitations then seek urgent medical attention

Keep well

[Rachelanx50 in reply to radagast58]

Hiya radagast58th the problem i have is that i suffer from chronic anxiety panic disorder and clinical OCD so to some a slow heart rate doesn't matter so much but to me its quite distressing my anti anxiety meds can't be increased they can affect the cardiovascular system this is why I'm in a constant dilemma as afib is still pretty new to me

[radagast58 in reply to Rachelanx50]

Hi Rachel

Please don't think I was belittling or trivialising your concerns about your slow heart rate. I suffer from chronic anxiety myself. AF and all it's associated symptoms can be very distressing and cause stress and anxiety levels to go into overdrive. The only way I've found of dealing with this is to try and focus on how I feel rather than BP and pulse rate. It's not easy and it doesn't always work!!

Kindest regards

[Rachelanx50 in reply to radagast58]

Hiya radagast58th no i didn't think that at all my anxiety throws in alot of physical symptoms like an achey chest palpitations dizzy spells so its hard sometimes to separate the two I'm hoping as i get used to having afib things will feel easier thanks for the advice it means alot

[DK81]

I have just looked at my notes, and found the following:

"On January 1, 2017, my pulse fell to about 30 beats per minute after I ate some nuts. It recovered very soon."

Is this a record?

I am pretty sure I was not taking any medication at the time, even though I had PAF, and think temporary physical pressure around the heart may have caused the incident, which occurred whilst I was seated.

[whiststev]

Yeah, mine went down to 35 I was told during sleep, this was the bisolprolol and not to worry if wasn’t symptomatic, around 53 when relaxing during the day , doesn’t bother me.

[Hidden]

Mine occasionally drops to 26 for a few seconds which makes me feel faint. I take bisoprolol 1.25 mgs daily. Normally it is around 60 at rest. I’m still on the biso because it helps with ectopics and anxiety. The underlying problem in my case is a degree of heart block.

I think typically a rate below 50 which is not due to medication or you being very athletic, might lead your GP to arrange an ECG, in case there are any indications of heart block.

I had a Holter monitor which did not show any pauses longer than 3 seconds, equivalent to 20 bpm, at which threshold there may be consideration of a pacemaker, unless there is any question of faints , falls, fits, chest pain, breathlessness etc.., when the threshold would be a lot higher. Similarly if the doctor wanted to give medication which slowed the heart even more.

[Tapanac]

Hello. Yes since my ablation my BP is usually around 130/50 ish although the diastolic has gone lower, but my pulse ranges from 39-45. Apparently on my last halter monitor it went down to 33 ranging during a nightmare to 64. Usually though it is about 44-48. I don't think it should go below 50 because when I was in hospital, when it did go below, the machine kept beeping. I do feel sluggish, but am waiting to see my EP and see what he says about the latest halter monitor. So reading some of the messages here, although we are fairly low pulse rates I'm not sure if that is OK or not. I do hope you feel OK soon

[shorttail]

Im on Sotalol and Amlodopine for high BP, which is normal now at about 110/75. Heart Rate normally about 55-60 with the Sotalol, but when in AF (as now) soon.everything drops, heart rate to 45 or so, feel very week and dizzy on standing. BP can go to 75/55.

Not sure what answer is, not under EP anymore , just GP.

Hope yours resolve

[Davebe]

I'm quite certain that I in person occasionally get fast and slow rates. When the AF was first diagnosed in 2013. In November it hit 216 BPM and the following March went to 31 BPM. Later that year I had an ablation. Dave x