Low heart rate

[simon111]

Hi everyone Sorry it's me again...I'm breathless with heart rate in 50s and dropping to 48...should I be worried or is this normal

[jeanjeannie50]

This can be normal for some very fit people, but I wouldn't to be at that low rate. What medication are you on, as an adjustment to that under the guidance of your GP may be the way to go?

[simon111 in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Hi jj ,I'm on 1.25mg of biscoporol..which is quite low

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to simon111]

I think you need to let your GP know how low your heart rate is now. Perhaps you may only need to take Bisoprolol when you have an attack of AF. Please find out ASAP as having a low heart rate can cause you to pass out and you really don't want to go down that route and being prevented from driving. How is your BP?

[BobD Volunteer]

Sounds low to me. Anything under 60 is classed as bradycardia . Best discuss with your GP I think although not dangerous .

[simon111 in reply to BobD]

Thank you..appointment with my gp later today

[Padayn01 in reply to simon111]

Please let us know what he said, take care

[JaneFinn in reply to simon111]

Good to hear really hope they’re helpful.

Remember you can ask your other heartbeat related concerns/questions too while you’re there - and ask for a referral to an EP if you haven’t already

Good luck and please let us know how you get on xx

[Padayn01]

My heart rate on Bisraprol used to go to 48

[simon111 in reply to Padayn01]

That's comforting thank you

[Hidden]

I'm on 5mg Bisoprolol and have been on it for 9 & half years. Occasionally mine drops to 46 and I go ice cold, the ice man cometh ! Usually I'm averaging 65, but I function best at 72 to 75.

John

[Jujubee07]

Definitely glad you're going to see your doctor, as that's the most important thing! But I wanted to add -- depending on what you're using to measure your heart rate, don't panic. If I'm having a bad a-fib episode and use my (relatively inexpensive) home oximeter, it often says low 40s or 50s. I called my cardiologist's office about this in a panic the first time it happened, and they told me if your heart is beating very fast or erratically, the oximeter has difficulty counting, so it may not count all of the beats. If you happen to have an iPhone, the Cardiio app can better show your HR flip flopping during a bad episode (but don't use it as a replacement diagnosis, and don't put too much faith in its waveforms!)

[charlwood35]

...this does strike a chord with me. Very early on I was put on 2.5mg of bisoprolol by a cardiologist (not an EP) despite the fact that my resting bpm was 48 - 52 and I was a paroxysmal sufferer. I did not know enough then to question it but then I don’t think it unreasonable that I expected him to know that what he was doing!....

[charlwood35 in reply to charlwood35]

...what he was doing

[LaceyLady]

My HR go’s low too! Currently sitting in car going North checked it on my Fitbit - 49!! Gone up a bit to 55, probably the concern 😳 Cardiologist mentioned it yesterday but was unconcerned 😳

[LaceyLady]

I do try keeping fit and swim and water exercise 3 x a week. Pulse can be good for my age, was between 60-70. So, with medication ..........

[Ianc2]

Adrian Bolt had a heartbeat in the 30's and most fit athletes have slow resting rates. Fitbit produced a report a little while ago showing a link between activity levels and resting heartrate. I think the essence of it was the more active people are , the lower the rate.

[simon111]

Hi everyone..thank you for all your advice.

I went to GP who wasn't too concerned about heart rate but as I had tightness in my chest radiating to my arm and neck as well as sweating,she gave me a spray under my tongue which relieved tightness.

She then called ambulance and I ended up in A and E for most of day.No confirmed diagnosis ..suspected angina..so referred to cardiologist

A waiting game now

[Padayn01 in reply to simon111]

Glad you went to get it checked how you feel now?

[simon111 in reply to Padayn01]

Everything settled heartrate in 60s..feeling good thank you

[Fazerboy]

Hi, I have svt. Before I was on medication my resting hr was about 45. I'm on 1.25 mg of Bisoprolol at the moment and my hr drops to the mid 30's at times but I don't feel faint or anything so my cardiologist and my gp are ok with this. I have a linq implant recorder and it automatically records if it drops below 30 which it did recently at about 2.00 am.

I would agree with the comment that some recorders don't pick up all of the beats so it may not be as low as you think. This also works the other way as well though in that if I go into svt with a hr of about 160 (measured on a garmin chest strap monitor and my own feeling) whereas my fitbit and my iphone would both only record it at about 70 because they use reflected light. Generally if you feel ok I wouldn't worry too much but make sure your GP and/or Cariologist is aware.

[simon111 in reply to Fazerboy]

Thank you

[ronat2545]

Hi--maybe a bit late to leave a comment, but here goes. I am in constant AF and my heart rate is around 75--back in the 1970's I was running about 50kms pw and when my resting pulse dropped to 48 I went to see my GP. He explained the heart is like any other muscle in that any aerobic exercise (running, swimming, cycling etc) would make it more efficient and that my blood stroke/volume had increased.

I believe at one time Herb Elliot, the former world one mile champion trained mostly by running up and down steep sand hills and his resting pulse was around 30 bpm.