Blood pressure

[swansong75]

Im full of questions ! Ive noticed that my bp fluctuates quite a bit while I am in this AF/Irregular heartrate that Ive had for a week now . It can be 135/80 one minute and 112/69 the next. Is this usual ?

[Jalia]

I can only say that this would be quite usual for me !

[swansong75 in reply to Jalia]

Thank you,I feel ok but my monitor shows the fluctuation. Hope you are ok ?

[CDreamer]

Very usual for AFers

[Buffafly]

BP monitors generally don't work well when you are in AF.

[jeanjeannie50]

Yes, our BP is constantly changing, so what you describe is quite normal.

The way we breathe can have an effect our BP. To prove this take a big breath in and then let it out as quickly as you can through your mouth with a huh. Do this a few times and it usually drops lower.

[swansong75 in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Thank you for the info , im a worrier !

[Maril1]

Mines all over the place in AF sometimes the lower one is higher than the other if you know what I mean ,for example 120/125!

[LordGabriel in reply to Maril1]

Yeah me too!

[swansong75 in reply to Maril1]

Thank you for the info

[swansong75 in reply to Maril1]

Thanks for sharing, hope you are ok

[Hidden]

Can't comment that its usual or unusual, not qualified, BUT, this irratic BP behaviour leading to an overall downward trend in BP ( as low as 76/50 or something) led to me being sent to A & E where I was initially diagnosed with atrial flutter, which later during the diagnostic process converted to atrial fibrillation.

John

[swansong75]

Thanks John, hope you are ok

[KMRobbo]

Why bother measurig BP when on afib? What does it tell you?

If you are feeling stressed and anxious you blood pressure would rise normally. If you are worried as you are in Afib it would go up.

However if you are in AFIB and you have a heart pumping erratically then I would expect it to fluctuate downwards (not medically trained) . So the result is a total mishmash and I would think pretty useless . On top of that i doubt the bp pressure machinee will get a sensible reading anyway.

No point in doing the BP, it is just giving you sonething else to worry about!

[Hidden in reply to KMRobbo]

Absobloominlootley!

[swansong75 in reply to KMRobbo]

Thank you mate, new to all this so its good to hear what others have to say

[CDreamer in reply to swansong75]

Dr Gupta - York Cardio did a video of how & why - if you have an arrythmia BP fluctuates - on YouTube.

[swansong75 in reply to KMRobbo]

Pretty much what my GP said this morning! Cheers !!

[Hidden in reply to KMRobbo]

Well, I don't agree! In my case I thought I was going down with 'flu. No cardiac connections at all! My GP had already been monitoring my BP having just prior to this erratic behaviour put me on BP medication. This particular day when I thought I was going down with flu it made sense to monitor my BP. Glad I did, phoned my GP, saw him immediately and then off to A&E straight away and in around 9 hours from starting to feel ill with flu I had a diagnosis of AF, and treatment started. I had never heard of atrial flutter or AF until that time. So, what I suggest is that you just don't judge everyone the same ...we are all different. Certainly, for me a BP reading of 76/50 is not a particularly healthy set of numbers. I have since upgraded my BP machine to one recommended by NICE for recording AF, and it does so, and it is accurate.

Using some of the arguments I've read here it would seem that anyone with a Kardia which gives readings they can't interpret much less understand must automatically send their own BP soaring.

[KMRobbo in reply to Hidden]

Hi , to clarify I never said people should not use BP monitors. I use mine fairly regularly every couple of weeks or so just to make sure my BP is under control. All I said was that if you are in AF as Swansong indicated, you are in an abnormal situation and you can expect anything on your reading higher or lower, so there is no point taking it .The BP is a result of the AF directly or indirectly.

On your personal example you did not know you had AF and you were not feeling well and your BP had reduced so that alerted you some thing was not normal.

[Challiefan]

I agree with everyone else. BP rate definitely rises - as does my pulse rate in addition to beats all over the place.

[CDreamer in reply to Challiefan]

Not everyone’s BP rises - my experience was the same as Carneuny - it dropped through the floor & I also spent time in A&E & Acute Cardiac because I couldn’t maintain BP - but I’m always the contrarian 😂

[sleeksheep in reply to CDreamer]

Well I'm in the same boat also , my BP is very stable and I'm in persistent AF. More likely to go down if I am poorly but I dont notice any vast differences between readings.

106/72 with a pulse of 68 and I am in AF which I barely notice.

[CDreamer in reply to sleeksheep]

You are very fortunate to not notice it - I think 🤔- as long as it’s diagnosed and monitored of course!

[swansong75]

Saw my GP this morning and she said to stop using electronic bp monitor while still in af and irregular heartbeat as they are not accurate in this scenario and only add to stress levels

[Ingy_UK]

My BP fluctuates when my AF is being a problem... During a serious 'episode' the heart doesn't pump properly and BP can drop, sometimes causing fainting!

I also had Bradycardia (prior to a Pacemaker implant)... My BP was pushed dangerously high to the point of causing damage, yet there was still considerable fluctuation due to AF.