Hello,
BP is in normal range and as soon as AFib starts it shoots up with readings of aprox 175/69, dangerously close to stage 3 bp crisis.
When AFib stops the BP settles down immediately.
High blood pressure was diagnosed long before AFib and it was managed successfully with meds.
Now with AFib the BP goes berserk. Doctors didn't know what to say except to monitor and take the BP meds like usual.
How did you manage to control high BP during AFib episodes ?
I can only tell you that with any stress my BP goes sky high. Doing deep breathing and exhaling quickly with a huh sound brings it down immediately. See if that will work for you.
Jean
Hi, mine does exactly the same thing, take bisaprolol and rivaroxaban, doesn’t stop it though. Waiting for a CTCA scan!
Not sure you can as your BP readings when in AF will be very unreliable. Was that reading an average of 3 consecutive readings? As recommended for taking a BP reading in AF? Had you been sitting quietly for at least 10 minutes prior to taking the BP? Our BP is always variable anyway during the day so it can vary dependant on what time of day you take it.
If your BP is controlled and in an acceptable range when not in BP then I personally wouldn’t worry. The more you worry about it then the higher your BP will go.
I have the opposite in AF - my BP drops like a stone and becomes unreadable so that I have to remain prone until AF stops. Medics get far more concerned about that.
If you look at York Cardiology on YouTube and find the video by Dr Gupta (the UK cardiologist not the US TV doctor) he explains exactly how and why BP becomes unstable when in AF.
As CDreamer mentions.if are using a normal home test machine I would take these reading with a pinch of salt. Such readingas are very unreliable if you are in AF as few machines can cope so if you really want to know what it is then the old fashioned stethoscope method must be used. I'm surprised your doctors do not know this.
Home BP monitors don’t work well when you are in AF and taking your BP is likely to raise it! Before I had a Kardia I took my BP on an Omron 3 monitor which shows irregular HB. My BP was up so a bit later I took it again, up again, repeat 😨 I know better now ☺️
Hi B
How did the Omron show irregular heart beat - different readings within minutes ?
Thanks !
When it detects an irregular HB it shows a little ‘shaky heart’ symbol but don’t know how it detects it!
Thanks !
Also saw snak's post. After all these years finally know. Need to more closely read instruction manual.
🙂
Think the shaky symbol means that the cuff is not fitted correctly. Bear in mind that evenMind that when the 2 heart symbol shows it could just be for an ectopic beat Best moronic is one that automatically does 3 AF readings in automatic mode. For yearsI thought I was in Af but it was just ectopic beats.
Hi snak
May want to discuss increasing/changing your bp meds with your doctor.
Wearing a BP monitor is also an option to get an accurate, continuous reading.
I have an Omron monitor which reads within 5 points of the one in the doctors office. Verify it at least every 6 months
I use Omron M3 to read the BP. I'm pretty sure the reading is accurate.Back during first AFib episodes, I called the ambulance. Staff arrived with proper medical equipment and the reading they got did match the reading from the simple Omron device.
Omron BP monitor also displays that double heart icon (arrhythmia detected) during AFib.
I'll seek medical advice as soon as possible but until now we didn't receive any answers.
I'm scared and I feel down
We’ve all been there, AF is scary stuff! But sometimes you don’t always get the answers you want to hear and sometimes things are not black or white. Hopefully your BP is normally well controlled when you are in NSR? A lot will depend upon other conditions you may have.
What is worrying you most?
The US seems to get much more hyper about BP readings and that’s probably because you’ve been told SO many times that a high BP is dangerous. Well it could be but this video of Dr Gupta’s puts things a little more perspective.
You can be very proactive about how to help bring your BP down - as examples by Jean’s reply and learning to manage your stress. My husband’s BP is currently high but that’s because we are in the middle of moving and downscaling so his stress and weight are up, exercise is down and sleep is disturbed. It’s really not all about the meds.
This is a supportive forum and don’t hesitate to have a good rant/moan anytime, we get it!
Thank you CDreamer. In NSR the BP sometimes does go up for no reason, we try to manage it with PiP (captopril) but in AFIb the BP just gets completely out of control.
I don't agree with Dr. Gupta here. I don't see BP as just a number...BP over 180 is considered a medical emergency and over 200 is life threatening.
During AFib episode, I'm monitoring 2 things: heart rhythm and BP and sometimes I'm more concerned about the BP. When I see it go up, first it jumps to 150, then 165, 178, 182, 185...at this point I'm beginning to panic frankly.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not concerned about a slight-moderate increase BP reading of 150-160, but when I see it approaching the 200 mark, that's when I get nervous and I don't know whether to call an ambulance, go to the ER or wait to see if it settles down.
Why do you take your BP during an episode?
During first AFib episodes, blood pressure reached almost 200/100. Paramedics were more concerned about the high bp than the chaotic heart rhythm.
I'm afraid of high bp because it can damage the heart and arteries.
With AFib episodes more frequent now, the BP is becoming harder to control.
Pacemaker controls AF but not blood pressure. My blood thinners lead to lots of bleeds from minor wounds.
Since BP is related to cardiac output, and your heart rate has just shot up when AF starts, as long as your heart is filling reasonably well, it seems physiological that your BP must increase. Of course if you are nervous as others have mentioned, your BP will go up too. So, then when the arrhythmia stops and your heart rate falls, your BP will drop at the same time. Actually, it speaks to you having a healthy heart muscle that your ventricular output is maintained at the heart rates you reach during AF.
Have you considered the difference between the systolic and diastolic? That seems to me significant. My understanding is that the high diastolic (the reading you've quoted here is on the low side of normal) is more to be concerned about than the high systolic. As CDreamer days, sit quietly and take 3 readings. I've been up to 176 more than once even put of AF when I got into a panic. I'm still here. Learning slow breathing and relaxation techniques will help. As others say its not unusual to have fluctuating BP readings during AF. Discuss with your GP, ask to have a 7 day monitor. Maybe you need a different BP medication.
I hate it when people say getting stressed puts your bp or heart rate up.But unfortunately it does.I am in persistent AF at the moment so do tend to use only as a guide.I do know that when I have neurological attack my BP goes very high maybe 190 /100 & I do believe it is stress.It can remain high for about a day.Do you monitor your bp regularly? If normally ok . Higher am on awakening & lower at tea time. Adjusting your BP meds for the Afib episodes could mean your BP is too low in NSR.Talk to your doctor.
Mine does exactly the same. Last time it went up to 208/110 which wasn’t great. Went to hospital in the ambulance and it came down a little bit, but not much ( me panicking didn’t help), and I asked the heart doc why that was when I was on atenolol and perindopril. He said that if my BP didn’t go up, it would mean that my heart wasn’t coping well, and it was. Hmm. Hope that helps a wee bit.
High bp during AFib can be a good sign ?Do you have high bp everytime during AFib ?
I don’t think your reading are indicating a crisis. Do you feel that anxiety when you are in AF may trigger your raise in blood pressing? When I saw the cardiologist my bp was 175 which following monitoring we put down to white coat syndrome so maybe doing relaxation exercises when in AF may help? The good sign is that your bp returned to normal quickly.
It's not me. It's my mom. She was calm last time.
I need to know what to do when her systolic gets close to 200: take her to the nearest ER or stay put and wait for it to naturally drop. I'll make sure to ask the doc next time.
I was interested to see what others in this situation do.
When she has high BP she gets very dizzy but at her last AFib with high BP she didn't feel dizzy. She didn't experience her usual high BP symptoms.
During her AFib episodes, I'm trying to keep her calm, to encourage her and be positive but on the inside I'm nervous because I don't know what to do
Each episode of afib that I've had, increased my heart rate, 100bpm +, and bp went down to about 105/70. Those, and the way that I felt my heart beating, let me know I was in afib. Never had bp increase.
Here on the forum it's the first time I hear that AFib can drop someone's BP. What did your doctor tell you about the relationship between AFib and BP ?
Are you taking something for the BP ?
Yes, I take bp meds. Docs have never mentioned anything to me about afib and bp. I just know that mine goes down, and heart rate goes up when I have afib and then I know to seek help. Had ablation about 2 years ago and have had only one episode of afib since then, and an episode of SVT.
The cardiologist used the stethoscope method on me. Apparently, as BobD says, the home machines can't cope with AF
But the device monitor leaflet says it can detect arrythmias like AFib. It doesn't say BP readings are invalid during AFib.
There are studies that found BP device monitors to accurate measure systolic BP during AFib. Diastolic BP on the other hand can be less accurate.
Omron device should be reliable enough for home use.
When I had AF badly my blood pressure would go up because of the adrenalin generated by from fear and anxiety! The AF dizziness was made worse by the hyperventilating. Slowing down breathing to six breaths a minute helped me. The doctors said to stop worrying because occasional rises in blood pressure are tolerable. It's high BP over a prolonged period that's damaging. Take care
As previously mentioned by some, my BP drops dramatically when in AFib.
Did your doctor explained why the BP drops ?
My blood presure is normally 110/70 realtively low but when in afib it drops to 80/60 and even lower when I take Bisoprolol 1,25mg to try and reduce my heart rate which is 0ften in the region of 140 at the beginning of an attack. At times the blood presure will drop to 70/55 but I manage to move about quite well despite that. My attacks come about every three to four weeks and are about 7 hours long. I also take Dronedarone 1x2 instead of having an ablation as I am 81 years of age. Has anybody else encountered very low blood presure when in Afib. I am well aware that Bisoprolol adds to the lowering of my bloodpresure.
No, never went to the doctor.With me BP always seem to drop when in AF
I believe that my BP goes sky high only when I realize I am in AFib. So I work on trying to calm down and lower the BP before working on the AFib. Deep breathing has done nothing for me. I chug an extra bisoprolol and some aspirin immediately to deter a stroke. Moving around and doing some repetitive, near mindless physical activity to calm down, such as folding clothes or hand washing dishes, lowers my BP a bit, at least down to the 130s to 140s. Sometimes, that also suffices to stop the Afib. Aside from that, valsalva manuevers have sometimes ended the AFib abruptly, as well as drinking a couple of glasses of cool water (but I live in the desert, so dehydration is common.) I've had paroxysmal Afib for over 4 years since developing sepsis from a dentist visit.
Hi there. Prior to my Ablation and when I was in Afib, my BP was so high it didn't register. The best thing is just try to relax as much as you can. I hope you are on blood thinner.
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