hi I have none persistent AF paroxysmal I also have mild LVH dilated mild MR so not great but ok
Yet I feel breathless often I do have asthma but not serious as I blow 650 on the scale
I am on beta blockers 15mg (yes it is high) Amiodarone , thinner and calcium blockers
So I’m kind of stuck as nothing that serious yet but the breathlessness is a problem some days I can’t walk a mile other days 3-4 miles isn’t a problem
Any thoughts welcome good or bad as I get very little help at the hospital
I'm afraid that describes exactly what life is like with AF! We never know how we're going to feel energy wise from one day to the next. You may not be in AF each day, but attacks can lay you low for a few days afterwards.
Jean
Yes you just think your in top of it and it hits you
Well spoke to the GP and 15mg is fine for me I mentioned it seems to high compared to others she said I can try going down to 10mg
I've never heard of anyone being on that strength of Bisoprolol. Does it make you feel tired? Some people can't even cope with 2.5mg dose.
No I feel great funny enough last winter I could have gone to bed at lunch time since the Bisoprolol I feel 100 times better My heart rate today is 68 . I have been in the garden all morning since 9am . I totally understand what you mean and I asked my GP is this strength ok which she also replied yes you can go to max 20 mg but this amount seems to suit you . I don’t really understand the strength of these things only that it’s 15mg 3 tabs of 5mg each
Interesting to hear that, you must be an ideal recipient for Bisoprolol. Pleased that you are feeling so well and that's a high priority when you have a heart arrhythmia. Just out of interest do you take your 15mg before bed or in the morning?
The instructions are 10 mg morning 5mg at night but what I do is have 5mg around 7am then the next one about 3 hours after the other at night
That's a good idea to space them out, although I think Bisoprolol stays in the body for 24 hours. Whatever suits you and it sounds like what you're doing is right for you. Our discussion may be of interest to others who take the same drug.
To be honest I only did that due to the high dose as it seemed a lot to me
No experience of Biso/your other drugs but many find you have to challenge the prescription with medics until you find together what works for you based on Quality of Life.
If your peak expiratory flow rate is 650l/min, then that is, I think, normal so it won't be that high during any asthmatic bronchospasm. Perhaps walking brings that on a little and makes you breathless, rather than being caused by the heart? Have you tried taking your PF when breathless, or using a bronchodilator to see if it helps?
Steve
Hi Steve even when I am having AF I still hit 650-730 I have a friend who hits 550 yet plays football in a over 35 year old team now I couldn’t run 40 yards without being breathless yet walking some days 5 miles at a decent pace is fine it’s like when my heart rate goes up my breathless problems start yet my PF is fine
I quite often get mild tachycardia out of the blue (85-130bpm) and this can make me feel a touch breathless or at least bring on a need to breathe more deeply, with or without AF, even to 100 or so. The cardiologist I saw wasn't worried when I mentioned this. I suppose it might even be brought on by the anxiety that naturally increases during any heart rate change.
A peak flow of 730 is really good, I believe. Have you mentioned this to your GP?
Steve
Probably not in the same detail Steve but it’s interesting as last week I had a HR of 124 but felt great
HiI see you are also on Amiodarone . May I ask how much you are taking? I have to be on it for 3 months and the cardiologist said if ever I felt breathless to get it checked immediately . I don't take any other drugs except anti-coags .
Take care
Hi I’m on Amiodarone 200mg 1 a day but for the first week I was discharged I was on 600mg I am also anti coags and calcium blockers . To be honest it’s been 7 weeks now and I’m fine just breathing difficulties some days but I sleep to 630am where before I couldn’t sleep past 3/4 in the morning when I would wake up with real breathing problems , my asthma doesn’t doesn’t help plus dust / pollen allergy . I am waiting for the hospital to give me a 24 hour heart monitor as it’s now clear to them my AF isn’t persistent the trouble was in hospital it was at that time which wasn’t helped by my asthma nurse telling me my breathing issues were asthma so I was pumping ventolin like it’s going out of fashion. They also took a x Ray and told me I had no infection on the 16th of July st the hospital yet in the 8th Of August my GP called to send to for another x Ray as bacteria probably pneumonia was in my lungs and not picked up by the Doctor in the A and E
I find it very odd that your GP thinks it's ok to give such a high dose of Bisoprolol to an asthmatic! Where do you live? Bisoprolol can cause breathlessnesss in non asthmatic patients. Too much Ventolin can provoke arrythmias so you could be in a vicious circle.
I am in Hertfordshire. I left hospital with 10mg my GP increases it I have been 3 times to hospital for pre cardio for the bacteria infection and informed the doctors of my amounts and one have questioned it
Hi Thanks for your reply. Are you on Amiodarone while you wait for a CV or is it long term? I was on a loading dose of 400 mg for 7 days and now on 200mg x1 a day for a month then 200 x1 à day for 5 days a week (week-end off) for a month or 2 depends what the cardiologist decides.
I always thought Bisoprolol was contra- indicated for Asthma sufferers and your dose seems high but obviously I'm not a dr 
Take care and I hope the drs are able to pinpoint your breathlessness- what is your resting HR when you are not in Afib?
X
Hi my heart rate this morning was 55 around 10 am .To be honest I don’t know how long I am on it for as I am waiting a monitor but no I had my ore assessment last week for CV and was told my AF wasn’t present so it was cancelled
Bisoprolol 10 mg max for paroxysmal , 20 mg max for persistent. I was put on 17.5 mg some years ago and I could barely stand up and my head was swirling. It was soon reduced. At that point Bisoprolol at any dose was not working for me. Phil
I've never heard of such huge doses! I used to take 3.37 mg but thought that was high 😄. It kept my resting HR at about 55 bpm in the day and 45 bpm at night but I should think a higher dose would have given me severe Bradycardia! Shows how we are all different!
Yes I questioned it with 2 doctors a cardio nurse and 2 GP I have never once felt tired I feel miles better than before the summer when I couldn’t function after mid day when I was on none
Amazing! How long have you been takking Amiodarone for and why are you taking a calcium channel blocker too ( I'm not questioning it just interested to know ).
I was in hospital in May and June again with 180 and 150 hb . When I left they planned CV I told them this hb comes and goes normally stays around 100 at the peak anyway last week at pre op they realised they can’t do CV as I am not in AF but informed me to stay exactly on the same meds
I think you mentioned in another post that you felt fine on Bisoprolol. A classic side effect of Bisoprolol is breathlessness. Even though its supposed to be cardiac specific, there are receptors in the lungs that mimic one's in the heart so Bisoprolol can attach to those and make you breathless. This is why, after 3 months of it, I begged the cardiologist to put me on Diltiazem.It was my fantastic local pharmacist who explained about the receptors and the cardiologist agreed.
Sorry what is Diltiazem
Dilitiazem is a calcium channel blocker which I was given instead of Bisoprolol - a beta-blocker - because I have asthma. The doctors insisted I shouldn't take a beta-blocker as it makes asthma worse.
Sorry to hear you are experiencing breathlessness, unfortunately this is one of the most common symptoms that many do experience, if you find that it is having an impact on carrying out daily activities, please do not hesitate to contact your Doctor for medical advice. If you would like a complete overview of AF? please visit the AF Association webpage heartrhythmalliance.org/afa/uk you may wish to download some of our resources, I can highly recommend the AF Fact File. I would also like to recommend registering for our October online event 'HRC2022 Patients Day' where you will be able to listen, watch and learn from the AF experts! heartrhythmalliance.org/afa...
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