Heartrate

[Bonnymuir]

I have just started wearing a smart watch and cannot stop checking my heartrate. I am on 1.25mg of Bisoprolol which I have been taking for over a year. This was for an episode of AF. My resting heartrate is around 55. Sometimes at night whilst asleep it is as low as 45. Is this acceptable? I feel OK so maybe I should take the watch off as it is giving me anxiety. I have no idea what heartrate should be on this medication.

[BobD Volunteer]

This is the problem with these devices. Unless you can be more structured and only use it for a specific purpose and time I suggest you lock it in a drawer and go on how you feel.

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to BobD]

Totally agree with you Bob, these gadgets cause so much stress and concern. Our minds are a lot stronger than we know, I only have to think about checking my heart rate and it will oblige by bumping around in my chest and speeding up.

I once thought how calm and quiet my heart was, went to get my heart machine and by the time I sat down my heart was going hell for leather. I do wonder though whether the confidence not to look at them often only comes after you've had AF for a long time as we both have.

Jean

[Frances123 in reply to jeanjeannie50]

I think you are right Jean. I’ve had Afib circa 18years. I trialed one of the original kardias so obviously had to take daily readings for X amount of time and send them in. Luckily I’m not welded to mine (6L) but can see how easily it is to be, especially in the early days. I only check if I’m aware somethings not right. Even then I won’t look at screen as it’s taking it as I swear it makes the lines dance! I have a Fitbit too that can now detect Afib but the HR can be out. I only use it as a watch and for steps. x

[Auriculaire in reply to jeanjeannie50]

I don't bother any more checking on my Kardia when in afib . I know I'm in afib and not seeing the elevated heart rate makes me less anxious! I just take my extra Nebivolol and magnesium and carry on as usual - just more slowly.

[Hidden]

Hi Bonnymuir,

I wear mine (a Garmin Forerunner 35) 24/7 and ignore it - unless I get an occasional thump and bump in my chest or unless I'm driving and have a near miss. That said, I rarely look at the watch myself rather I review the Garmin App on my smartphone when I'm home. For me it is not so much a HR tracker as a sleep tracker - lack of sleep, usually due to pain waking me up from a decent asleep etc. and of course my exercise or the distance I walk.

I'm on 5 mg of Bisoprolol, very happily so, and my resting HR during the day is constantly around 64 to 67 bpm. At night when asleep it is often as low as 53 and even occasionally as low as 46. Bit low for a guy who is 6 ft. and 15 and a bit stone.

I'm fine with these numbers feel great in fact - but I don't mind the numbers going up but I certainly don't wanna see them going down any further !

John

[pottypete1]

BobD ’s advice is as always sound. Checking all the time only leads to being over concerned about your heart rate when it is not necessary.

I have had similar heart rates as you are experiencing. It is a bit slow but as long as you don’t get lightheaded or faint then discuss with your EP (if you have one) on your next appointment.

Pete

[ijregner]

I agree with the others. I have a Kardia and use it only when I know that I am in Afib so that I have history for my cardiologist. Every check in boosts anxiety. Ignore until needed.

[mjames1]

Can't comment on what Heart rate is acceptable for you individually, but in general the heart rate you mention falls within normal limits, especially for someone on beta blockers such bisoprolol which can lower the rate.

Hopefully, you will become more relaxed and less obsessive checking your pulse over time, but if not, definitely put it away for a bit, or if possible, make it harder to check pulse. For example, with my Apple Watch, I can set it for real time readouts of my pulse -- very useful when working out or in midst of an afib attack -- or, I can bury the pulse readout a couple of menus deep.

But generally speaking, devices like Kardia, Apple Watch, as well as home blood test monitors have revolutionized home health care, giving we the patients more control over our own care and at the same time letting us collect valuable data that helps our doctors treat us better.

I have had one sort of heart rate watch or another for well over 30 years, even prior to afib, that I initially use to workout in the most optimal heart rate zone.

Most people, after an initial "playing around" period, do not obsess and I heartily recommend a smart watch like Apple Watch or a Kardia Device to anyone with atrial fibrillation who wants to be involved in their care.

It wasn't that long ago that people with afib and other tachycardia's arrived in the A&E in normal rhythm only to be dismissed as hypochondriacs or having "panic attacks" for years, delaying timely treatment. Nowadays, you can capture that episode at home and therefore be taken seriously by your doctor without delay in treatment.

Jim

[Bonnymuir]

Thank you all so much for your response. I will try and pay less attention to the watch.

[Poochmom]

it really depends on what you are trying to accomplish. For instance, I had a surgical mini maze for AF six months ago and since surgery my heart rate has been a little higher than I like, in the 80-90 range. I was told this would happen as it can take up to a year for my heart to learn it’s new normal and come down. I track my heart rate quite often to see if it’s going down and I have noticed slowly but surely it is staying lower as time goes on. It is a real asset for me at this point. It also helped me before my surgery to track my AFib and high heart rate. So it didn’t give me anxiety but helped me manage anxiety. But that’s just me. Everyone is different.

[Jetcat]

it will drive you mad.? I found myself doing exactly the same thing, try not to wear it every day, have a break from it.👍

[Ppiman]

For a few people these devices, home medical measuring devices create an unacceptable level of anxiety. It sounds as if you might be one such person and would be better off without the knowledge they provide. If you were fine before you used the watch, why did you feel the need to check your heart rate so often with it?

Speaking for myself, I find my Apple Watch and iPhone invaluable in all sorts of ways as well as showing me what is happening heart-wise. It adds nothing whatsoever to my levels of anxiety since I am always already aware when my heart is playing up without my watch telling me. The watch does no more than confirm what I already suspect.

Your dose of bisoprolol, at 1.25mg, is generally a low one, but the drug is still potent at that level and, for some people, very much so. At such a dose, it is very capable of lowering the heart rate quite significantly, as you are finding. Like yours, my pulse easily drops to 45-50 when I take it (I now do so only on an as need basis), and I was assured this is completely healthy and of no concern so long as, on activity, it increases normally and allows my me to function normally, which is the case.

So, how can you stop worrying so much? Well, I would ask your doctor to confirm that your low heart rate is healthy, as I did, and consider selling the watch! Worrying is likely much worse for you than your low heart rate is.

Steve

[alfrae13 in reply to Ppiman]

how do you know what your heart rate is at night when you sleep unless you wear a monitor

[Ppiman in reply to alfrae13]

I was given a two-week Zio patch monitor which showed very little AF but lots of ectopic beats, “brief spells of AF-like activity”, mild tachycardia and periods of bradycardia.

I’ve never worn my Apple Watch overnight, although I do leave it on sometimes when I get into bed as that’s when I seem to get the worst palpitations and they occasionally flip into AF.

If I take a bisoprolol tablet (usually now just 1.25mg) it stays in my system for around two days and even at the end of the second day, I often still have a rate of only around 45-50bpm, about 20bpm lower than the 70 I usually register.

Steve

[KMRobbo]

I was only taking bisoprolol for 8 days as it massively slowed my HR and caused other side effects. My GP was only concerned as my sleeping heart rate was likely the 30s which she felt was too low as my "normal" resting pre AF rate prior Bisoprolol was 70 ish and had dropped to mid 40s during the day if I remember correctly. From her comments I do not believe she would have been concerned at 45 asleep.

Also I felt dreadful on bisop all day and very very tired. I was asleep 45 minutes after taking 1.25mg

You sound fine, and as you have been on it a year if I was you I would not be at all worried at all.

I am not medically trained

[JOY2THEWORLD49]

Hi

I am 47 avge at night.

Dr says its OK.

Hopefully no pauses which I had with metropolol.

But my day avge was as high as 187 on Metropolol

156 on Bisoprolol

until private specialist put me on CCB a calcium channel blocker.

Now on Diltiazem 120mg AM and 2.5mg Bisoprolol PM

I'm CONTROLLED.

118-135. over 70 -77 77-88H/R

cheers JOY. 74. (NZ)

[Qualipop]

All these devices cause anxiety unless only used for specific reasons. I've seen so many more posts on here with people terribly worked up about their watch readings. Our brains can have a huge effect on our hearts. When I had my annual check up the n urse refused to accept my BP reading as it was so high - my husband's driving and his annoyance at having to take me always puts my BP through the roof and we were also on snow and ice. I've been trying for 3 weeks to get a week's worth of home readings for her but every time I pick up the monitor I expect it to be as high as it was in the surgery and of course it is because I'm worrying about it. I've been advised to just forget about it for a couple of weeks until my brain stops playing tricks. My son even phones me now asking whether his BP is ok if it even varies a couple of points on his watch. To my horror he's now bought one that does an ECG reading. Heaven knows how worked up he will get about that. Lock the watch away and go by how you feel. Smart watches and such can be useful for tracking a specific problem but they are causing massive anxiety.

[55zuzanka61]

the mind is amazing and powerful,can make you better and can make you sick. I n my early days after at diagnosis I would feel anxious and went for hours feeling I am back in af but was afraid to look at Kardia kind of avoiding the possible truth which would mean likely going to emergency room etc.I would finally gather the courage and check the Kardia, there was a sinus rhythm but fast with few PACs,interestingly as soon as I saw l was in sinus my heart rate dropped in front of my eyes from 90s to 60s in less then a minute,

Yes mind is powerful Jerry/Zuzanka

[Paulbounce]

I'm the same as Jean with this one. My HR jumps up as soon as I know I'm going to check it. My solution was to wear the watch and not check it for an hour or so. As soon as you remember it's on later in the day hit the HR button within a second and you won't give yourself time for the anxiety to kick in - should give you a decent reading with out the worry first.

Worked for me using Fitbit watch.

Paul

[momist]

Your heart rate numbers are similar to what mine were while taking the bisoprolol. However, after using a Fitbit HR for a few years, I've eventually got fed up with constantly charging it so I've gone back to a simple watch that tells the time only. I've stopped caring what the rate is, as long as I'm still in sinus rhythm not too fast, which I can check with my pulse.