hi all
so I’m in AF 50% of the time but it’s slightly changed recently in as much as I get more waves of dizzy spells . They literally last for 5 seconds and pass but it’s annoying when I get these phases .
When in AF my BPM fluctuate between 65 and 140bpm .
My average over a day is 65bpm though .
What causes the dizzy/ light headed spells
Thanks
Matt
I don't know if what you are describing is the same as I used to get. I'd feel dizzy start to black over and then suddenly come back to normal.
Low blood pressure can cause dizzy spells. Make sure you drink plenty of water to keep your BP up.
Jean
would too much bisoporol cause low blood pressure ?
possible. What dose are you on?
blood pressure just read 110/83
I’m on 10mg a day
If you think about it BP with systolic and diastolic that close together is not good. One is residual pressure in your arteries , the other pumping pressure so with such close numbers the ability to pump blood round is low . That's my take as an engineer anyway. 110 /70 would be better or even 140/90 ! See what I'm thinking?
hi Bob
Tanks for this but I’m afraid I have no idea what this means . Should I just battle through this or should I go and sees doctor asap
I’ve been told by doctors that an isolated blood pressure reading isn’t of that much significance. The advice is generally to take two or three readings daily at roughly the same time of day (one reading should be taken as soon as you get up in the morning, before having breakfast). Then submit these to the doctor for evaluation. The monitor should be a sleeve monitor; Omron are very reliable. I take 10 mg of Bisoprolol daily. Recent readings are around 130/80.
I'm not a doctor, but from what I have understood from my Cardiologist is that although most cases of hypertension are due to the high systolic value, a low systolic and a high diastolic is also hypertension and the number between the two is most important, hence 120/80 or latterly some researchers advocate 115/ 75, both with a figure of 40 between the upper and lower readings to be ideal. You would have to ask your Cardiologist to explain - I think there is a technical name for that 'gap' !
Yes, it can.
Don't know about blood pressure but too much Bisoporol caused dizziness for me
Well, I'm an avid reader of this forum and the opinions expressed... it's great! A lot is written about Bisoporol. I was on this medication some years ago, it didn't make me dizzy... but it didn't sort out my AF, (my AF is permanent) only made me so sluggish I couldn't keep up with my OH when out walking. I was on 2.5mg. I asked my doctor to reduce dose to 1.25mg. It made no difference. The next time I saw my cardiologist a doctor of 50years experience I explained my delemma with Bisoporol and he said, 'if you've been sitting of an evening watching TV for a long period and you stand up and make your way upstairs without any discomfort then you don't need this medication'... I've never taken it again! Please discuss. Tom
They put me on 10mg and the dizziness/lighthead was really bad, as I decreased the dose it gradually eased. I no longer take any beta blockers whatsoever, my choice
hi all thanks for the replies
My BP just read 110/83
I’m on 10mg of bisoporol a day
I was only on 5mg
That sort of reading is not that low to cause near syncope but as BP fluctuates widely when in AF you don’t know what it’s dropping down to.
Two most common reasons are going to be low BP and/or slow heart rate or HR pauses. I think you need to go back to your GP and ask them to review your med dosage.
normal blood pressure is higher than 90/60 that why Kardia read as normal as it is normal
no a normal GOOD BP is 120/70. My doctor said if systolic goes under 100 not good
If you look at the NHS blood pressure checker the start of normal is 90/60
oh I was just going by what my hospital doctor told me. I wasn’t allowed to even have my first cataract done because of was 92. It was to be under sedation for some reason.
I had dizziness and even fainting just as I was converting from AFib to NSR. The feeling was like an electrical whoosh rising up the body. In my case, it was due to the heart pausing for a few seconds when the rhythm became normal.
Yeah that's me too
Syncope with AF is worthy of further medical investigation, I gather, at least if it's a new symptom. Do you have a Kardia or - for 24-hour monitoring which might catch an episode - a Wellue AI monitor? That would give you something useful to take to your GP.
Steve
sorry Anne that number not good. Bob is right there should be a a bigger difference between systolic and diastolic figures
I have a similar problem with dizzy spells. My doctor explained it was low blood pressure and that was something I had to put up with as low no is better than high.. I don't know if it is the same with you. Simply My experience and we know are all different. Good luck
In Germany low blood pressure is recognised a problem and treated.
Is it difficult to treat? Tom
No idea.
Depends upon the cause. If you have hyper mobility - it may be treated but your readings are NOT low. You would have to have a systolic of consistently below 90. As you are in the UK you will find recommendations are drink plenty of water, increase your salt intake and electrolytes balanced, keep your legs raised when sitting and avoid standing.
But you don’t know what is causing your dizziness - that’s what is to be investigated. Plenty of info on syncope/low BP and other conditions which cause dizziness on the Arrythmia Alliance STARS website =
hi just my thoughts on your lightheadedness are, get a Holter test done to see what is causing it. I’m permanent AF and was doing well on my meds but then had these dizzy spells. The cardiologist said I needed a pacemaker to help my heart when it was slowing. Since getting the pm I’ve been fine. My little backup man. I’m on 7.5 Bisoprolol daily and all is well.
Get back to your GP for a 24+ hr monitor check.
I would ignore that . To class a BP reading of 121/ 79 as elevated is ridiculous.. 94/67 might be normal for elite athletes but not for most "normal " people. At 90/60 my blood pressure after ops was deemed by the nurses to be too low and I was given saline drips to bring it back up again. They were not content till it reached 110/70.
g'day ... have you tried wearing 'compression socks' ?
The person who initiated this thread was not worried because of readings but because they were having dizzy spells. Personally I am not a fan of devices. I hardly ever use my Kardia. My GP takes my blood pressure when I go for my twice yearly prescription renewal check up. It runs betweem 140/ 80 and 120/70. He never says it's too high as he recognises that white coat syndrome is often at play (I hate going to the doctor). Nor is he hung up on these so called "normal"ranges which have been lowered so as to get more people on medication .
Hi,
I was getting exactly the same a few years ago. Turns out my heart was pausing for a few seconds each time I was feeling dizzy. Had a monitor fitted and in my sleep my heart was pausing for up to 11seconds according to the monitor. Had a pacemaker fitted and have been fine since. Still have AF but my heart can’t drop below 50bpm now with the pacemaker. Not saying this is the same for you but worth getting it checked.
hi, I have found that if my pulse goes too low with Biso, say 45, I can feel dizzy. You seem to be on high dose of Biso, I've never taken that much. Perhaps talk to doc re reducing, at least for a trial period, to see if it makes any difference.
Hi I was on 10mg of Bisoprolol, put up from 2.5mg as my Afib became permanent. I had exactly the same symptoms (very alarming!)but I did manage to take my HR at one point and it was 30bpm. Horrendous! My cardiologist took me off Bisoprolol immediately. Long story short I would ring your cardiology team if you can ( we have an excellent specialist nurse team, always have someone at the end of a phone, I hope you do too) if you can't do that see your GP. There are other thing your team can try you on.
hope everything goes well for you
Vicki
Hi
It could be whilst you are in AF oxygen is not circling around your body evenly.
Are you on Beta Lock BB (Metroprolol) as I had pauses with it. Changed to Bisoprolol it's better for AFers.
Do you sweat and have fatigue.
It was the introduction to CCB by a private specialist Dr Brandon Wong who got my Heart rate controlled and Bisoprolol at night controls my BP.
Telling us your meds and BP is helpful.
cheri JOYE
Had one ..showed pause.got a pacemaker...don't know if did right thing but done ..
My near syncope events stopped when I gave up caffeine.
For years I suffered this and would occasionally black out, maybe once a year. Usually I managed to get down low enough to control it and avoid a black out. Even if I blacked out it was only for seconds. I had several referrals to cardio and loads of tests. 24hour ecg's, weekly and monthly which I knew were a waste of time as my dizzy spells weren't that frequent. Eventually I was fitted with a reveal device which linked to my local hospital. I had a dizzy spell and was contacted the next day by the hospital calling me uregently to have a pace maker fitted. My heart was experienced a pause of 7 seconds and my home were often between 40 and 44. The diagnosis was sick sinus syndrome (SSS) also known as sinus node dysfunction.In the 4 years since my pacemaker was fitted I've had 2 blackouts and a few dizzy spells. As I now have a once maker they are able to download the data stored within it and found the black outs are due to heart rate of 240 to 280 bpm and the dizzy spells to a rate of 200 to 230 bpm. I am now diagnosed with AF as well as SSS and am exoban and bisophol
I am going to through another twist into the mix. Sometimes dizzy spells can come from the inner ear known as vertigo. I have unrelated dizzy spells to my AFib, what a joy! It too comes and goes. I would agree to have yourself checked out by a dr to make sure it’s nothing more serious.
Also, with all the medications drs. Like to have us all on, I am on only Nebivolol 5 mg and I have read that all these medications can mess with the sinus node of our hearts and my dr agreed to that. That is a concern of mine.
The other concern is one of the side effects of Nebivolol is covers up Low Blood Sugar which I have. I usually can tell when my blood sugar starts to drop but since on the medication I can’t tell. I got into serious trouble a few weeks ago on a hike in the middle of no where with my son. I usually have something with me to munch on just in case but this time I didn’t. I barely made back to our car. My point is Low blood sugar can cause dizziness also.
All the best
I too get light headed. I am on flecainide 50gm twice a day and atenolol 25gm once a day. This is after going through 6 months of hell trying to get the right meds. I told my cardiologist I think my blood pressure was too low he said no then next morning told me to go off blood pressure pill. With in two days I was a different person and that was a year ago. Now the light headedness has come back. I am afraid to say anything as I do not want to be thrown back into trying different meds and going through hell again.
Please read up on Syncope, low blood pressure, good luck mate
Wow, that was a lot of talk about BP. The dizzyness might not be from low BP, I got them with AF all the time but it ended up being allergies and my eustachian tubes.
When your in AFib your heart is not pumping as an effective pump. This may cause fluctuations in your blood pressure. Just like a hose with a low flow of water when you raise it none comes out. On us our head and brain may have decrease blood and oxygen during these times. Be sure to tell your doctor.
dizziness with rivaroxaban 
what is really causing my symptoms.
wobbly legs when dizzy
Dizziness 
