Blood pressure in AF

[50568789]

I'm just back in sinus after a 48 hour paroxysmal AF episode (trigger unidentified). Curious about BP readings. This morning, back to normal, it's 126/66 with PR 47 , no irregular heart beat indicator. Yesterday morning it was 89/50 with PR 50 and showing IRH. Am I right in thinking BP readings in AF are unreliable? Or are they still a good indicator? I felt fairly normal except any exertion / walking upstairs made me a bit faint and short of breath, so just rode it out at home, but should I be taking the BP reading at face value or be a bit suspect that it wouldn't be accurate anyway?Interestingly , as a T2 diabetic, my blood glucose levels were also higher than usual, no obvious reason apart from if AF affects that. Am I right?

[BobD Volunteer]

Correct for the most part. Few home BP machines are accurate when in AF.

[Buffafly]

Probably wrong on the pulse rate as well….

[mav7]

As mentioned, difficult to receive an accurate reading.

May want to google the subject. One theory is to take the reading 3 times in a row with about a 15 second pause between and use the average.

[Tilly1957]

as I understand it, to get a reliable bp measurement in af, it would need to be taken manually.

[Mugsy15 in reply to Tilly1957]

How does one go about taking a BP reading manually Tilly?

[Tilly1957 in reply to Mugsy15]

With a sphygnometer (think I have spelt it right) like a doctor or nurse does

[GranmaWendy in reply to Mugsy15]

difficult to do it yourself, as it involved using both hands and a stethoscope

[Mugsy15 in reply to GranmaWendy]

A stethoscope won't tell you anything about your blood pressure. And most surgeries use a BP machine with an electronic readout, so I'm not convinced using a traditional sphygmomanometer is more reliable when AF is present, either.

[GranmaWendy in reply to Mugsy15]

a traditional mercury sphymomanometer is used with a stethoscope to listen to the pulse in the arm! though I am probably showing my age, and they arent used any more!

[Mugsy15 in reply to GranmaWendy]

Indeed it often was and still is on occasion, but a stethoscope still doesn't measure blood pressure - although it does inform an experienced medic exactly when to look at the two BP readings.

Forgive me for labouring the point; I often see blood pressure and heart rate confused on the forum and suspect that may have happened in this thread, (not necessarily by you), so just seeking to clarify on behalf of the originating poster.

HR readings are completely unreliable during AF, and I agree with the OP's suspicion that an accurate BP reading is difficult to obtain if not impossible with a home monitor when in AF.

[GranmaWendy in reply to Mugsy15]

not confused, Im a retired nurse, I was mearly pointing out that with tht type of monitor, you need both hands to take the reading because of the use of a stethoscope, difficult to do on yourself!

[Mugsy15 in reply to GranmaWendy]

My compliments on your chosen career, and I do appreciate your point!

[bean_counter27]

I'm not a medical professional but AF affects how well your heart pumps. Logically this could result in a lowering of blood pressure during AF episodes. I'm not sure why that would make BP results during AF unreliable with a home BP monitor. I could understand why they would be unrepresentative of your normal BP i.e. when not having AF, but why wouldn't the pressure reading be accurate when having AF i.e. low, because it is low as heart is not pumping properly?

[50568789 in reply to bean_counter27]

I agree with your logic

[Omniscient1]

.. and just incase, be consistent with your coffee intake (if at all) , any caffeine will elevate your BP falsely fir about 3 hrs.

[momist]

If you just think about it, your heart is beating at the 'wrong' part of the normal cycle, so it can't work to keep blood pressure stable. Many of the beats in AF happen when the chambers have not yet fully filled, or are even still empty. I doubt that even the medics can get an accurate reading on their machines.

[Ppiman]

There’s a comprehensive study on this if you search online for reliability of blood pressure measurements during AF. Apparently there’s no digital way to measure it, but the cuff and stethoscope (“auscultation”) is best.

Steve

[2learn]

what is your pulse rate if you take it yourself at your wrist. The readings you give above are low and if correct need to be investigated.

[Dollcollector]

My blood pressure is always low when l am in afib and my heart rate high.

[fibnum]

If 47 HR is normal for you, I would consult my doctor to see whether a change in meds might be needed or what else might be going on.

[50568789 in reply to fibnum]

Thanks for concern. My HR average has been 50 to 60 for the past couple of years, doesn't bother me much day to day, but my reading of it is it's maybe not ideal but possibly a small sacrifice to control high blood pressure, which is a significant issue in various ways. Still, meds will always be under review.

[fibnum in reply to 50568789]

Good, I only mention it because I was taken off of most of my blood pressure meds after I lost a lot of weight, and the doctor thought I was trying to keep my BP too low and the 50-60's HR range was too low. Since cutting way back on beta and channel blockers 8 months ago, my BP is fine, but my HR is still 55-60 usually.