I was prescribed 2.5mg bisoprolol for newly diagnosed paroxysmal AF (nothing else, as my Chads Vasc is 1 for being female). I got my GP to change it to 1.25 twice a day, but so far have taken only 1.25 in the mornings as I'm finding even that too much.
Any physical exertion and I'm suddenly really aware of my heart, and feel heavy and breathless, but it stops as soon as I stop moving and rest. Is this normal? Will it calm down? I'm not sure I can cope with this for much longer, I can't even walk my dog
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Dwts20
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l agree with Jean. I can’t tolerate bisoprolol taken regularly because of the side effects. Like yourself l felt breathless and as if my heart was being restricted in a vice, together with a feeling of being in outer space. My body felt like lead. I take 1.25 mg. as a pip (pill in the pocket) and it works for me. If AF doesn’t stop within a hour, l was told to take another. You are not alone and Bisoprolol can be a horrible drug for some of us, There are alternatives you can take. Being newly diagnosed you are at the trial and error stage, but you will get stabalised on drugs that suit you, so if you are this unhappy with how you feel, go back to your GP. Don’t stop your drugs without seeing a GP. Best wishes.
Couldn’t tolerate Bisoprolol at all, SOB didn’t get any better. You are usually asked to try it for 2 weeks to see if your body gets used to the drug, some people find they adjust. You can ask GP to try another drug, Bisoprolol is usually the first drug they try.
I was taking 2.5 Bisoprolol for H.R mostly. And also CCB Diltiazem for rapid H.R reduction.
I started having low BP and when I picked up the ping pong ball I had to wait 3-5 minutes to settle my vision.
I had my vision checked anf great long distance and no glasses required. Even though it was a bit foggy that day.
In October in Japan lying on the bed and when I closed my eyes the world seem to 1/2 spin.
Open again and it would settle. Colour green settles it.
Energy has return some and now after 1/2ing the pill I have now been a week with no Bisoprolol. Also fatigue has lessened.
I had rapid and persistent withe stroke and on the 4th day thyroid cancer shadow. That told us that the AF was from being hypo or hyper thyroid and the AF caused the stroke.
I feel my body tells when I shouldn't need a med. I check through an ECG at my clinic.
In my experience it is normal., I was started on 5mg bisoprolol and felt very tired and breathless.,It was upped to 7.5 and eventually put up to max of 10 mg. I would feel very tired. and would fall asleep when I sat down. I then had digoxin added but could not walk any distance. I had cardio version on 26/11 and immediately felt like a different person. The bisoprolol has been cut to 5mg and hopefully at review will be removed completely. If you are breathless you need to let the GP know.
I hope this helps and gives you something to aim for. It will get better. ❤️🩹
I don't see the logic as Bisoprolol is not an antiarythmic drug.
My cardio just gave me just Flecainide for my PAF and because I have lowish HR and BP he said the usual accompanying Biso would make me feel unwell. However I did persuade him to give me Biso just in case, only to be used as a PIP.
59 yo female diagnosed paroxysmal AF Nov 1st this year. Prescribed 1.25mg bisoprolol (after 2 episodes in a year and one week-long episode, no other health issues) and nothing else. It was suggested I took the bisoprolol long enough for my heart to settle : 2-6 weeks, and then I could use it as pill in the pocket (X2) for attacks as and when they came. Like you I couldn't tolerate taking even 1.25 mg without it impacting my day-to-day life and work, and my heart rate dropped to 45-50 bpm, but having said that I only used it for two weeks before asking to come off. Maybe worth a discussion with your specialist cardiac nurse/gp?
Does your heart rate need controlling? Is it too high? These are things which would indicate Bisoprolol I think. Then the next thing is can you half the dose, if only take it at night before you go to sleep anyway. Lastly, your CHADS score is to manage/prescribe anti-coagulation not to indicate beta blockers for heart rate, though I take neither any more, so I have no doubt the others on here will have a more educated view. Don't be afraid about going back to your Dr to get your meds tuned for you.
I take 7.5mg at night on Cardio’s advice so that side effects are minimised. A lot of people struggle but it is a very good drug but it need time for body to assimilate. I’ve been on it now for nearly 35 years because of AV re-entry tachycardia and up to about 4 years ago was taking 10mg but reduced it myself as getting older and needed a bit more energy! When I developed asymptomatic AF a little while ago I wasn’t given any more tablets as this along with my antiarrythmic does the trick
When first diagnosed with paroxysmal AF I was automatically prescribed 2.5mg Biso by Cardiology, but didn’t take that dose. After talking to my GP, like you I started instead on 1.25mg daily (using a pill splitter) that I took in the morning. It still reduced my resting heart rate as low as 40 bpm and when exercising I felt I was pushing against a brake.
Once I had had an Echo showing heart in good shape I stopped Biso altogether but started an ACE-inhibitor to keep my blood pressure down. I just put up with the infrequent brief AF episodes when they happen (at 180-200 bpm for under 30 mins) because thus far I revert to NSR without intervention.
You don’t say how your pulse rate varied before and after bisoprolol or how long your PAF lasts before reverting to NSR. Betablockers like Bisprolol slow the heart rate by inhibiting the effect of adrenaline but many find them difficult to tolerate. You need an echocardiogram to check the structure of the heart and its pumping operation. If it’s in good shape you might not need any rate control at all if you can cope with the PAF when it occurs. Cardiology always appear to prescribe 2.5mg Biso on first diagnosis on a precautionary basis, at least until further tests are carried out.
Hope that helps you decide whether or not to soldier on.
Big empathy with your experience. Bisoprolol always a challenge for me, particularly when they upped the dosage and always bliss when they lowered it. It was like hitting a wall of not energy, so debilitating. I had an erratic heart rate, eventually that has settled down. It always took a couple of weeks for my body to adjust to the dosage, eventually it became more tolerable, currently on 3.75, GP says take in morning as more effective. Being more aware of your AFib when on the move sounds familiar too, the normal increase in heart rate when exercising certainly made my AFib much more apparent. I think it is a case of finding what works for you. Best of luck.
1.25mg was too much for me to take daily as it brought my heart rate down too low! My surgery didn’t come up with anything else so we consulted an EP privately and after he had introduced me to having a smart phone and Kardia and I had sent him a copy of my heart in AF, he sent a prescription for Flecainide to my surgery for me to take as a PiP when it stopped episodes in a few hours ( a Bisoprolol added if heart rate over 140 twenty minutes after taking the Flecainide which rarely happened). As episodes increased I was put on Flecainide daily and now I take 50mg in the morning and 100mg at night and it has virtually put an end to episodes.
I cannot understand the hate for bisoprolol on this site!
Bisoprolol is a beta blocker and is not an arrhythmia drug. It slows the heart rate and also the pressure the heart beats at. It has some effect on blood pressure but that is not its main function, there are far more effective drugs to lower BP.
I’m on bisoprolol 2.5 and it has stopped almost all of my palpitations. I’m on dronedarone Multaq for SVT and that has knocked the SVT completely on the head.
I’ve always had low heart rate but now on the combination of those 2 drugs my resting hr is 40-42. My cardiologist has no concerns because I have no adverse symptoms of bradycardia.
I find going for a power walk to raise the hr helps. Keep warm because bisoprolol can make you feel cold. If you feel tired in the morning, just take your time to come to.
Beta blockers have been prescribed for decades. They are very safe and extremely effective.
If you search for bisoprolol on this site and my account I posted a useful article on bisoprolol that answers a lot of questions.
Hi Dwts20,I can totally relate to this. What time of day do you take Bisoprolol?
It is only recently having started taking 5mg bisoprolol in July and having it reduced to 2.5mg last month that I am experiencing the same issues as you. I'm having regular back spasms now, pain in lower left arm, and headaches. I'm having bp and heart rate checked tomorrow and I'm going to ask for a change if possible.
I'm currently on a 1 year waiting list to see a cardiologist and only a letter from my gp will expedite the process. Are you speaking to your doctor regularly?
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