afib advice please

[lambretta1968]

Sorry , it's me again . After a day in AE on Sunday with irregular fast heart I was put on a low dose of bisoprolol, then 3 good days with what felt like normal rhythm ,I woke last night to it being irregular again , then this morning when I got up it dropped to below 50 bpm. Then when I got up to walk about it went to 140 bpm . It dropped below 50 before I took bisoprolol. help !!

[Cavalierrubie]

l am not a medic but it sounds as if Bisoprolol is not the correct drug for you. It doesn’t suit all. I think you need medical advice and a review overall.

A/E send you home when you are stabilised, but you need to see a specialist to see what’s going on with your heart and probably get you on the drugs that suit you. I would see my GP for a referral to a cardiologist or better still EP who deals with the electrics of the heart. There are many alternative treatments. Good luck.

Chris.

[lambretta1968 in reply to Cavalierrubie]

it was the Cardiology doctor that told the doctor from A/E to start bisoprolol 😪

[Cavalierrubie in reply to lambretta1968]

Yes, they do contact a cardiologist when you are in AE and usually it’s Bisoprolol they put you on at first. Bisoprolol does not suit all. It lowered my BP too much so had to come off. It also made me sick.

AE should write to your GP. If you are having problems l would go first to GP. A GP is not a specialist as you probably know. GP can change your drugs but cannot prescribe certain heart medications. Have you had echo yet? Take care.

[HollieAdmin Administrator AF Association]

Hello,

Thank you for your post. It may be a good idea to speak with your cardiology team/doctor again as they have full access to your medical records and will be able to provide the most appropriate advice. It may also be helpful to keep a diary just so you are able to keep track and identify potential causes.

If you would like any support, advice or information, our dedicated Patient Services Team are available via Patient Helpline or via email, please visit: heartrhythmalliance.org/afa...

We are always here if you need us.

Kind regards,

HollieAdmin

[lambretta1968 in reply to HollieAdmin]

thank you Hollie , managed to get my appointment brought forward for a week tomorrow.

[HollieAdmin Administrator AF Association in reply to lambretta1968]

You are welcome. I do hope the appointment goes well. We are always here if you need us.

Take care,

HollieAdmin

[Camelia23 in reply to lambretta1968]

Good luck. Hope all goes well for you

[Redactrice]

I'm another hater of bisoprolol and another voice urging you to go back to cardiology for a better approach. I have not found a perfect solution (paroxysmal AF for 12+ years, persistent AF for most of the last two years), but bisoprolol is the worst for me.

[Qualipop]

I had what sounds like the same 2 years ago when I spent 4 days i n hospital on a monitor and have just had another 10 days of it treated by my GP. The hospital tried to put me on bisopralol which I refused. I've had it before and it drops my pulse and BP much too low. This time he GP tried propanolol which is much milder. My rhythm is now back to normal so I've been told t o stop the tablets. This erratic rhythm happens to me about once a year, usually stops of its own accord and lasts for around a week. and I've been told is harmless. Stress starts it off. You will have had an ECG to see which part if the heart it comes from. when the hospital discharge letter gets to your GP it should say that. It sounds as if you are taking your BP very frequently. It's very normal for it to rise when you are walking around. You should only take it when you've been sitting relaxed for 10 to 1 5 minutes. Anxiety sends your BP and pulse all over the place

[Buzby62]

I wonder how you are measuring your heart rate.

Instantaneous HR monitors are pretty useless while in AF and will show highs and lows of the irregular HR within seconds of each other. The only HR to measure when in AF is the average captured during an ECG check or counting beats in a full minute.

While in AF, I have seen lows of 30 and highs of 150ish all in a short time and the average can still be under 100, whilst interesting I treat these figures as meaningless really while in AF.

Best wishes

[Kimmieblue]

I feel for you and I'm very much the same, I take bisoprolol and I am absolutely worn out all the time, I've tried so many meds but nothing seems to work for me.I've had lots of ablations and cardioversions, nothing ever lasts.

AF is the pits but we can't let it dictate.

Good luck with your appointment.

Best wishes

K.

[ForensicFairy]

Like Buzby, I wonder how accurate the beat count is and is it AF you’re experiencing all the time. Bisoprolol is often wrongly demonised on forums because it’s method of controlling the heart rate and affect is misunderstood.

For example, are you experiencing a low heart rate in sinus rhythm, or maybe skipped beats (pauses) which lowers the average, or perhaps ectopic beats which your heart isn’t counting or something completely different? Is there more happening than simply AF and or a low heart rate?

I can have a low rate into the 50s but it’s not sustained and it’s a second or two in time. It can also be sustained and when this happens my watch alerts me.

Your heart never beats at a constant pace (hence we can measure HRV or heart rate variability), and people with arrhythmia issues often have a varied beat count and this is most prominent when arrythmias are showing.

You should talk to your doctor and they’ll need to do a holter to see what is happening. Finding out how your device is measuring the rate will help in the interim.