Just a quick idea before i see GP on monday, would be nice from the people who might know!
On an average day i think my resting HR is around 90bpm, assuming ive not just taken my reliever, (but have taken my fostair and uniphyllin) and during an attack i tend to sit around 120, even with b2b nebs. Ive been in a different from usual hospital since tuesday, and signed out yesterday coz they were all stressing me out - not my most sensible decision but its done now - so hard in hosp - all brain power goes out of the window!
Now, the main issue that finalised my leaving was the cons wanting me to stop my uniphyllin, this drug made a big difference to me, and the idea of stopping when i was making it only a few hrs between nebs was scary, too scary for me to deal with, and i'd seen the same guy be dangerously neglegent with a woman with COPD the day before! (like - really scary stuff). He wanted me to have an echo, stop uniphyllin and see a cardiologist. Becasue my HR as about 150, not dropping even after 5/6hrs between salb nebs. My thinking was, that yes, that is a high pulse, but with the meds i am on, and the fact i as struggling on an off, anmd the fact that ECG showed sinus rhythm, this is nothing scary. I didnt really think that sinus tachy did any harm in itself, as long as BP is ok (which it was). But he seemed more concerned about that than the fact that uniphyllin helped me a lot.
What have you guys found in terms of HR? Anyone happy being at 150? is an increase of 30 (because lets be honest, it kind of counts as an attack) in a stressful situ like hospital really that much of a big deal? I dont feel particularily unwell with it, so my instinct is that this isnt the end of the world, but i dont want to be being ridiculous! Like i say, going to discuss with GP on monday - but wondered if people had found this?
I also have as high resting hr varying from 90bpm up to about 140bpm before salbutamol and the slightest bit of exercise and I'm easily up to 160/170bpm.
The drs I have seen (even those who have never met me before) don't seem hugely concerned as like u say your in a stressful situation and had lots of meds that increase it even more.
Now technical stuff- sinus tachy is harmless in its self although prolonged periods of fast hr can over time cause damage to the heart, I mean like hr of 150+ for months kind of thing. Asthmatics who have severe asthma on a chronic basis, like regular severe attacks, struggling on a day to day basis type, can develop problems with the right side of the heart because of increased pressure in the chest, but again this is fairly rare and not something I would be too concerned about, at this point.
I hope this helps a wee bit, I think that it's just the age old dilemma of working out the pros and cons of any meds. Wanting/needing to breathe against side effects.
Becca Xx
Thanks!! deffo helps! Doctors can be ridiculously over dramatic sometimes, and sometimes be really proportional, and so i have a hard time working out if they are actually making sensible decisions, i dont like to just take what they're saying on face value - i find that often doesnt go well!!
Your heart seems to behave in a fairly similar way to mine, so i guess thats reassuring.
There have been a few cons who have talked about the asthma stressing my heart hich is what i assume the right side thing you're talking about is, but recently had a 24hr ecg which was fine, so im happy there is nothing dramatic going on yet!!
i hate weighing up the pros and cons of meds. i do have a very strong heart beat and always have, med students get all excited when they feel my chest as the beat is so strong and you can usually see its beat in my stomach, but to me it rarely bothers me (and when it does its usually only for a short while, and just makes me feel really sick rather than anything else! i would much rather sit at 150 for the rest of my life and take uniphyllin than stop it and go to below 100! it makes a real difference for me! I also would rather not add in a drug to slow my hr (his other suggestion) as to me that sounds a bit scary - and again, i dont think im symptomatic enough to need it!
Ah yeah em I'm waiting to have an echo as my heart tracing shows right heart enlargement but I'm not symptomatic really, I do get palpitations but I can't say they bother me.
The thing for me is if I wasn't on all my meds then my asthma would be worse and that would put even more pressure on my heart causing damage, so I think I would rather the high heart rate!
Hi,
I also have a high heart rate which stresses out my asthma nurse, gp, cons etc. My resting pulse is regular about 120 and it can go up to nearly 200 during an attack. I do have a diagnosed heart condition (seperate to asthma).
In my experience, many medics (including my old asthma cons and allergy specialist) panic with my heart rate and I have even been told to try not taking my reliever when I had a very tight chest. Even though they believe theophylline would really benefit me, my cons would not give me it. However, last month I went for my annual cardiac appointment and asked about theophylline. Their opinion was that I would need to be monitored but a slight increase in what was normal for me would be ok especially given that uncontrolled asthma/taking a lot pf reliever would be putting strain on my heart anyway. This is something I need to discuss with my GP.
I suppose what I am trying to say is that many docs may panic but a cardiac cons might see it in a different way. I should stress that my condition is diagnosed so they know exactly what they are dealing with though.
Hope this makes sense.
My resting HR is also between 90-100 and can go up to 160/70 during attack.
I find A&E doctors do freak out about it and I've lost count of the amount of ECGs I've had. Even when I was admitted with Noro-virus and due to stresss of that and not absorbing oral drugs properly my HR was high and I had about 4 ECGs each day over the 4 days I was in! I even was given a referal to cardio clinic despite me telling them my resting HR is on the high side due to all meds/struggling to breath etc.
I have been admitted on several occasions with a prolonged palpitations episodes when not only high HR but feels like its going to come out my chest/dizziness/nausea etc but not having attack at the time-none of the drs knew why but not worried that anything wrong with my heart.
Anyway, in the end cons took me off uniphyllin and despite a drastic return of night time symptoms I haven't had another tachy episode but didn't make much difference to symptoms in day so we decided to carry on without it at last appt and hes thinking of a way to improve my nights.
So, what I'm trying to say is your experience seems very much like mine/others who have posted but its worth getting checked out to be on the safe side.
Take care and please do go back in if you need to x
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