Asthma and pulse rate

I recently had me Aminophylline tablets increased and this was because it was low for a long time and I kept having flare ups. Throughout my check ups I noticed that my pulse rates (prior to the increase would be quiet high) like 121 or 113. Today is the third day of the increased dose and I have noticed my pulse rate (taken with an oximeter) is between 82 to 95. How connected is pulse rate to severe asthma?

[LDloveslattecoffe]

Pulse rates vary but generally between 60-100 at rest is normal generally over 90 is a little stressed over 100 should be gentle exercise/activity and the more activity/exercise the higher the pulse rate.

If you go to gym and they have pulse on bike/treadmill they advise 220 minus your age should be maximum pulse ie I am 48 so 220-48=172 should be my maximum heart rate at exercise.

Ventolin and certain medications can increase your heart rate.

82-95 at rest is good

[Hidden in reply to LDloveslattecoffe]

Thank you - I should have mentioned that the resting heart rate was 121 and usually 113. Both resting rates. I’m so pleased it’s down to 95 (I get to be normal)

[EmmaF91 Community Ambassador]

Hi

When your asthma isn’t controlled your systems have to work harder, hence the raised HR when I controlled or during attacks. Hopefully the increase of aminophylline has bought you to therapeutic levels meaning your cardiovascular system can relax to its ‘normal’ state when resting rather than working overtime.

So HR is related to asthma (Tho not necessarily the type/severity - more the control level!). You may also find a lowering of your Bp if that has also been higher than ‘normal’ recently

Hope that explains things a bit

[Hidden in reply to EmmaF91]

Hi @EmmaF91 I am so pleased with this I’m delighted 😃 I actually became so used to the high HR that I felt lost. It’s been day 3 of the increase and I am amazed each time it’s at 95 ish. It’s great to feel like something at last is working.

Happy Easter!!

[EmmaF91 Community Ambassador in reply to Hidden]

I’m glad the increase has worked well for you!

Happy Easter x

[Hidden in reply to EmmaF91]

Thank you for the advice earlier I was really apprehensive about the increased dose.

[EmmaF91 Community Ambassador in reply to Hidden]

You’re welcome - I’d say any time, but hopefully this will be enough to get you stable without needing another med change! 😉🤞🏻

[Hidden in reply to EmmaF91]

@EmmaF91 You just read my mind. I’m in no mood to go back to the Brompton and Become a guinea pig again. 3 tablets with the umph going in at night time is ok but no more challenges for me 🤞they wanted to do a histamine challenge and this was me 🤯 ( I sneakily self discharged myself)

[EmmaF91 Community Ambassador in reply to Hidden]

Fun times at RBH! I’ve just left them due to moving 😂. The histamine challenge isn’t too bad (however I did do it when completely asymptomatic 🙈)

[Hidden in reply to EmmaF91]

I drew the line at when the dietician and gastrointerologist wanted me to also do food challenges I was like what am I a lab rat here to amuse you. I thought they would have taken me off the Aminophylline but no! Did you get the 4 day admission at the start? Those were the worst 4 days ever - I don’t think I needed to know how bad I am with zero drugs including antihistamines and eczema ointment too! They literally took everything off and then just added it all back in at a higher dose I felt like 🤷🏻‍♀️ did you think I was making it all up?!

Now the GP has increased it but I’m already pre-planning the not RBH route if she insists that I am with a specialist. I have a food allergy & gerd as well so what I call a dieticians idea of knowledge hell!!

[EmmaF91 Community Ambassador in reply to Hidden]

Yeah - I started with the DAP (difficult asthma protocol - 4 day admission). Unfortunately for me my DAP fell during Sept which is usually the best month of the year for me (no hayfever, good temperature etc) and was on steroids when I was there so no matter what I did I couldn’t trigger anything 🤦‍♀️😅. 4 days got extended to 2 weeks for a pred wean, as well as stopping everything else... nothing - no triggers (even when I tried running, outside, in London)! Tests (histamine challenge, FENO, X-ray, CT etc) just showed ‘mild’ asthma so after 2 weeks got sent home on minimal meds and told I just had Dysfunctional breathing (true but only due to a really really bad attack 1 month earlier), social anxiety (true but very very mild and I’ve never had it effect breathing) and a symptom ID issue (true can’t spot a problem til under 50% function due to being so bad for so long)... so basically got accused of making it up and sent home with no support but a follow up in ‘cough’ clinic 😒

Get home, massive infection, 2 months of hell cause local can’t give me back meds cause RBH need to see me poorly (they had only ever seen me well). Next RBH appt, the con I saw went into melt down, admitted me for a week of hydrocortisone therapy and I got LOTS of apologies, a diagnosis of severe atopic and eosinophilic asthma and all my meds back 😅. Then went on to biologics which helped to a greater or lesser extent (xolair then mepo... now waiting for Ben)

So yeah - for different reasons, but I too disliked my DAP 😅

[Hidden in reply to EmmaF91]

Oh my god I had that same line. We need to see you poorly. For me I juggle multiple conditions asthma and gerd is the biggest beast. I was also made to feel like I am making it up. I had a reflux test during my DAP then that was negative as I was on anti reflux medication 🤷🏻‍♀️ they redid all my food allergy tests twice once on RAST then on ELISA (both sky high readings for nut allergy- 🤔 I would love for it to be negative!) then I did a lung function on no inhalers twice then I did the physio I also was told it’s dysfunctional breathing (I call it asthma! 🤨) then a skin prick test to get 8 other allergens detected then told I had oral allergy syndrome and histamine intolerance. Overall they just took off everything and then added it on at a higher dose. While just making me feel like I was making it all up. By the time I got to the food allergy clinic I was unsure what actual treatment I was getting.

I went to that clinic and I was done with the concept of going in to just eat a dish I cooked in front of her with my epipen on the side. Then I thought enough you think I’m your lab rat to see someone get anaphylactic?!

The sad part here that I was also being treated for my Gerd & ENT stuff at the exact same time but by a local hospital and they actually did more work to help me than RBH. The ENT and gastroenterologist doubled up and actually did an amazing job. But then I had to reduce the Aminophylline as RBH never increased it but suggested to my GP that it should be increased. They actually did nothing really. The first increase was suggested to be one Aminophylline three times a day so morning, lunch and evening. Now it makes sense why my first attempt didn’t work out. Oh how wrong they were.

Sorry you had such an awful experience the apologies don’t help as you were medication deprived and actually they caused that.

[EmmaF91 Community Ambassador]

Yeah - it was very frustrating!

Are they doing any follow ups with you, or now it’s diagnosed leaving you be?

It does seem counterintuitive to force an issue, esp as you come with all these notes from your local. I did a LFT 1 month before DAP (when I was symptomatic) - showed an obvious asthma dip, plus good reversibility. But they wouldn’t look at it cause it hadn’t been done by them (even tho I kept telling them I was asymptomatic- I could understand the brush off if I had being saying breathing was bad and tests showed it wasn’t but...)

Sorry you had a bad experience in your own way with the DAP. Hope they, your GP and your local are working things out in a way that actually helps you

[Hidden in reply to EmmaF91]

No I self discharged. At the time I think the most devastating part was that I had such high hopes that I would get a miracle remedy it would sort out my asthma beyond belief but no. I saw the food allergy dietician there and it was the final straw for me. I was actually becoming more and more food phobic and developing an issue with seeing all foods as a trigger for asthma and anaphylaxis.

The help came from the ENT and Gastroenterologist who taught me more about the food groups and how they affect me personally even giving me different antihistamines and medications that I could step up and down when needed. That empowered me more to have some control on the other stuff. But sadly the asthma never got the right the treatment at all.

This time around i am hoping to stay with the Gp and if they want to refer then I will ask for somewhere else. A lot like your story I felt like I had the results and everything they made me redo everything to leave me with the same set of medications. I was never offered Xolair and oddly told to use my nebuliser whenever I needed it 🤯 I just felt patronised that they even retested for food allergies like why would any other hospital get it wrong when I had that done three times at three separate appointments at three places that year (ent,gastro dept and the gp did it!)

My GP is good and did refer me to St Mary’s for adult anaphylaxis and asthma care last night but I had an asthma flare up and had to cancel it. A bit like what you said too I was already on Steroids and something called braltus so whatever they did test for would be negative.

I’m just happy the tachycardia has calmed down to a point where I’m not constantly feeling my heart beating out my chest.