Question regarding propranolol?

[briskate]

Hello,

I was found to have a fast heart beat so I was put on the beta blocker propranolol. It has seemed to have slowed my heart down however I still have a pounding heavy heartbeat I can feel especially when lying down. It's not fast anymore but really forceful.

What I'm wondering is whether propranolol will only slow down the heart and not stop this "pounding"?

If it can help with the pounding maybe I just need to increase the dose of propranolol?

Thanks for any help ☺

[stevejb1810]

Propranolol will lower your blood pressure and slow your heart rate. So, don’t unilaterally up your dose as you might lower your blood pressure too much making you dizzy or slow your heart rate too much making you breathless. The pounding heart thing is not uncommon- I don’t know what can be done about it. I still get it from time to time but it’s transient and whilst it feels odd, it doesn’t cause me any issues. If it continues to be an issue for you go and see your GP.

[Hidden]

I have SVT (episodes of my hr stuck at 200+ bpm) and a generally fast hr and was put on bisoprolol, also a beta blocker, 9 years ago. I still quite often get ‘bounding’ palpitations at times: HR normal, but able to feel it forcefully in my chest and/or left side of throat. It can happen at any time, but it’s more regularly when I’m lying down. I had a variety of doses over the years from a minuscule 1.25mg up to 7.5mg (max dose is 10mg) and it never stopped the forceful palpitations. I recently switched to verapamil in March (lost about 7 stone in weight over the last 2 years and for some reason, taking the bisoprolol began to make me symptomatically bradycardic with a HR in the 40s) and it does the same job but in a different way, but the palpitations remain on this too. Recent ECG was normal, 7 day halter in December revealed that other than a very variable HR there was nothing of note even though I had episodes of very strong palpitations whilst wearing it, and although I’m waiting on an echo just to make sure everything is ok structurally, the cardiologist is happy. It’s not the most pleasant experience, but I’ve come to the conclusion that unless my HR is wonky when it occurs or I feel otherwise actively unwell with it, for me at least it’s just something I have to live with and not something to worry about.