Advice about bisoprolol please

[Katlou63]

Has anyone been told just to stop taking bisoprolol and aspirin? I had a heart ct scan 2 weeks ago and a subsequent call from the cardiologist to say that the results were good, my heart was ok and to stop taking the bisoprolol and aspirin. Can I just stop just like that? I've been taking them for a month now after having chest pain. His only explanation for the pain was a possible problem with my oesophagus which I now have to have a endoscopy for. I'm very confused- a phone conversation wasn't really what I expected or was prepared for so I don't feel as if I really know what is going on! Anyone had a similar experience?

[Blackcatsooty]

Has to be good to reduce medication. Aspirin will often upset tummy, so stopping them will bode well.Bisoprolol is a bit of a devil and if you dont need it then thats great.

Doubt if the medication has fully titrated in to your system, so stopping is brilliant.

If you continue to have pain etc it will be a lot easier for your doctor to medicate .

Summer is arriving and less medication, brilliant.

[Katlou63 in reply to Blackcatsooty]

Thanks for the positive reply! I'm worried that my blood pressure will go back up but pleased to be off the medication all the same!

[JudiHalf in reply to Katlou63]

Probably best to monitor your blood pressure after stopping Bisoprolol as you may need another medication for this.

[Hidden]

Normally you reduce the dose, but I suggest you check with your GP/Pharmacist, they know what dose you are on and can advise you best.

[Giorgos1973]

My cardiologist's contribution was to keep the dose in half for a week and then to stop it I was taking 2.5 a day bisoprolol for a year and a half I reduced it to 1.25 for a reduced week and then I stopped having tachycardia for a few days you for such a short time You will not have anything at all if your doctor tells you to withdraw it will be relatively easy

[Katlou63 in reply to Giorgos1973]

Thank you- I'm on 2.5mg a day so not a high dose. I'm going to attempt to speak to my gp next week before I just stop taking it

[richard_jw]

Certainly Bisoprolol reduces blood pressure, and pulse rtae by reducing the adrenaline and noradrenaline secreted. It depends on how high your BP was, and certainly there are other drugs available to reduce blood pressure. Bisoprolol reduces the load on the heart, but if it's OK it might be better to take a drug which has less side effects.

[Katlou63 in reply to richard_jw]

Hello thanks for your reply. Well when i went to a&e my BP was179/112. After a month on bisoprolol its now around 130/ 85. I'm just worried that it will shoot back up if I stop taking the medication even though I know my heart scan was ok and I don't want to be anxious about it either as that will bump up the BP! Yayyyy!

[Hidden in reply to Katlou63]

Beta blockers like bisoprolol are no longer recommended drugs for treating high bp, so if the only issue is your blood pressure, there are lots of other, more appropriate drugs to manage that. It does need managing, though, if persistently above 135/85, and if at any time the systolic is above 180 and/or the diastolic is above 120, that’s a medical emergency requiring immediate assessment.

[richard_jw in reply to Katlou63]

Certainly Bisoprolol seems to be having a beneficial effect. I'm not a doctor, so I would talk to your GP or cardiologist again to see if it's the most appropriate med for you

[jerry12953]

I came off bisoprolol after a month with no problems. Good luck!

[PecanSandie]

It sounds like you have high blood pressure so you definitely need to talk to your GP before stopping so you can be put on a different medication. Do you have a home blood pressure monitor? That would be very helpful to determine if your BP is going to be staying at 130 or if it will spike again.

[Katlou63 in reply to PecanSandie]

Yes I check my BP every day. Hopefully I'll get to speak to my gp this week 🙏

[TheHud]

If your heart is OK, then stopping would be the obvious solution. No one wants meds they don't need, there are always side effects.

However, there can be many reasons for chest pain. For example, dysautonomia, the most common form is postural tachycardia syndrome.. If you feel not fully investigated do a bit of research at sites like dysautonomia international and POTS UK. There is a simple test you can carry out at home that is explained on these sites, its called an active stand test.

Other possibilities are related to diet, try avoiding gluten for a little while, see how you feel.

I am surprised you got put on anything to be honest unless you were tachycardic and or had elevated BP.

Best of luck but really once you know your heart is OK, you have time to find out what it really is.

[ChristineK]

Yes, you can cone straight off Aspirin and Bisoprolol without any adverse effects. Aspirin affected my stomach and Bisoprolol caused my asthma to worsen, so my Cardiologist told me to stop both meds immediately and that was over a year ago. Hoping that this helps and good luck.

[HenningLob]

HiMy husband had open heart surgery in March 2019 and had to have mechanical valve fitted. He was initially on bisoprolol and aspirin. After a few months he was told to stop bisoprolol as it was needed to settle the heart after such an invasive op and my husband's heart had now settled. My husband followed the advice he was given to reduce the dose over a period of a couple of weeks and then stop altogether. Then a few months ago after a routine check up the cardiologist was very surprised that he was on aspirin (75mg per day) and was advised that it should be stopped immediately. If you are concerned I would ask your Cardioligist for more details. We were concerned about the sudden stopping of Aspirin and double checked with cardioligist who emailed back and confirmed to stop immediately. I hope you manage to get good advice.

[Petercat1]

Hi.I was on aspirin because I had a replacement aortic valve and dissection op. I went to my Cardio Rehab exercise class about two/three months after the op and the person running it was surprised I was still on the aspirin, and wrote to my doctor and recommended I be taken off them, which I was.

The bisoprolol I am on was mainly because I had palpation attacks, but it also reduced my BP. I was on 10mg after the op, but I got it reduced to 7.5mg - to be honest I would stop them altogether if I could.

If I did stop taking the bisoprolol, I would do it gradually as I think you get withdrawal symptoms if you just stop them. In saying that as you've only been on them a month, you may be ok to just stop them, I've been on bisoprolol for 4 years. Maybe do it gradually anyway, just in case.

Hope this helps.

Denise