I am 66 and a recent routine NHS nurse check showed my blood pressure was high, averaging 155/95. I was told to monitor it and get in contact with my doctor and I have been started on 5mg Amlodipine and awaiting blood tests and a heart trace. Two BP readings taken at my local pharmacy showed the high BP and also low heart rates of 54 and 49.
I have a home pulse oximeter which shows heart rate and I sat still monitoring it several times yesterday. Oxygen saturation was always in the high 90s and my heart rate range regularly 80 - 90, but every few minutes it dips down to 45, 44 or 42 and stays there for 5 to 10 seconds before kicking back up to 85 - 95. I have no symptoms! The pulse oximiter works perfectly on my wife and shows no dipping!
I can't acces your link, I just get an advert trying to sell me something!
Just recently our oximeter showed my husband's SPO2 to be in the 60's obviously that was completely wrong as he would have been able to function at all!! But he has Raynauds disease & circulation issues so it struggles to get a reading from him for HR or SP02 but works fine for me
I don't trust these electronic devices for HR's as they're not always accurate. Have you tried taking your pulse manually?
Thanks Lezzers, you should be able to close the advert by clicking the X in the top right corner of the Microsoft Onedrive advert pop up and see the video. I have confirmed the reading manually using my actual pulse, counting for 15 seconds and multiplying by 4. My heart rate is definitely dipping below 45 and staying there for a while.
Can I suggest you stop counting to 15 & multiplying by 4. I know that's recommended and that's how I did it for years!! Then back in early 2020 I took my husband's pulse & just about the 14/15 second he had a strange beat! So I did it again for 60 seconds and realised he was actually having a number of missed beats & his pulse was dipping into the 40's, I monitored it for 2 weeks & contacted the GP. He has HF so his medical team were definitely not happy about that and he had an urgent visit to Papworth. Have you mentioned this to your GP?
Thanks Lezzers, all noted. I have been using the pulse oximeter to guide me in doing the manual pulse checks at the right times. After 10 to 15 seconds my heart rate is zooming back up again so a full 1 minute check would give me a misleading average around 74 which would erroneously look OK! Next GP visit is in 4 weeks. My one minute averages are on the high side of OK, but the dips to 42 are most concerning.
My reasoning for suggesting doing the 60 seconds was to ensure you wasnt having ectopic beats that were intermittent & weren't apparent all the time but would certainly contribute to a low HR, that would be something to tell you gp & that could be a reason why your pulse is so low. The problem is if you were only having a few they're difficult to catch. My husband's pulse would go 40's and then up into the 60's.Lets us know how you get on with the gp. However if you're not feeling dizzy etc they may say wait it out for the tests. Failing that you could have a word with the pharmacist & see if they have any advice to offer
If of course you're feeling poorly, dizzy etc then nhs111 would definitely be helpful.
That’s quite a low heart beat. And your BP is a bit too high. But before either or both your readings get out of control , I would want to make a big effort to eat sensibly, booze sensibly, exercise regularly and relax every day. And get good sleep. So much better to make any changes than to find you are on mega medications.
One thing I found valuable to me was a tinnitus relaxer. It plays white noise overlaid by your choice of crashing waves/babbling brook etc. it would get me to sleep or just plain relax.
I don’t have tinnitus, just got introduced to these little machines by someone who does have tinnitus. About £40 from chemist. Plus I soon needed an adapter because the batteries would quickly run down.
A slight aside : my GP here in deepest rural Essex looks to keep my readings at 140/70 or better, But GPs in London suggested I ought to be 130/ x.
My cheap little BP monitor shows heart rate. Much better than timing plus maths.
Asthma Nurse took my BP last week, and it was 140/78. I am so pleased.
If I keep that going, maybe I can wean off some the tablets.
Thanks Sooty, hopefully the Amlodipine will bring the BP down. I also dislike yet more pills and will work on the diet, exercise and weight. My cholesterol is great and I sleep well. Just the wretched dipping heart rate to understand.
Many thanks Thatwasunexpected, despite watching loads of "medical programs" and the dreaded Googling, I had not understood those processes and it points to where the problem might be. I am now looking forward to seeing the heart trace!
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