That's interesting!My resting HR has been slowly reducing over the last couple of months , I guess as my weight has come down and fitness hopefully gone up !
Just a little nervous to come off with GP approval but not cardiologists 🤔
It was the one thing I suffered from my multitude medication, I worked out the way to do it, is get up slowly. Example from a low sofa I sit up straight count to 10 then get up and it worked.
I spoke to my cardiologist about it and he said I was doing the wight thing and this is what he would have advised.
I doubt you'll have any problems coming of such a low dose of Bisoprolol.
The bigger question is, do you want to?
There are only two things that can reduce our chances of a heart attack or stroke, medication and life style changes. I understand how exercise and weight loss can make us feel better (I've done the same), but feeling healthy and actually having healthy arteries may be two very different things.
I'd check with your cardiologist rather than rely solely on your GP.
There are plenty of examples in heart health where our GP's are driven by a fairly arbitrary metric, above which is considered risky and below which they leave well alone. But actually lower scores than the risk trigger may still be preferable.
I've heard one doctor say the best blood pressure is as low as possible without fainting! And there's solid evidence emerging that HbA1c scores far below the nominal risk trigger for insulin resistance are actually where we should aim for.
You make some very good points !And that is my feeling also , hence the post .. I feel my cardiologists input would carry more weight.
As for hbac1, I couldn't agree more !
Mine went up to 49 (48 and above of course considered diabetic)
Through a lot of hard work I have now got it back to 42.
Whereas when I was invited (or should I say instructed ) to go for an appointment with my surgeries diabetic "Expert" they tell you as a diabetic (and I'm still considered diabetic because I hit the threshold) they tell you to try and keep it below 48
Which in mho is ridiculous!
Why wouldn't I want it to be lower , ie back to normal (no more than 42)
I just crept above the threshold for 3 weeks !
Now I have the label for life !
Although I am already effectively in remission as they call it .
That's interesting instructor57, because my reading which was similar to yours but was treated as pre diabetic and I was sent on a NHS pre diabetics course. (it was Ok)
I didn't have much to change to be honest, just readjusted my diet a bit, keep my exercise up to what my heart/consultant allows. (weight isn't a problem).
Anyway my annual blood test came back this week and the only thing mentioned was I am slightly anaemic (which I was aware anyhow from another doctor about something else!)
I don't know why you are treated as diabetic 'forever' however what I would say is that knowing you had it for only 3 weeks will ensure you do will what you can not to get it again.
Good morning....personally I would also have a chat to your consultant too just to make sure they are ok with you coming off bisoprolol. Even though it's a small dose, you were put on it for a reason and as you've done so well you don't want to be going backwards. I attend a fantastic gp and surgery....no complaints whatsoever but i would still query a change of any of my heart medications with my consultant just as an extra precaution. All the best x
I just think you've done so well getting to where you are so a double check will at least give you peace of mind. I am only on 1.5 mg bisoprolol but wd still query a change. Even the smallest doses of heart meds can make such a difference so I just think safe and sure. Hope you get it sorted x
I agree about labels for life . It’ll affect insurance and other lifestyle type assessments as well . It’s maybe a bit of laziness and risk adverse attitudes on behalf of medical team. My ex mother in law was on a vast mixture of meds she had accumulated from seeing her old GP. When the new locum came in he reckoned half the meds were for side effects of the other half. I’d strongly suggest to your GP or nurse you if no longer considered to be diabetic and your records amended to say your lifestyle changes have improved your status .
Yes, tbh I'm still furious about the diagnosis especially as they knew I was doing something about it .All they have said is that if it's still low in 3 months then my records will be ammended to state I'm in remission!
I came off 1.25mg without too many problems, although I did have some "odd" sensations for a couple of weeks. That was with my cardiologist's approval as my RHR was dropping to low 30s and I was like a zombie. Recently, following some spells in and out of hospital and another angiogram, my statin was upped to 80mg by the duty cardiologist doing the morning rounds, not my usual one or the one who did the angio. This was to "hit my cholesterol hard", in spite of it being really low (2.2). My wife rang hospital after a couple of weeks because I was feeling so bad and spoke to a nurse, she went off to talk to Dr. Cutting a long story short, the same cardiologist said it was now up to my GP to manage my meds now that cardio had "done all they can" even though it was him that increased the statin! GP agreed I can go back to 40mg. I only mention this as you may get some to'ing fro'ing as to who has or will take responsibility for your meds and any changes to them.
GP can be hard to get hold of too. Our cardiology dept is usually pretty good at ring back, it's just this particular cardiologist I couldn't take to. I had to come off Bisoprolol, my RHR is 50s anyway (dropping to 40s overnight) and betablockers lower it even lower.I've had brushes with pre-diabetes as well and am now permanently on radar. Good thing really as GP do a annual check up on me. Last one came back in normal ranges after a few years of creeping back into pre-diabetes ranges. I'd chunked rather than hunked during the "voldemort" illness we can't name. Losing 2st since HA and diet overhaul has helped there.
Hi, my bp had always been good and after HA they put me on bisoprolol. My bp went very low and my daughter rang BHF who told her to ring GP who instantly took me off it. I only take aspirin and statins now as they never gave me beta blocker when I told them in hospital what my resting heart rate was (around 48 asleep)
Hi, yes I was taking bisoprolol, but experiencing problems with dizziness, my cardiologist has put me on Diltiazem instead and not had any problems since.
Following with interest as I am exactly the same bp wise and RHR in low 50s in the day and low 40s at night. I'm not running but have lost weight. I'm not dizzy but still feel v insecure with such low rates. Can't seem to get GP or cardio nurse to make a decision but if I pushed I know they would let me reduce to 1.25. Sometimes I think I will just do this myself and see. Am in a constant dilemma about bisoprolol!
I had an HA and stents 2 years ago. I was initially on 5mg bisoprolol which I had gradually reduced by my GP as it was making feel dizzy and my BP was low. I moved through the reductions pretty quickly then came off them completely with no problems. It fixed the dizziness I was getting and my BP stabilised again and is still now about 120/70 in the normal range. My GP was really good with helping, changing my prescriptions and I remain on all my other medication. My resting HR is about 50 and I’m also physically fitter now than i have been in years. I’m no medic and appreciate everyone is different. Start with your GP especially if you have been discharged back to their care. Good luck with your continued rehabilitation
Currently in the process of reducing my bisopromol. It’s been 5 years since I had a stent and I’ve been on 5mg and my resting heart rate is 50-52, I work out daily of some sort. I’ve just lowered it to 2.5 and I have private appointments with one of the top cardiologists in the country and actually while bisop deepens your heart beat, it’s not an essential drug to prevent another HA. I’m going to be stepping mine down to 1.25 but I’m carefully watching and monitoring my stats as I have a lot more data than you to work with.
What I would say is just be careful is running before you can walk, generally the HA box of pills is about preventing it happening again and as time goes by, and great amounts of time goes by, you % decreases of another event. What I can tell
You for me is that after 5 years of 5mg my body was ready for a change and with my heart now beating a bit faster during exercise I’m hoping that the balance of weight Vs drugs is going to balance out this move.
Half my battle has been weight as I don’t find it easy to lose weight and I was on 80mg statin and 5mg bosop.
I’m now 40mg statin and 5mg Bisop and feeling 10x better.
A mate once said to me as I exercise daily, listen, you are alive, that’s the important thing
I guess ATM I can live with it and manage as long as I don't jump up quickly after sitting a while !I'm also thinking about my upper HR as I go running 2 or 3x a week so need to be sure before I consider dropping the med 🤔
Yes, just go careful mate. I'm 52 Years old and I happily run my heart rate up to 155, I dont see the point of being maniac like in my 30's when I used to play a lot of squash. depending on your age and what your ailment's are you need to pop that superman suit back in the cupboard and work around maintenance. I'd rather be doing average every day rather than max for 1 day. I have an apple watch and I set my zones up up to 155/160 and enjoy working within them. I do do circuit training and body pump as well as spinning, cycling on the road, I walk a lot and cycle off road on my mountain bike. I actually bought an ebike back in 2018 so I could start slowly. Also sometimes remember that your body is getting used to the drugs so dizziness today can be gone tomorrow so don't be too quick to abandon hope. I went through a dizzy spell, dont know what year it was but it went and it wasnt bad. If you want to discuss in person and fancy a call then let me know and I'll drop my number on here. As recently I had a 5 year echo scan and fitness test all wired up. I pay privately as its important to me
Hi instructor57 I came off it slowly because i was worried too , I halved my tablet and then after a week I took every other day for a week , I had no issues, hope this helps
The problem was every time I went out for a walk after about 40 minutes or did anything too excerting my blood pressure would drop very low and I would feel very weak like I was going to pass out , no one seemed to know what it was and eventually my cardio rehab nurse advised that I should stop the bisoprolol because it's designed to lower hear rate so when I was excepting my heart rate couldn't increase as its supposed to there for its having a affect on the blood pressure, sorry for the long reply 😁 after I came off it though I was absolutely fine ..
... I stopped my Bisoprolol after a few weeks for symptoms of severe postural hypotension ... and a HR that went down to 44 and I was only on 1.25mg... But this is a question that can not be answered by anecdotes alone..What is important is what is the evidence of benefit for B-blockers post MI ?? As I understand it, the evidence in terms of RCT's is amongst the weakest for all secondary prevention measures... Most of the studies being done way last century.... and a lot has changed since then eg widespread PCI etc...(hitherto medical management being the mainstay) Further bigger studies are being planned imminently - and there is a feeling --amongst cardiologists the the guidance could well be changing and B blockers may not be automatically prescribed for everyone... They may well have a place in selected cases... But take home message.. They may not necessarily be as helpful as folk automatically assume... and if they make you feel lousy stop them... That is my view...
I had to come off bisopralol after my HA as it was dropping my BP and heart rate too slow. GP tried changing it to a calcium channel blocker but that did the same so I just stopped taking anything on his advice. No ill effects at all when stopping
Hi, good to hear the fitness regime is working. When my AF was detected on the LINQ implanted ECG recorder in May my medication was changed immediately from Clopidogrel for the stroke to Edoxaban for the AF. The cardiologist also discussed prescribing a pill in the pocket PIP low dose bisoprolol for self medication in the event of me having an AF event causing me problems. He discussed this with me on two occasions but eventually decided not to prescribe because my resting heart rate was low, often around 40bpm and BP was good with no other known conditions. (Bradycardia+ectopics)Since my last update with you, I completed a monthly 10k with no targets but achieved a PB this month. Thanks to your encouragement from the Bridge to 10k group last year, and a PB for 5k in June.
Good to hear from you Nigel 🙂I was actually changed onto clopidogrel instead of ticagrelar as I was getting shortness of breath That's now fine on clopidogrel.
Just shows , it's a bit of trial and error as we all respond differently!
I don't mind the trial , just not so keen on the error 🤔🤣
Well done with your running 👏👏👏
I have completely re run C25k (finished last weekend) I will slowly work my way back up to 10 k and beyond as I feel fit .
With 2 stone less to carry now I'm hoping that will help 🙂
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