Wondered if anyone has had experience with SVT and low iron? I’ve just found out that I have extremely low iron stores which explains a lot of my symptoms, including a fast heart rate and wondering whether anyone knows whether it could cause atrial tachycardia?
I am really hoping once I get my iron levels up I’ll start to feel better. I am constantly tired, feel weak and unwell if exercising for too long (despite not doing more than I’ve done before), get a fast heart rate on standing up and feel dizzy/lightheaded when out and about. My ferritin level was 11 and I think the cut off for deficiency is 30 and optimum is over 100. I also have low b12 and not sure why it keeps dropping when I don’t take supplements. Looks like I will just have to take supplements long term!
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If its any help I had a stomach bleed some years ago (caused by Ibuprofen) and was found to have low haemoglobin bordering on the requirement for a transfusion but was instead prescribed 'iron tablets'. Unfortunately there is no quick fix for restoring iron levels in the body (other than a transfusion as far as I am aware) since the body has a slow rate of absorption from both dietary iron and also supplements and so it takes a few weeks to get the iron back up to normal levels when on supplements and that means the feelings of tiredness are also slow to go away which is what I remember from my experience.
When this happened to me...low ferritin... I was given an iron infusion.Did the trick and boosted my iron immediately so no long winded taking of iron tablets for months on end. The infusion took about an hour and was done in my local hospital.
Lucky you. Also have low ferritin (below the threshold), but because haemoglobin is normal, which means I’m not anemic (yet - low iron stores eventually leads to it), I was refused a transfusion and told to do it the long way with tablets…
Back in 2018 I got diagnosed with low iron due to heavy periods and got put on iron tablets for a few months and then had a repeat blood test and then I was fine and have had no problems since!
I can't comment on atrial tachycardia, but after 2 operations (endaterectomies) in 11 months, it was discovered recently that my ferritin levels are extremely low, probably because I'm pescatarian and my iron levels haven't been restored through food alone. My ferritin levels are currently 9; the healthy range is between 20 and 300. I had noticed in recent months that I've been getting 'out of puff' and in need of a short sitdown after relatively short walks, as well as having a few heart palpitations, so being diagnosed with anaemia was actually a bit of a relief! I've been prescribed heavy duty iron tablets to take 3 times a day, and my GP says it will take at least 3 or 4 months before my ferritin levels will get back to normal, so if you haven't already, it's probably a good idea to have a word with your doctor about supplements.
Hi can I ask how you are managing to take three iron tablets a day, I have been prescribed the same as anaemic, starting with one tablet and if well tolerated then to increase them. I struggle with the one … made me feel very sick so now I take with a glass of orange juice and two rich tea finger biscuits. I have nothing to eat or drink an hour before then wait to eat for one and a half hours after. I just hope they work as I need to have a procedure done on the 11th Dec.
With great difficulty! I was already on 8 tablets a day and getting the timing right between all the various pills is a nightmare! Originally, I was given Ferrous Fumarate (210mg, 2 a day - although I was finding it hard to fit in more than 1 day). However, apart from the usual side-effects of taking iron supplements, I was getting repeated bouts of cystitis, which stopped when I stopped taking the tablets. My doctor told me not to worry, as there were plenty of other things we could try, and I'm now on FerroDose-S (200mg, 3 times a day). I did ask if I could start on 1 and then build up the dosage, and she said that would be fine. I've only just started taking them and after the first one, I did get stomach pains and an uncomfortable feeling in my tummy, but the second one seemed to go down OK.
I am in no way recommending this, as I am not medically trained, but I did read on the packaging of my particular tablets that if taking them an hour before a meal makes you feel sick, you can take them with or after a meal - although I think that may decrease their effectiveness. But as I said, my GP told me there is alternative medication available.
Re your procedure - before my second op, the nurse was concerned that my iron levels were too low and booked me in for an iron infusion, but then my surgeon intervened and said they were 'good enough' and they cancelled it, so I think it's something the surgical team will investigate before yours goes ahead.
Thank you for your reply , I just hope my levels have improved enough to finally have this pressure wire procedure and stent if needed. I have a phone call on Friday with a PCI nurse then I think blood test a week later then hopefully procedure on the 11th December. Good luck with your iron pills.
I’ve also recently gone through the whole “check everything my doctors haven’t” stage, and after requesting specific blood tests discovered that in addition to hypothyroidism, I also have low ferritin (29). While that may not seem terrible because it’s only 1 short of the “minimum”, I’ve also learnt through my medical journey that you cannot apply a number range to the entire population. What they don’t tell you is that the minimum requirement for heart failure patients is 100+, etc. Same thing with blood pressure.
Anyway, it turns out that both the thyroid and iron can affect heart rhythm and as I’ve suffered with tachycardia ever since I had my MIs 5 years ago, and ectopics for the last year, I decided to do something about it. Along with my heart meds I’m now also on levothyroxine and OTC iron tablets because they refused to give me a transfusion. Slow process but hopefully it all eventually works out for me.
Hmm... I'd forgotten about stout! It was recommended to me to 'build me up' when I suffered annual bouts of bronchitis in my late teens/early twenties, and it did the trick! Wishing you all the best for your course of treatment.
I would not put too much faith in stout. Some while back I worked it out that it would take several hundred bottles each day to match my daily iron input from three tablets per day. A nice challenge though.
Actually, not so illogical after all... I have a book called The Expectation Effect, written by a scientist, which explains how it's been proven that our mindset has a huge effect on physical outcomes; eg, if you start taking medication feeling sure that it will help your condition, it probably will.
I had aortic stenosis and was diagnosed with Hayden’s syndrome which goes hand in hand particularly in women apparently. As a result my iron was rock bottom and I was on high doses of iron tabs ( yuk) . I also took supplements and ate anything green or red to help . Once I had my valve replaced ( 2 years ago now ) all was well and my haemoglobin has been back to normal .I did have to have several transfusions during snd after surgery but they were prepared for that because of the Haydes . Ask about haydes syndrome it’s not common but does get over looked .
I'm a complete mystery to them. I was diagnosed with haemochromatosis (iron overload) in 2003. Ferritin levels 630. It's a genetic condition that means you have an inability to excrete iron so, if not disrupted, it continues to build up in your body throughout your life. I was put on venesection, a pint of blood taken from me every 2 weeks at first and then reducing to eventually every 6 months (what they call maintenance) once my ferritin came down to 20. That went on for 15 years, keeping my levels between 15 and 40.
All of a sudden, early in 2018, I was tired with no strength or energy. Blood tests taken. I'm told I'm anaemic. Something I should never ever be with haemochromatosis. Of course they think I'm losing blood through something sinister going on. I underwent endoscopy, colonoscopy, barium meal test, CT scans. Nothing.
End of 2019, I suffered a heart attack, and then in 2021 I had a triple bypass. All of this time suffering from anaemia that it shouldn't be possible for me to have with my genetic condition. After the bypass surgery I needed 2 iron infusions to get my levels up to the minimum.
It remains a head-scratching mystery to my consultants. My own layman theory is that because I had been overloaded with iron all of my life until my mid 40s, I never developed much efficiency in extracting it from my diet. I never needed to. So after they bled me to a low level for 15 years, when I suddenly needed to build up my reserves I just didn't have the capacity to do so. Even today I remain borderline anaemic with haemochromatosis.
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