scared to take beta blockers

[Darthkaiser]

Hello, I’ve been prescribed Bisoprolol because due to my anxiety my heart will race up to 140 for no reason. I’ve got multiple heart checks and my heart is fine. Yet, my normal resting heart rate when I’m completely calm can be in the low 50s. I’m young (19) and not exactly fit . I’m worried that the beta blockers will bring my heart rate down too low

[ChoochSiesta]

They brought my hr down to 45, but felt fine. You should be more worried about spikes to 140 tbh!

[Happyrosie]

I am concerned, Darth, about your blood pressure fluctuations. Can I suggest that you visit the website of Blood Pressure UK? It’s a specialist charity and might give you some hints.

[Tiggger in reply to Happyrosie]

Where did you see his blood pressure readings?

[Darthkaiser in reply to Happyrosie]

My blood pressure is perfect though , not sure where you got that reading ?!

[Happyrosie in reply to Darthkaiser]

So sorry - I did mean pulse!! Not blood pressure!!

I believe that if your pulse is so high, and so variable without a cause, a lot of other things are going on - hence my thought that the charity Blood Pressure UK might have something on this.

[Lowerfield_no_more]

You should discuss your concerns with your prescribing health professional , or, failing that, a pharmacist.

[Rnfrds10]

I started 2.5mg recently and I got worried that my heart rate was to low around 55 and generally I am around 60-70 bpm at rest at night with sleep it goes to 45 bpm. I did bring this up with my doctor after a couple of weeks and they said to keep an eye on it. The upside is I have less moments with my heart beating over 100bpm, I can go gym without worrying so much. The slower heartbeat for me was welcome as when I had my panic attack or an afib episode seeing my heart rate stay below a hundred brought so much comfort to me. When our heart beats so high it makes our our anxiety worst. I think the trade off was worth it for me. My anxiety is centred around my health and heart so of course I read up on taking this medicine and kept a look out for any negative symptoms. So far so good. Hope it works out for you, everyone’s journey is different.

[sandandkev]

Have you got a pulseox meter? I have AF put on bisoprolol 2.5mg but heart kept going down to mid 50's which made me feel yuk,now on 1.25mg and heart goes down to 60 but not below

[devonian186]

Is your comment about not being very fit a euphemism for being somewhat over weight?

If so, losing weight and getting fit is likely to help your heart considerably and might help to even out the blood pressure which ought to be checked out unless there is already a known cause

[Darthkaiser in reply to devonian186]

No I’m normal weight for my age . I got checked out by a cardiologist who said everything was fine most likely due to anxiety

[devonian186 in reply to Darthkaiser]

Anxiety must be the number one concern on this board but it never seems to be taken seriously as a cause of illness or a factor that makes the condition worse.

[Spitfire49]

Hi, l have been on bisoporil for a few years now and never had a problem with it. My heart rate never goes too low. I have atrial Fibulation

[Danceawaytheblues in reply to Spitfire49]

Same with me Spitfire49. I am 78 and enjoying every day.

[andrew290171]

I was quite fit anyway so heart rate was about 50. Started bisoprolol and some days it was about 38 and didn't feel great so stopped taking them. I was only on 1.5mg so low dose anyway

[Sidlers]

I’m two weeks post stents. Like most people I was given the usual goody bag of drugs! During this time I’ve been fine tuning these in consultation with pharmacist and doctor. Remember, the one size fits all policy shouldn’t be taken that it’s right for you! My resting heart rate was dropping into the low 40s, this made me feel awful, as I’m normally around the lower 60s . We decided to reduce the bisoprolol by half. No change, still very slow and the constant dizziness! Few days later, suggested I should come off it completely as a trial. It’s now 24 hours later, I don’t have the dizziness and my heart rate is in the 60s. It’s the first time in a fortnight that I actually feel good!

Perseverance in finding what’s best for you is the name of the game!

Good luck .

[Insert]

Hi as someone who suffers with anxiety and has felt exactly the same as you, try to think a little differently. The Bisoprolol may help your anxiety which would be great and stop the awful feelings of the fast pulse, how nice would that be? If you feel worse then at least you’ve tried it, you’ve been in control. When we suffer from anxiety it’s so bad because we don’t feel in control of what’s happening. When you take it keep yourself busy, eat regularly and drink extra fluids.

[Danceawaytheblues]

Hi Darthkaiser, lots of good advice on here and I can`t add much more than what has already been said. I also suffer with anxiety and panic attacks, but maybe because I am older (78) I can keep them away these days, unlike in my younger years. I take Bisoprolol too and for me it`s my `little miracle pill`. Best wishes Marianne.

[tunybgur]

I was prescribed 1.25mg Bisoprolol for similar tachycardia attacks, my HR would go up to 170+ whilst just out walking.

These tiny little tabs fixed it straight away but also dropped my HR from my normal low 50's to mid 40's, additionally my BP came down by 10-15%.

This was in 2016 and I had been taking them up until the last few months of this year.

One other effect they had was to reduce the maximum HR I could achieve at the gym. Previously I was up in the 150's when doing a cardio workout but after Bisop I would struggle to reach 130.

For the last two years I had been cutting them in two and taking half each day and it didn't make any noticeable difference, three months ago I stopped taking them (with my GP's approval) and now my resting HR and BP have both increased by about 20% and my exercising HR has gone up to 140.

These tiny little pills are deceptively powerful......

Good luck

[wischo]

I was given Bisoprolol for SVTs which cause the heart to race occasionally like yours and they worked. Like you my heart rate was 55bpm on average and has dropped to 52bpm now (resting) but I feel fine and medical staff are happy. No more racing heart though.

[Master-virus]

I've suffered with anxiety all my life and I was given beta blockers for my racing heart.

My concern was it would race too fast and it would stop. My doctor said your heart is meant to beat that's what its job is for.

He said its not going race that fast its going to stop. I took the tablets because my heart was racing.

I felt a wack in my chest then my heart slowing down but I didn't want to rely on the tablets so I stopped taking them.

I'm not fit I'm overweight and walking up a steep hill my heart was pounding through my chest but I was alright.

Stressing makes your anxiety worse and causes your heart to race. Stop stressing and calm yourself down.

Your heart will slow down its has for me loads of times. Stop worrying I know its hard but you need too.

All the best.