Bisopropolol and heart rate below 50

[Janeybur]

Hi, I was recently diagnosed with non sustained supraventricular tachycardia after a 14 day zio monitor. I experienced afib in November 2020 and had been fine until June last year when, while having covid, I had a second afib episode which resolved without treatment. I waited until April for a cardio appointment and decided to see a cardiologist privately as I had ongoing fluttering symptoms. He made the diagnosis and has prescribed 1.25mg bisopropolol and a statin. When resting (watching tv) my heart rates drops to below 50. It used to be around 65 bpm. Is this normal? I have been taking the meds for 12 days. My BP was always around 112/65 and is now around 102/58. I do get breathless occasionally too. No contact from my GP and I am waiting for a heart MR stress to look for myocarditis.....its all vert stressful! Can anyone advise if I need to contact someone please?

[Welshwomanarrythmia]

I am on the same dose. Your heart rate does drop at rest and whilst you are sleeping. This is. normal, whether or not on beta blockers. My HR had gone down to 40’s whilst at rest and sometimes 40’s whilst sleeping. As long as you are asymptomatic of these low rates I would advise it is the beta blocker doing its work. I feel fine and find out coincidentally checking my HR on my watch.

Take care of yourself

[Janeybur in reply to Welshwomanarrythmia]

Thank you. At just 12 days I am hoping that my breathing settles off too. Do get the occasional fast heart rate but much less than before. Wishing you well....

[CyclingTime]

You need to get in the doctors I think to ease your mind.

Just under 50 heart rate is no big worry, I'm not on anything that lowers mine but I exercise a lot and my heart resting heart rate is 42/43. As long as it doesn't cause you issues like dizziness then no major concern.

[Janeybur in reply to CyclingTime]

Thank you for your reassurance. I don't experience any dizziness. It's so difficult to get a GP appointment. The heart MRI is possibly an opportunity to get some questions answered. Haven't been given a specific cardiologist nurse in the NHS but hoping that will resolve when I get the MRI results. Thank you once again

[andrew290171]

I stopped taking it on the end due to how slow it made my heart rate. I am quite fit so heart rate normally about 50. However it was going below 40 at times when sitting still. Didn't feel well

[Janeybur in reply to andrew290171]

Thank you. I think the meds have kicked in now and to be honest I don't feel as well as I did. The breathing problem is scary! Maybe this will resolve when my body fully adjusts to the meds, hope so. Wilk try my GP or failing that a call to a BHF nurse.All good wishes.....thanks

[Avagra]

I take bisoprolol 1.25 and my heart rate is between 53-58 at rest and it’s doing its job in reducing heart work load.One drawback with the drug is cold hands /feet .

[Janeybur in reply to Avagra]

And this weather too! Been reading up on atorvastatin 20mg which I started 9 days ago and I think that could be causing the shortness of breath. It only started Friday morning but I am really distressed about it.....

[Ewloe]

I have NSVT and have been on bisoprolol for almost 3yrs since my heart attack. It was the heart attack that left me with bits of PAF, NSVT and SVT. they want to avoid anti-arrhythmics due to heart muscle damage and reduced ejection fraction. So the bisoprolol dampens down the arrhythmias the electrophysiologist says

I’ve managed to get bisoprolol down to 5mg divided into 2 doses daily. Anything higher I struggle with but it took my body a good while to adjust to the medication so be patient. I make sure I keep well hydrated as if I don’t my body doesn’t like it 😂. I still manage to keep active and wear an Apple Watch it won’t tell you about NSVT but it helps me to keep an eye on any extremely low pulse ( its only happened once that I was symptomatic with), and I can now recognise the rhythm for NSVT on its ecg ability.

[Ennasti]

It’s not easy when you are first diagnosed with a cardiac condition and are prescribed beta blockers.

My advice is give it time. It can take anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months in my personal experience for a bb to settle with you.

My second piece of advice is to keep talking to your doctor and don’t be afraid to switch if you’ve given it enough time. There is more than one bb and each of us will react differently to all of them. I’ve been on atenelol, metroplol, bisoprolol and carvedilol. So far carvedilol has suited me best.

Take heart in the fact that supraventricular tachycardia is really if ever life threatening. It’s basically just a fast heart rate and is only an issue when there are other issues with the heart. If it was ventricular tachycardia, then it can definitely be a concern. It’s unusual they’ve called it non-sustained though - that is usually attributed to the more dangerous ventricular type.

My heart rate has averaged only 62 today with lows of 51, and average last night was 56 with lows of 47. While I’m asleep it’s ok. I do sometimes get dizzy with it.

[dg2024]

I'm in a similar position to you but I got all my treatment without waiting. I live in continental Europe. I'm wearing a life vest because of the ventricular tachycardia which is potentially caused by an enlarged heart which in turn is caused by myocarditis.