Heart issues and pred

[SudsSuds]

Brief summary - diagnosed with PMR around September 2020. Been on pred since then, mostly somewhere between 5 and 10mg, apart for a brief period off pred in 2023 when I was on a clinical study.

Before I was diagnosed I had had heart "palpitations" which checked out pretty much satisfactorily. I gave up caffeine, I was an excessive user, and my symptoms subsided. I was not discharged because Covid got in the way and I never had a "discharge" appointment.

About a year ago I noticed my palpitations were back. It's taken a while, mainly waiting for appointments and tests, but I now know that there are various things going on in my heart. The main one is that my left ventricle does not pump enough blood. Somewhat alarmingly this boils down to heart failure. I am having an angiogram shortly to pinpoint the trouble.

I immediately started researching links between PRM/Pred and heart issues. I found this evidence.nihr.ac.uk/alert/l... I am not suggesting for a moment that pred is in any way a culprit. We all know how vital it is to us. Just something to be aware of - I did not know until I started looking.

Is there anybody in a similar position? Any thoughts or pearls of wisdom. Many thanks.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Pred - like other drugs - can cause cardiac arrythmias. So can bisphosphonates. Both of these are commonly prescribed to patients with PMR. But so can PMR/GCA, or at least, the underlying autoimmune disorder that causes the inflammation.

I started having what turned out to be atrial fibrillation about the same time that my first PMR symptoms appeared. It was very occasional and never caught by a doctor. It improved somewhat after starting pred - some 5 years after the PMR symptoms first appeared so it is certain it wasn't anything to do with pred. Eventually it happened in response to i,v, diazepam I was being given for severe low back pain and was diagnosed and treated. Whenever I had a flare - the a/f was worse and part of the need for a relatively high dose of pred was to manage the a/f.

More recently a spinal fracture was identified on an x-ray. I was persuaded to have a bisphosphonate to reduce the risk of more. And having had the atrial fibrillation sorted with an ablation a few weeks before - now I have developed a different arrythmia, atrial tachycardia!

[SudsSuds in reply to PMRpro]

I am sorry to hear about your various cardiac problems. Yes, it is all very complicated with necessary medication having an effect on other areas. It all becomes a management process I think.

[whitefishbay]

I have a ectopic palpitations and have gone to one real coffee and one decaf. A friend of mine says some wine will also give you these fluctuations. Mine were nothing to worry about (whatever that means) so I hope yours settle down.

[SudsSuds in reply to whitefishbay]

Glad everything heart wise is ok for you. About four years ago I was pretty much where you are - only ectopic beats. But like you cut out the caffeine and they pretty much stopped. Then various things arrived. I'll find out more after my angiogram in a couple of weeks.

[whitefishbay]

I guess I am one year behind you. The most important thing to have with aging is a sense of humour. It never ends. We are not that old but you get what you get. Best of luck with it all...

[SudsSuds in reply to whitefishbay]

Agreed, just don't catch up.