question? i am 60 years old and i still smoke and trying to quit bad for the past 4 years... i have moderate copd emphysema and chronic bronchitis.. so i cough up alot of mucus mostly in the morning but some throughout the day... my fev1 is usually between 66 and 78... my heart is always going down into the 50s alot at rest and sometimes in the mid 40s.. i do get skipped beats also... my heart doctor said its nothing to worry about but i am not athletic and have been smoking for 46 years.... they say smoking smoking increases your heat rate and so does copd... my doctors have no idea why a have a low heart rate the past 3 to 4 years... i am concerned that my heart is failing although doctors say my heart is ok ... i have worn a 24 hour halter monitor 2 times the past 3 years and also had an ultra sound of my heart and my heart doctor said everything is all ok.... why would my hear rate all of sudden the past few year run low with more skipped heart beats..... smoking supposedly raises your heart rate they say?
heart rate with copd: question? i... - Lung Conditions C...
heart rate with copd
You have had the heart tests and your doctor says your heart is fine. They are well trained and I shouldn't imagine they could have missed anything. The real question is why you don't trust them and I wonder if you are suffering from health anxiety.
We are all different and just because your heart rate is lower than you expect does not point to disease if you have been cleared.
I am still smoking and my respiratory nurse said she was puzzled how my lung function could improve sometimes which is not normal. My advice is to accept your doctor's findings and live your life without worrying too much about your health. I can't see the point in spending the years you have left consumed with worry and anxiety. One day you will die as we all have to do. Life is short so my advice is to live it to the full as much as possible and try and live in the present. The future will take care of itself.
thank you for your input.... i am mostly concerned wht my heart keeps skipping beats and dropping into the 40s and 50s.. that is not normal for me even though they say im ok
Any chance it could be stress? That can give you a skipped beat feeling.
My heart occasionally skips a beat or has an irregular rhythm, but my GP checked it out and says it's nothing to worry about, so I don't. It doesn't usually stop me doing things. At worst, I just have to sit down for a few seconds until it's over. I've found that by exercising more and keeping my weight in a healthy range, it doesn't happen as much.
People are all different and as such you shouldn’t get too hung up with figures. I am the opposite to you. I have a very fast heart rate. Usually over 100. Have had lots of tests over the years. Conclusion is that, this is normal for me and just one of those things.
This may or may not be helpful so for what it's worth, since it's occurred to me, here it is: a consultant told me years ago (Ive been dxd 20 years now) that a build-up of CO2 can cause your heart to skip beats. It was skipping loads and at the time I was doing Buteyko breathing training which aims to increase CO2 - too long to go into right here. When I stopped doing the Buyteko exercises, the skipping stopped.
You dont say you are on supplemental oxygen which can cause CO2 retention. So your situation may be nothing to do with this. But if it was me, I would concentrate on belly breathing, using pursed lip breathing to breathe out. This helps get rid of CO2. It may not help decrease your skipped beats, but it certainly won't do you any harm!
Im afraid I have no idea about your slow heart rate though.
What happens to your heart rate when you are doing something physical like mowing the lawn or something similar? My heart has been shipping beats for probably 30 years and has slowly gotten worse and if I exert it gets worse as well. They originally told me to stop drinking caffeinated drinks which I did and it made no difference. They also told me if I quit smoking it would improve. I quit almost 9 years ago and it didn’t make any difference. At rest my heartbeat goes into the 50s quite often and sometimes into the 40s. My Mom who has never smoked goes into the 30s at times and we have both been checked and are told it is just the way we are. I think where smoking shows is when you exert yourself and heartbeat goes up rapidly and much higher than a non smoker. It is my understanding it is when you exert yourself the consequences of smoking and being out of shape will show with a much more rapid heartbeat.
my heart rate does not go up when i smoke which i find strange being that all web sites say that your heart rate increases when you smoke.... i am not on oxygen and i try purse lib breathing all the time in case their might be a co2 build up.. find it very odd how as soon as i sit or lay down my heart rate drops down like a rock into low 50s but rises to 60's and 70s when i stand up and start walking
Does your heart rate go up when you do something strenuous like mowing the lawn or something similar? My understanding is your heart rate will go up more than a non smoker when doing something strenuous.
Lungs and heart are very much connected in that a problem with one can affect the other. If you have not already discussed the frequency of your skipped heart beats with your doctor. Start recording date time how often these occur and what you were doing prior to or at the time.
Information regarding possible causes:
bradycardia – the heart beats more slowly than normal
heart block: nhs.uk/conditions/heart-block/
webmd.com/heart-disease/atr...
Best wishes with continuing to achieve smoke free.
You are in the USA so check Mayo clinic pages or other credible sources for Bradycardia and skipped heart beats.
Not what you're looking for?
You may also like...
COPD?
newly diagnosed with copd
New medication for COPD.
Copd and loss of appetite
Misdiagnosed with COPD
Breathing Problems - COPD? 
copd and general anaesthetic
Severe COPD and cataracts.
Frankie (copd stage 4 )
Leg swelling with copd
