Tachy Brady

So sorry

by jenny97 - 2013-06-03 10:06:14

to hear you are feeling so poorly! It's so frustrating when you have to deal with the high heart rates in addition to the low heart rates. depending on the cause (and whether or not they can determine the cause), there sometimes don't seem to be a lot of options. I have postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (heart rates in the 240 range with exercise, 160 range with standing) and vasovagal syncope (heart rates in the 30-40 range with blood pressure nonexistent, and fainting). The PM really helped with the low pulse and the rate drop response setting helps a bit with the blood pressure, so you might touch base with your doctor to see what he can do with that. The rate drop response senses when your heart rate suddenly drops a certain number of beats per minute (mine is set so if my heart rate decreases by 30 bpm within 30 seconds, it kicks in at a 95 pulse rate for 2 minutes). If you have the biotronik evia, which is FDA approved for treating vasovagal syncope, there are even better (and more effective) options. But I'm not so familiar with them.

As for the high heart rates, a PM can't really help with those. If they are normal rhythms, just faster than the average, then lifestyle can have a pretty significant impact. Hydration is key to trying to keep them lower, as is salt intake and overall physical fitness, particularly in the legs. Sometimes your pulse will go really high when your blood pressure tanks, to compensate. Also, if you have low blood volume.

I went to Mayo clinic a year and a half ago to deal with these problems. Despite my PM and various medications (atenolol for the high heart rates, midodrine for the low bp), I continued to pass out and have a lot of discomfort, somewhat similar to what you describe. I was advised to increase my sodium intake to 6-8 grams per day, increase my use of sports drinks (I was drinking a lot of water, but not replacing my electrolytes), and work on the muscle mass in my legs. For the high heart rates, I was advised to eliminate any caffeine from my diet, minimize sugar intake, and, instead of running (my preferred exercise), exercise on a recumbent stationary bike, keeping my heart rate below 160. I'll admit that this last was pretty impossible for me to do since my heart rate regularly surpassed 160 just by standing, so keeping it that low was pretty impossible.

For me, starting to treat the cause of the problem (an autoimmune disorder) actually provided the most relief. But the increased sodium, continued hydration, appropriate settings on the PM, and maintaining a good fitness level despite the medical issues also contributed to a significant improvement. Going off the beta blocker seemed to make things worse initially, but ultimately helped too as my blood pressure came up to a more normal level and my heart didn't try to compensate as much through an increased pulse.

I don't know if any of this is helpful, but I hope there is something here that assists you in your own journey to recovery. At the very least, maybe it will give you hope that resolution is possible.

I wish you all the best in your journey and hope for your swift and complete recovery.

Jenny