Low rates

Question--could the slower heart rates 40's 50's and an occasional high 30's (only at night) be the reason I feel so crappy during the day?? sometimes I notice that my HR will dip into the high 40's and 50's during the day at rest (don't know what it's doing other times) but I'm beginning to feel so tired sometimes. (if needed) would a PM help with that?? I'm beginning to feel like an 80 year old weighing 500 lbs ha (i'm only 53 and weigh 213 which is way too much but last year I didn't feel like this)--I know the meds are probably part of this (Rhythmal and Pradaxa--both saying they have side effects of tiredness, lightheadedness etc) I just want to start feeling better again. Thanks

7 Comments

Yes

by Bostonstrong - 2013-08-06 08:08:06

Has your cardiologist ordered a monitor test? I had to wear one for a month which is what got me the pm. Doctors (and myself! ) attributed my low pulse rate to running and thought it was healthy! I thought the pm would stop the fainting spells but had no idea how much it would help my energy and breathing. I would bring this up to your doctor. Looking back it felt like I was wearing concrete blocks underwater, the difference is so profound. I didn't know how bad I felt until I felt differently. I thought I was energetic! Four days before surgery I did a half marathon in the hills of Maine and struggled terribly, and was so short of breath I had to walk a lot of it. Hoping that now I have a pulse if 60 it will get easier. Best if luck and keep us posted!

Bostonstrong

by kmom - 2013-08-06 09:08:22

I've been on holter 2 times now since being dxed with atrial tachycardia and a-fib/flutter thus the meds. They went in a few months ago and ablated my heart and dr was pretty confident that he got it but there were issues on right side that he couldn't get to. So he put me on meds to control it.. The first holter showed a couple of 3 sec pauses at night don't know what the second (post ablation) showed. Will be seeing him again at the end of month but he was concerned about putting me on the meds but he had to do something to stop the afib. I am just tired of feeling like this I don't know what's worse the low heart rate or the afib or the meds I need to get out and exercise more but after being on feet all day for 6-8 hrs I don't have the energy to do anything

Energy

by Bostonstrong - 2013-08-06 10:08:37

Not surprising you feel bad with all you have going on. Three second pauses are not good. Has your primary also checked for diabetes, anemia, thyroid issues and other causes of fatigue ? As if you didn't have enough reasons to feel exhausted! What did your cardio recommend exercise wise? Is it safe for you to walk or swim? My heart goes out to you, it's hard to get thru the day with feeling so tired. Have you told your cardio how bad you feel? S/he might want to see you before the end if the month. So sorry you are going through this.

Excercise

by kmom - 2013-08-06 11:08:53

Bostonstrong--as far as reccomendations from EP he said I could do anything I wanted. the more exercise the better and it would definitely help get the extra weight off. my legs are so swollen with fluid although he said it wasn't my heart that was causing it. probably veinous insufficiency (both my EP and GP said that) but there's not much they can do for it other than avoid salt and find a different job that isn't on my feet all day. (i'm working on that one as well ) exercise and drop the weight.

Maybe...

by swallace - 2013-08-08 02:08:13

I don't know much about your medications, but your rates do seem to be very low. When I went into hospital with serious bradycardia the nursing staff thought I was just very fit, which I'm not. I now have a PM which is firing about 80% of the time in the atrium. I suspect that a PM will help you significantly, but remember, they do have their own issues.

rate seems to vary

by kmom - 2013-08-08 12:08:36

My rates don't stay in the 40's 50's but they'll go there for a while then pop up again. when I'm doing anything I think they go way up sometimes (probably because i'm so out of shape) They seem to vary quite bit. I'll just see what my EP thinks when I see him next. I know we talked quite a bit the last time about getting PM and having it set at 60 so if my rates fall below that it would kick in. I think between the A-fib/flutter (which I think is controlled fairly good by the medications) the meds themselves and the low HR sometimes is kickin my but! I just want to start feeling better and have the energy to do stuff again. Still not entirely sure what I'm dealing with. Originally dxed with atrial tachycardia, PSVT and A-fib/flutter --we wondered about SND but dr. didn't think so and during the ablation I thought they'd clearly ruled that out however my EOB's from the insurance claims still have dx as SND so i have no clue.

Update

by kmom - 2013-09-06 09:09:41

Went to dr. on Friday (dr. can't quite understand why I'm having such a time and believe it or not my heart was perfect on the EKG strip they ran in the office (of course just my luck ha!) I even showed him the print outs from when I wear my oximeter at night but that of course doesn't really tell him what my heart is actually doing) So now due to my extensive job training (I'm unable to take time off to go get the holter until i finish training) I have to wait until the 25th to get a holter --hopefully that will tell him something. We explained to him that I'm just not feeling right and still having chest pains, low heart rate and high rates-- I am so done with all of this!

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