Increased Heart Rate after PM

Hi,

My father just had a Pacemaker (PM) installed last week. I am new to all of this, looking for some good information/advice. He was doing fine for first 3-4 days, until yesterday, when he had his first bout with an elevated heart rate (170 or so). He was on BP med and post operation anti-biotic. Rushed him back to ER at RWJ in New Brusnswick, NJ, got him stable again, released him the same day. He was having problems with first BP medication, so they now have him on Metoprolol Tartrate 25mg. My question is, is it common for heart rates to elevate after a new PM surgery ? If so, what are the causes and recommendations ? The ER did a check on his PM and said all was working fine. They could not troubleshoot the cause of the elevated heart rate yesterday, they just released him and changed his medication to the above. Any recommendations ?

3 Comments

Follow-up question

by Patd1963 - 2013-06-25 03:06:26

Another question - Metoprolol is an hybrid Rx designed to treat High Blood Pressure and chest pain (angina) and to reduce the risk of death due to heart problems in certain patients who have had a heart attack.

Dad, we are told, did not have a heart attack. He had a low heart rate, with a degenerative SR Node in his node, which is a "typical" reason recommended for a Pacemaker. However, he was never on BP medication until recently, with this PM operation. His last BP reading was 128/79. If he did not have a heart attack and he does not have any history of high blood pressure AND he does not claim to have any chest pain, then I did not understand why they prescribed the Metoprolol. Mom says he has high BP, but all of his readings at the hospital indicate normal BP (128/78 or so).
A confused son, looking for answers ! Thanks!

racing

by Tracey_E - 2013-06-25 04:06:50

Was he pacing when he was that high? If he goes that high on his own, the pm can't do anything but watch. It's not uncommon for patients with slow rates to have bouts of fast rate. It is unrelated to pacing.

If he's taking the metoprolol, I'd expect his bp to be low/normal, that's one of the things it does. I had to stop taking it because my bp dropped too low while on it. And I've never had a heart attack, either, I took it because I raced too much. In addition to making the heart beat slower, it can also be given to make the heart beat less hard or for bp. If he is having racing episodes right now, I doubt you will talk the dr into seeing how his bp is without it. I agree too many drs throw out too many prescriptions without thoroughly considering if it's necessary or worth the side effects, but it sounds like it will help him. It takes 4-6 weeks on metoprolol to adjust to it. It's normal to be tired, dizzy, fuzzy during that time. I'm no dr, but that sounds like an appropriate choice for his symptoms.

BP meds...but no BP problems...

by lubro - 2013-06-26 12:06:33

I was concerned about the same thing...I have always had good BP...never elevated...but my Ep has me on Diltiazem along with an anti-arrhythmic med... I have never had any BP problems, but his explanation to me was that the BP med controlled the rate while the anti-arrhythmic meds worked on rhythms... not sure I have enough understanding of these matters to agree or not agree with this, but that's what he told me. Since I'm also on Coumadin, this combo is what he suggests. I have been on the diltiazem and coumadin for about 5 months... was on flecainide also, but off that for a few months to see what effects it sould ahve on things...
he put me back on the flec... so I guess I'll see how this plays out at my next 3 month follow-up...
I still have a good BP reading, and so far no side effects from the meds...guess I'm lucky there...
just thought I'd throw this out there...

You know you're wired when...

You can hear your heartbeat in your cell phone.

Member Quotes

We are very lucky to have these devices.