Bradycardia

Why would my heart doc put me on metoprolol when I
already have a pacer for bradycardia. I have asked why
prescribe the metoprolol and I really don't get an answer.
Any one out there ever deal with this same dilemma ?

THANKS !!

5 Comments

Find out why !!

by IAN MC - 2014-08-09 01:08:01

Hi brady7

First of all I wouldn't swallow any drug unless I clearly understood why it was being prescribed ; you need to ask and ask again until you know the answer.

You don't give enough of your medical background for any of us to help you other than by making a guess As you know metoprolol is a beta blocker and is prescribed for a variety of reasons, e.g. :-

- To lower your blood pressure
- To treat tachycardia ( SVT' s )
- To help prevent you getting angina
- To make the heart work less hard if you have had a heart attack.
- Prevention of atrial fibrillation
- Anxiety

I hope you find out which of these, if any, applies to you.

Ian

Why?

by Gotrhythm - 2014-08-09 05:08:06

What Ian said...

Ask. And keep asking.

irony

by Tracey_E - 2014-08-09 06:08:11

Many of us are on beta blockers for various reasons, Ian covered the list pretty well. I pace every ventricular beat because of av block but am on a beta blocker similar to metoprolol for atrial racing. So my ventricles don't do anything without the pm but the atria goes crazy without the meds. Definitely ask! If they can't tell you why they want you to take it, then tell them bluntly that you won't be taking it. If that doesn't get a straight answer, then the answer may be you don't really need it. Some drs pass out prescriptions liberally without thinking through the necessity.

Follow up to Ian's reply !

by bradycardia7 - 2014-08-10 01:08:51

I do not have High BP,fast heart rate, angina, previous
heart attack, A Fib or anxiety. Meto does actually slow heart rate and could cause the pacer to work more
than is really required. I am HLA-B27A (autoimmune)
positive, which could lead to A Fib showing up at some
point. My doc has never mentioned that as a reason
for my meto use. I'll ask him for a written explanation.

Thanks for your feedback!!

Brady7

Find out why

by Theknotguy - 2014-08-11 10:08:11

Find out why you're getting the Metoprolol. The more you know about your situation the better off you are. I had to have a nose-to-nose discussion with one of the doctors in the hospital but it really helped. As he explained....

There are (at least) two kinds of control on the heart when you're having electrical problems like I have. One is rhythm control, the other is rate control. I don't know too much about rhythm control as it didn't work for me and I was unconscious at the time.

Rate control. If I don't get medication my heart will sometimes go into rapid a-fib with RVR. So my heart rate will go above 140 BPM and it will kill me. If they give me medication to slow down my heart, it will go below 50BPM and it will kill me. So what they've chosen to do is to slow my heart rate with medication and then use the PM to bring it back up to a minimum of 60BPM.

Under rate control it's OK to have a-fib. When I go into a-fib I can take extra Metoprolol to slow down my rate even though I'm in a-fib. It doesn't feel comfortable but it's a lot better than what I had before. I've been given instructions by my cardiologist as to how much Metoprolol I can take in a 24 hour period. If I can't get my a-fib under control within the limits he's given me, I know to go to the ER and get the big gun's help - and be under medical observation.

Point of this discussion is that you'll want to know why your doctor is wanting you to take the medication and what it does. Once you understand why, what they're doing, and what you need to do, you'll be in a lot better position to take care of yourself.

Life does get better with the PM. Hang in there.

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