Still have "Hmmm" moments

second shot

by Tulp - 2021-04-10 14:35:24

Hello

Reading your note, I  would say its surely the second vaccine shot.

Hope you will feel better soon

Hmmm moments ?

by Gemita - 2021-04-10 15:04:07

TLee.  Thank you for appreciating us!!  We genuinely want to help.  Afib, carrying bags of garden soil, heavy pots, bending in the garden, a second Covid injection could all trigger the symptoms you describe.  A half an hour late with meds wouldn’t do it for me, more important that you get some extra sleep if you are down on sleep because that can certainly trigger Afib for me.  If you were a few hours late with meds, then that might be a different matter, but half an hour, no, in my opinion.

Arrhythmias like Afib can really mess with our hearts and we know that arrhythmias cannot be controlled with a pacemaker alone. 

Carrying heavy shopping, bags of soil, heavy pots around the garden can really trigger an arrhythmia for me.  The weight seems to stress my heart/abdominal muscles, triggering arrhythmias, especially if I am “reaching up and applying chest wall pressure to prune a shrub”.  I think you probably overdid it yesterday TLee and your 2nd Covid injection has taken its toll too.  Lots of rest/relaxation is needed and perhaps some extra monitoring to see what is going on, but I would certainly not worry because you seem to be making good progress.  

I hope you get a clean bill of health from your device check next month.  Good luck.  You have come far

Dizziness on getting out of bed.

by Selwyn - 2021-04-10 16:24:06

As a one off, I would not want to read too much into a single episode of dizziness. More of concern if this continues.

Your PM does slow down at night to conserve power. The sudden change in activity may take a few seconds for the PM to get going, and changing from a lying to standing position lowers blood pressure. This is best done SLOWLY.....Normally the heart (PM) will increase the heart rate and thereby stop the blood pressure from falling into your feet. If this happens you can go light-headed. The whole situation is made worse by beta-blockers (they slow the heart, though of course your PM takes over, as I said, this takes a few seconds).  Then, dehydration worsens the situation of lowing blood pressure - if you have been exerting yourself the day before and not taken enough fluids this can make postural hypotension ( the drop in blood pressure on standing) worse.  Hotter temperatures also worsen the situation as blood vessels dilate in the heat and this lowers blood pressure. 

If you get another do - check your pulse. If irregular, then you have an arrhythmia. If slow, the light-headedness  is likely to be due to a low BP. 

I have found postural hypotension a problem after prolonged lying prone, and after heavy exercise, sitting then standing.  I asked for my resting pulse rate setting to be adjusted for a few more beats. It has helped a little (still get a bit light headed if I have become dehydrated  and hot from exercise.)

Next week, I am due to get my upper rate limit lifted to give me a bit more oxygen when I exercise as my upper rate is fixed to 115 bpm. I bit too slow for some of my activity!

Hope the above helps ease your mind. 

Who knows as to the effect of the Covid jab. I've heard all sorts of symptoms from dizziness to aches and pains. Thankfully, our vaccinations were without symptoms. Can't wait to get the second jab on 30th April. Most of the 70+s I talk to are now fully vaccinated.  Whatever we thought about Brexit in the UK, it seems to have saved numerous lives as we have not been tied down to European Union excessive bureaucracy over vaccination regulations.  The USA is doing very well and should be congratulated on the roll out of the vaccine for Covid-19. 

Personally, I am looking forward to the indoor swimming pools reopening from the lock-down.  At the end of the day, most of us lead 'normal' lives with our pacemakers, whatever passes as 'normality' these days! 

dizziness

by athena123 - 2021-04-10 16:43:46

Hi, just want to add to make sure you stay hydrated. Drink plenty of fluids with electrolytes amd take magnesium as well. You could of done to much as well. Also, try to take a decent nap because sleep does help with a lot of issues and breathing techniques work as well. Remember breath in through your nose and out through mouth to relax the heart. good luck

Dizziness

by AgentX86 - 2021-04-11 00:21:52

The others have given you a good start at the possible problems.  The most likely reasons, IMO, are the postural hypotension.  Even though my BP is far from hypotension, my EP and cardiologist have both recommended that I rise slowly, particularly from bed.  It doesn't seem to bother me anymore but it's very common.  The other is  the over-exertion and dehydration.  Since we already have electrical problems, dehydration and loss of electrolytes only makes it worse.  This is crucial.

Top that off with a covid vaccination and you may have a triple crown going. No on knows how anyone is going to react to the covid vaccinations.  The symptoms are all over the place.  Relaxation techniques (slow, deep, and even breathing) really help too.

Selywn, you called the covid rollout perfectly.  It was all about action and money (huge investment in the population's health), and risk, though what good is a few $billion if 20% of the population dies?  The US and UK did very well in this regard.  The EU and Canada, not so much.

Doing OK

by TLee - 2021-04-12 21:36:45

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm still not sure of the trigger, but I've not been dizzy since. If it was the vaccine, I'm just grateful to have it, so no complaints! It may have been that I tried to work like I might have 10 years ago. I have been in the garden since, but when I start to feel tired, I'm done. Having COPD as well, and this being the height of allergy season, some of what I've experienced could also be pulmonary symptoms rather than cardio, so I refilled a prescription for albuterol, just in case. I think I'm on the right track with all of the above.