Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
Beta blockers and bradycardia
This forum is for questions and support regarding heart issues such as: Angina, Angioplasty, Arrhythmia, Bypass Surgery, Cardiomyopathy, Coronary Artery Disease, Defibrillator, Heart Attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Mitral Valve, Pacemaker, PAD, Stenosis, Stress Tests
Beta blockers and bradycardia
by fearfactor, Jun 20, 2005 12:00AM
Hi, I'm a 32 year old woman, normal weight, don't smoke, exercise daily, in good health except that I have very mild MVP with trace regurgitation. I started taking Toprol XL last October because I was waking up in the night with tachycardia (probably anxiety-related). Since I've gotten my anxiety under control, I have decided to get off the beta blocker. I take Xanax, .25 mg 3X/day, Celexa (anti-depressant) 10 mg/day and was taking Toprol XL, approximately 12.5 mg day (though I would shave off some of the pills so it was probably more like 10 mg/day). My heart rate has been going very low, down to even 48 resting. I stopped the beta blocker almost 2 weeks ago, and I have read that Celexa can cause slowed heart rate. My questions are:
1. when should this small amount of beta blocker get out of my system? My HR is still in the mid-40s at times, and it is very frightening to me and is making me feel my PVCs and PACs more.
2. Can Celexa or Xanax cause slowed HRs, which may intensify the effect of the Toprol?
3. Since I have you on the "line" and it's so hard to get a question in - my echo results said that I have trace regurgitation with redundant mitral valve tissue, but no prolapse. What does this mean as far as my long-term prognosis goes? I have read that redundant tissue is a very bad thing, though my regurge is low.
Thanks very much!
Stacy
1. when should this small amount of beta blocker get out of my system? My HR is still in the mid-40s at times, and it is very frightening to me and is making me feel my PVCs and PACs more.
2. Can Celexa or Xanax cause slowed HRs, which may intensify the effect of the Toprol?
3. Since I have you on the "line" and it's so hard to get a question in - my echo results said that I have trace regurgitation with redundant mitral valve tissue, but no prolapse. What does this mean as far as my long-term prognosis goes? I have read that redundant tissue is a very bad thing, though my regurge is low.
Thanks very much!
Stacy
Doctor's Answer
by CCF-M.D.-MJM, Jun 20, 2005 12:00AM
Hello fearfactor (hopefully NBC didn't patent this name),
1. when should this small amount of beta blocker get out of my system? My HR is still in the mid-40s at times, and it is very frightening to me and is making me feel my PVCs and PACs more.
The beta blocker is out of your system. Toprol XL is probably cleared from your system after about 5 days. If you are truly exercising daily, you bradycardia is probably related to you excellent physical condition. It is not uncommon for very physically fit people to have heart rates between 40 and 50, sometimes slower.
If you are not having symptoms and your heart rate increases with exercise, I would not worry about this. Make sure your doctor knows - he can check and ekg to make sure it is normal, but I would not be concerned based on what you have said so far.
2. Can Celexa or Xanax cause slowed HRs, which may intensify the effect of the Toprol?
Not really. If you read the side effects of celexa, you find that it frequently can cause tachycardia and infrequently causes bradycardia. This is not a drug interaction.
3. Since I have you on the "line" and it's so hard to get a question in - my echo results said that I have trace regurgitation with redundant mitral valve tissue, but no prolapse. What does this mean as far as my long-term prognosis goes? I have read that redundant tissue is a very bad thing, though my regurge is low.
The truth is it means that you now qualify for the "worried well" category. I am partially kidding about this. You do not need antibiotics for dental or nondental procedures. If you develop a new heart murmur or start to develop symptoms consistent with heart failure, another echo is indicated to check for developing mitral regurg, but otherwise, I would give you a clean bill of health.
Good luck Stacy.
1. when should this small amount of beta blocker get out of my system? My HR is still in the mid-40s at times, and it is very frightening to me and is making me feel my PVCs and PACs more.
The beta blocker is out of your system. Toprol XL is probably cleared from your system after about 5 days. If you are truly exercising daily, you bradycardia is probably related to you excellent physical condition. It is not uncommon for very physically fit people to have heart rates between 40 and 50, sometimes slower.
If you are not having symptoms and your heart rate increases with exercise, I would not worry about this. Make sure your doctor knows - he can check and ekg to make sure it is normal, but I would not be concerned based on what you have said so far.
2. Can Celexa or Xanax cause slowed HRs, which may intensify the effect of the Toprol?
Not really. If you read the side effects of celexa, you find that it frequently can cause tachycardia and infrequently causes bradycardia. This is not a drug interaction.
3. Since I have you on the "line" and it's so hard to get a question in - my echo results said that I have trace regurgitation with redundant mitral valve tissue, but no prolapse. What does this mean as far as my long-term prognosis goes? I have read that redundant tissue is a very bad thing, though my regurge is low.
The truth is it means that you now qualify for the "worried well" category. I am partially kidding about this. You do not need antibiotics for dental or nondental procedures. If you develop a new heart murmur or start to develop symptoms consistent with heart failure, another echo is indicated to check for developing mitral regurg, but otherwise, I would give you a clean bill of health.
Good luck Stacy.
Stacy
I would say that beta blockers are a poor drug for people with slow heart rates to begin with. In my case Atenolol caused distressing episodes of near syncope.
These drugs affect your brain and my experience has been that it took at least 2 months before I was close to normal.
Good Luck.
Later.