Decreased blood pressure following exercise and difficulty taking a deep breath

  I underwent a quadruple bypass using the LIMA and saphenous vein in Dec,98.
  My current meds are Lopressor 25mg daily and vasotec 5mg daily. I am in a cardiac rehab program. My pre rehab stress test showed an abnormal blood pressure response to exercise, eg. decreased pressure while exercising. Now my bp elevates during exercise and my heart rate increases appropriately, however, almost immediately after cooling down my blood pressure will plumet to 70/52 for several minutes. I have also had a problem with being unable to take a deep breath all the time (to the point of verging on panic). Once I take a deep breath, I am fine for about 5 minutes then it starts all over again. No relief with Xanax, but am able to sleep with sleeping pills.
       Post-op echocardiogram revealed that my right ventricle was hypo-kinetic. I am wondering if this could explain my symptoms. I have been advised to undergo a stress thalium scan. Would this give me the answer only three months after my bypass?

[Cleveland Clinic, MD]

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Dear Fred,
Thank you for your question. It will take several months to a year post-op before you are back to 100%.  Some of the symptoms may just be due to deconditioning.   BP normally falls post-exercise and this is one of the reasons a cool-down period is important.  I'm not sure what your doctor is looking for with the thallium but you can ask him prior to the test.  Keep up the good work with rehab.
I hope you find this information useful.  Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only.  Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies.  Please feel free to write back with additional questions.
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