Low Heart Rate § Consequences

[John Morales]

Hello Once again After two weeks of building up my Amiodarone level it appears that the combination of that and my Lopressor had for now put my A-Fib to rest for a min.

I am taking 200 of Amiodarone today is day (15) there was no start up on the Ami just started to take it, was told takes about 2 weeks but with my system I felt more like one, and am now down to 12.5 mg of Lopressor 2x yes 1/4 tab..from 25 mg 2x

My problem now is where two weeks ago I had a base Heart Rate of 105 - 120 it is now 42-50 more or less this has been the past three to four days along with some skips & Pac's. I was in the 60 for almost a week starting 4 days after taking the ami and now it has gotten slower. My Dr said I should continue the 200 & 12.5 and keep tabs on my HR...

Q --- I have a fast metabolism, can the Ami not only affect my a-fib but also bring my HR down like this..and after taking my morning does of Ami I sometimes feel like my HR drops is this possible..

Q --- As low as the does of Lopressor is Im talking is it actually doing anything maybe I should just cut it out and go the Ami alone....

I was on ami a few years ago 4 ablations ago and it worked pretty good..

I checked my BP yesterday at one of those CVS places and it said my HR was 43 and my BP was 179/70 my wife thinks the machine was broke .. im normally  120/70

Should I be concerned about the Low HR Im not dizzy but am a little foggy at this rate.....

sorry for being nurotic but it's no fun living with what Im living with...can'e sleep, scared to exert myself all in all life sucks right now.

John

[Cleveland Clinic]

John, thanks for the post.

A low heart rate in itself is not a problem as long as you do not have symtoms. That said a heart rate of 40 is pretty low and probably suggest you are getting a little too much bang out of your medications.  Amiodarone has beta blocking activity the same as lopressor.  Since your heart rate is low, you probably do not need the lopressor any longer for heart rate control.

The problem however is that amiodarone really does nothing for blood pressure control whereas the lopressor does. What would be reasonable would be to stop your lopressor and try another blood pressure control agent. The high pressure really places you at increased risk for cardiovascular disease and should be treated aggressively.  Some people think ACE inhibitors might have anti arrythmic effects and that or a diuretic might be a reasonable choice as your next agent for control.

Either way you should talk to your doc about getting you on an agent for control and titrate it up to get your blood pressure under better control.

hopr this is a start

[John Morales]

Thanks for the reply, I too feel that its really slowing me down too much.

Q --- At the 12.5 mg dose of Lopressor if it is still doing something. I sometimes feel like it was a waiste to even take it.

Q ----Does Ami have immediate effects on  you or is it a maintenance drug once you reach a therapeutic level. I sometimes feel like my HR goes down after I take it.

I will e-mail my Dr. and tell him that my HR continues to be low and see if he concurs with you to stop the Lopressor.

I was managed on ami previously but that was 4 Ablations ago. Anyway.

Once again thank you

John

[Dr Wire]

My daughter is 19 and has been confirmed to have low heart rate.  During a 24 hr EKG monitoring, her pulse was as low as 30.  She was born with CMV and is deaf with learning disabilities.  In preparation for our next visit with a cardiologist, could you please provide information on what causes low heart rate and is there any correlation between CMV and this issue?

[lowbloodpressure]

10 years ago, I had quite a few fainting spells.  In all actuality, I sometimes would be able to see nothing while walking to the nurses office at highschool, but could remember doing it.  I was then monitored by my doctor and nothing came of it.  Recently, I have started to have dizzy spells when I stand up and sometimes feel like passing out.  I was at the doctor today and mentioned this to him.  He took my blood pressure and it was 105/60 while sitting down.  He then had me stand up so he could take my blood pressure.  He had a really hard time even hearing it.  Could you explain what might be going on and if there is anything that I can do to correct this.  I am only 28 years old with two small children at home and don't feel like leaving them behind anytime soon.

[lowbloodpressure]

10 years ago, I had quite a few fainting spells.  In all actuality, I sometimes would be able to see nothing while walking to the nurses office at highschool, but could remember doing it.  I was then monitored by my doctor and nothing came of it.  Recently, I have started to have dizzy spells when I stand up and sometimes feel like passing out.  I was at the doctor today and mentioned this to him.  He took my blood pressure and it was 105/60 while sitting down.  He then had me stand up so he could take my blood pressure.  He had a really hard time even hearing it.  Could you explain what might be going on and if there is anything that I can do to correct this.  I am only 28 years old with two small children at home and don't feel like leaving them behind anytime soon.

[adlynnja]

A related discussion, low pulse rate -30-consequences and remedy was started.