Tachycardia and Pregnancy

[drer505]

Hi Everyone! I'm 24 years old and I've just been diagnosed with tachycardia. My doctor put me on Toprol (50mg per day). I think I may be pregnant, it's too early to tell but does anyone know if Toprol is safe to take during pregancy? I have 2 children already and never had these problems during either pregnancy.
I've stopped taking the Toprol, and my doctor said it's safe to go back on it but I've read a lot of articles that say it's not. When I'm not on the medication I have probably 6 to 7 episodes per day...heart racing, dizziness...they leave me feeling exhausted. It's hard to deal with, with a 1yr old and 2yr old to take care of. Any suggestions?

[BEACHBUMCAG]

i think we all need a little pulse oximeter to carry around with us and check our pulses, hahaha.....i have one!!!!!

[Momto3]

Hi,

Sorry that you're dealing with all this arrythmia stuff, but you've come to a great place for information and support.  : )

Beta blockers can be really helpful for keeping our hearts "calm".  Some people have luck with the working, but others may need different approaches.  

Have you worn a monitor?  Do you know what type of arrythmia you have?

Oh, it would probably be a good idea to start a new thread.  Your comments are posted under an old thread that has to do with pregnancy and tachycardia.  You may bet more responses if you post a new thread.  You can just cut and paste your current question into a new box (click on "post a question").  

Hope you have a great day!

Connie

[ashdhinkle]

I am 22 just newly diagnosed with sinus arrythmia tachacardiya. I dont really know anything about it or if its risky. I felt like I was asking my dr. all the ?'s I just started on the beta blockers and they seem to keep the heartrate down. What kind of risks come with having this? is there anything you can do to treat it besides beta blockers? will it always be a problem? Just trying to get advice of people that may have more experince with this.

[Momto3]

Congratulations Mom!

I had lots of PVCs during pregnancy, but no real tachycardia.  It sounds like you've got a pretty good handle on what's going on.  Hopefully, you'll sail through the pregnancy and be back to yourself in no time.  Good luck with baby #3!  All my kids were/are great, but the third one is the most laid back.  Probably because he had to just go with the flow : )

Hope your pregnancy is great and the new baby is healthy and happy!

connie

[Prego_HomeMom]

I am 5 months pregnant and have tachycardia on a regular basis.  My cardiologist did not prescribe anything, or even suggest things I can do for myself (although I've noticed some trigger-activities that I'm trying to avoid).  My case sounds different from everyone else', though, because I only get tachycardia when I am pregnant.  I had the most severe attacks with my first pregnancy (heart rate jumping to 190 while I was sitting at my desk at work), and only a few times during my second pregnancy.  I started going to the cardiologist during the second pregnancy, but they either never saw anything because it was so minor and infrequent or they decided I was paranoid.  This pregnancy (my 3rd), the tachycardia attacks have been the most common.  Once again, the cardiologist hasn't said anything, but I know I had attacks while wearing the 24-hour Holter monitor (not sure if that's the actual name).  My OB doctor seems truly concerned and says I should go to the ER with every attack with a pulse rate over 100, but they happen 5 or 6 times a day and only last about 10-15 minutes... not long enough to find a babysitter and get to the ER.  I guess I'll just have to deal with it until the baby comes in May.

[Baila]

Ihad tachycardia for year. My first crisis i was 16 yrs old. It took 7 yrs before i had me second one. With the years, it became more and more often. With my husband, we were trying to have kids. It seemed that it never worked but none of us had fertility problems. 3 years ago, when i was 33 yrs old, i decided to have a little surgery to "burn"the conduct i had on my heart that was causing tachycardia. They had 1% chance to miss..they did..So i went out of the hospital 3 days later with a pacemaker...The reason why i'm writing that is: my dr told me that i made several miscarriage cause of the tachycardia. after i got my pace maker, i became pregnant but the pacemaker wasn't working correctly ..i did another miscarriage..Take the pills if the dr says it is no problem..it is better to listen to him than to make a miscarriage..
(sorry for my english..it is not my first language)

A truly good luck with the baby!!!!

[momto3girls]

Yup, tachycardia is a sign of hypoglycemia, low blood sugar.  If I let too much time pass between meals, I get a very rapid heartbeat, sweaty, shaking, and very irritated.  Not too pleasant but as soon as I eat it goes away in 15-20 min.  

I've just recently put together the fact I'm have tachycardia when I wake up and it goes away after I eat.  So what I've been doing is right before bed I eat a snack...something with protein like string cheese and I feel better in the morning.  Weird, huh?  I've also added snacks in between meals like a handful of nuts, cheese, etc and that seems to help too.  Good luck with your pregnancy!  It's so exciting to be pregnant and I love the first time you feel the baby move!  Take care and best wishes!

momto3girls (:

[drer505]

Thanks for the comments! I'm so glad I found this site, it's really nice to talk with people who have the same condition. My tachycardia seems to hit just like you said when my blood sugar is low. I wonder why? Before I knew it was related to my heart, I thought I might have had diabetes. Anyway, I think I'll stick it out and make sure I'm definetly pregnant...then double check with my ob. Thanks again for your advice...good luck with your little ones too! :)

[momto3girls]

Hi there,

This is a good question...I have tachycardia and I'm also on a beta blocker (Atenolol) and want to get pregnant again.

Toprol is supposedly a safer beta blocker than some others.  It's considered a category c drug.  Unfortunately Atenolol is a category d.  Yikes!

When my tachycardia happens, I notice it's almost always right when I wake up and lasts till after I eat.  Makes me think it's related to low blood sugar.  When does yours typically hit?  I know what you mean about exhausted, dizzy and trying to manage little ones.  Good luck to you and best wishes on your pregnancy!

momto3girls (:

[anacyde]

Toprol is one of the safest beta blockers for use during pregnancy.  Coreg is the one they're seeing fetal harm with.  Of course, no drug is without risks both to you and your potential unborn child.  During my pregnancies, I went with the cautious side and took nothing I did not need (i.e. antibiotics only, as needed).  If the benefits of Toprol outweigh the risks, don't worry about taking it.