blood pressure question

[stellatj]

Hi
I am a female age 44   145 lbs
In 1999 i was diagnosed with a-fib and also i have a horrible family history of heart disease lost dad and brother while they were in their early 30's other brother had a triple bypass at age 28. my lipoprotein a is very high 141 all my other lab is great
triglycerides 53
choc total 147
hdl 60
ldl 76
chol/hdlc ratio 2.5
i take the following medicines once daily
Atenolol 50 mg
k-dur 20mg
aspirin 81 mg
niaspian er 750
pravachol 20 mg
i think the atenolol is for my a-fib but also high blood pressure but the last 6 weeks my blood pressure has been low i was in the hospital twice and was told its low but not told anything else.  i have kept a diary for the last 6 weeks
it averages 88/48 to highest 92/52
Is this low blood pressure something i should worry about should i tell my heart doctor. Last week when i had my gallbladder out while in recovery i heart the nurse say i had a pressure problem but i guess it was ok i went home 2 hours after surgery. any clue why its low? Should i be happy its low or worried?  I feel ok except i am always cold
everyone else yells its hot i am in a sweater and freezing with the air on 76.  what should i do?
Thanks for your reply

[CCF-M.D.-MJM]

Hi Tikok,

That is tragic that you lost so many family members from heart disease. I am sorry for your loses.

Low blood pressure is nothing to worry about.  Although I can't explain it, I have had many other patients with low blood pressure say that they were always cold.  This is nothing you should worry about.

If the atrial fibrillation causes you significant symptoms, there are always medications or procedures that can help with that -- but only if you are having symptoms. you may need to see someone that specializes in atrial fibrillation.

Thanks for posting.  Good luck.

[momto3girls]

Hi,

I'm so sorry to hear about your dad and brother.  Good for you to be taking great care of yourself!  

About the low bp, when I was on 50 mg of Atenolol, my bp would go down to 84/45 and my pulse would sometimes dip into the 40's.  Mind you this would all happen when I was awake!  (I can only imagine what it did when I was asleep.)  Since then I cut my atenolol dose to 12.5 mg 2 times per day and now my bp is 100 to 110 over 65 or 70.  No more low pulse either.  I guess my point was that for me, it was the atenolol causing these issues.  I don't know if you can decrease it due to your problems but maybe ask your doctor what he thinks.  Your hdl is awesome!  My hdl is 27 and I'm only 33 years old!  Best wishes to you!

[momto3girls]

Hi again,

I forgot to ask you when you take your atenolol and when you check your bp.  If you take the atenolol and then test your bp not too long after, maybe it's because of that.  Meaning the medicine is hitting your body again and that's why you're getting low numbers.  Maybe check several times a day at different times out of curiosity.  Just a thought, I'm no doctor obviously (:  By the way, when I was on the 50 mg of Atenolol, my hands and feet were always like ice!  I normally have warm/sweaty hands and feet so this was a definite change for me. (:  Have a good one!

[stellatj]

thanks for the replies i do eat a very high fiber diet and drink several cups of green tea a day.
my hands and feet are always so cold i take my pressure readings an hour before my atenolol and 6 hours after it.
so 23 hours goes by from when i take my 1st reading.
all my readings are during the day. in the hospital at nite it was super low.

[eyemech]

I hate to sound like a broken record. A-fib also has a correlation with sleep apnea. Get checked. Look it up on google.
Funny thing about sleep apnea, it runs in families.
Good luck.

[yogagirlie]

I am not worried about heart disease I'm just tired of feeling tired.  My BP yesterday was 88/60, my 3 year old son had 90/60.  I'm afraid he has inherited the low BP from me.  I often black out when I go from kneeling to standing.  I have an eating disorder which is currently in remission and has been for 13 years now.  But I used to be anorexic and bulimic.  

I wonder how many Eating disordered people also have low BP and if there is a correlation.  I found this sight with Google but really there seems to be very little info as far as treatment for this problem.  I was also very athletic in my teens and often need to exercise " just to get rid of the tiredness"  I'd like to have more energy.  

My favourite thing to do is to take afternoon naps when my kids do.  Sleeping is heavenly, maybe too much so.   I am not interested in medication as I believe those often carry a price in the form of some kind of side effects.  But maybe some natural way to handle this problem?

[kellybailey]

I have been baffled by something that has been occuring the past 7 months. Hopefully somebody can help me. About 7 months ago I experience a sudden bout of extrem dizziness. I could feel my heart race and it was really scary. I saw my doctor the next day and he hooked me to an Ekg and everything came normal. He ordered a stress test and I excercised at 98 percent capacity. So normal right. Well, that dizziness or now I call it lightheadedness is with with me all day until I sleep. My pcp said it could be vertigo, but it is always there. Lately, past two weeks, I have noticed a sense of buzzing in the bottom of my foot and now my left thumb also does this. I get extremely freeked out and am seeing my doctor next week. Do any of these syptoms (symptoms) ring a bell with anyone. I need to know what it is. Thank you. p.s my bp. is kind of high, but does this cause constant lightheadedness.

[ann40]

i just saw my family doctor on and she took my blood pressure it was 68/46 and took an ekg  came back to saying my heart isn't beating the way it should
hugs Ann
you can reach me at ***@****

[ann40]

hi my name is  Ann i am 39 years old . i never had a problem with my blood pressure  but suddenly  i am i just went to see my family doctor and she took my blood pressure it was 68/46 should i worry about it she also took two EKGs  and came back to say my heart isn't beating right . can anyone help me  , her nurse told me she needed to speak to another doctor on what to do but i haven't heard anything and it is 2 weeks. you can reach me at
***@****
                           THANK YOU ANN FORD