Heart rte dropped to 30 bpm under anesthesia

My Dad has various heart issues. He has had bypass surgery about 15 years ago. Since then he has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Today, he was scheduled for surgery to remove some colon polyps. Just as they put him under the anesthesia, his resting heart rate dropped to 30 bpm. He was barely under as this happened (he said that he could hear them start to talk about it). They did not end up doing the surgery and he was awake about a half hour later. My question is this: Is this normal for a heart patient to have this drop in heart rate under anesthesia? Is 30 bpm ok for the patient to have? Will it be possible for my Dad to get his surgery to remove the polyps?

[Michael J. McWilliams, M.D.]

There are a lot of rhythm problems that happen with anesthesia -- bradycardia (slow heart rates) are one of them.  Heart rates of 30 beats per minute are not ideal, but it is usually not a problem.  His doctor will probably want him to see a cardiologist prior to performing the procedure and he may need pacemaker or like device depending on the circumstances.  It is very likely they will be able to safely perform the procedure at a later time.

[nana158]

A related discussion, colonoscopy was started.