Tachycardia is wearing me out

[jaimib]

I have been having some ongoing tachycardia issues and wanted to see if I could get any advice. I am a almost 29 yr old female, 160 lbs (after losing 40 lbs this past yr) with a medical history of systemic lupus, HTN, and tachycardia. I also have a history of hypothyroidism, but have been off meds for almost 5 years and have stable labs.
I have always had a fast heart rate, but seems like it has gotten worse over the past 4-5 years. In '08 my resting bp was 150/100 pulse was 159, and I was put on Norvasc and Toprol. EKG showed sinus tach, CXR, and all basic labs (CBC, CMP, TSH, lipid, etc) were normal. Now my resting bp with meds is avg 120/90 puse 90-120's.
I have noticed that my pulse goes up to 130-150's with minimal exertion (walking to the next room from sitting), no chest pain, no shortness of breath, only extreme fatigue, occasional dizziness and nausea.
I was diagnosed in '08 with steroid-induced cushing's (hence, the much needed 40 lb weight loss), but all labs have been normal since and I have been steroid free since the end of '07.
Is this something that I need to see a cardiologist for, or my pcp for another increase in my bp medication? I will start Nursing school in August, so I would like to be feeling better by then. Thanks for any help!

[jaimib]

Thanks for the advice! Yes...I have learned to never plan things in advance because I never know how I'm going to feel from one day to the next. I think it really frustrates most people, and I'm sure they don't understand, but not much I can do about it. I feel like every time I get one health situation figured out, something else pops up.
I am trying to get a referral from my pcp to see a specialist. Hopefully I will be able to get an appt soon, so I can get some answers.
Thanks again! :)

[Mom2four85]

wow you sound like me with a mixed bunch of overlapping conditions, which can be very difficult to deal with on a daily basis - depending on what's going on with me which day, my bp/hr may be high and I start to feel good,  then drop like a rock or I may have runs of VT that make me miserable

you should def get a full cardiology workup and make sure you make notes or take in your other dx for the cardiologist - there's so many variables with AI diseases that can or may affect your heart - or it could be the meds you're on, maybe even a combo of everything together

[jaimib]

Thanks so much for the help!! I have actually had several specialists tell me that I needed a cardiac eval but I had honestly not given it a second thought. I will definitely look into setting up an appt now with a cardiologist!
Thanks again!! :)

[cindy707]

Hey i read your post....you need a little help it sounds like in getting your b/p and pulse rate down and to me the most simple way to do that is under the guidance of a heart doc.  You may just need another type of beta blocker like antentolol or whatever the heart doc feels would really work for you because in a sense you are lucky in that respect that meds like antenolol take care of not only a rapid heart rate but blood pressure as well.  I would make the call and have a work up done sooner rather than later so that you can go back into the life of a fairly normal living and congrats on the weight loss 40 pounds is nothing to sneeze at and a great accomplishment.  I would definately make the appt. w. a heart doc tho so that things are under control and you can go to the regular doc for your other issues.  I know that this is more of a nuisance than anything and better to take care of it now then wait for things to get worse which would cause another can of worms to open....congrats of nursing school too........