a very irregular heart rate...

[pearl4]

Hello doctor. This is not about myself but for my cousin who is is ill. He was feeling SOB and having difficulties falling asleep about a week ago and had went to the doctors to check it out. they ended up keeping him for further analysis... my cousin also has polio. and was diagnose as a child and is now 32 yrs old. They had told him back then that he had an irreg HR. But when he went recently they told him that his HR was 11!!! That blew me away! i did not know that was even possible! he is now home and they are trying to put him back into the hospital for treatment. Can you help me understand  how this HR of 11 works in the body? i picture the heart just evently stopping and of course everything else shutting down... Obviously this is far from normal and dont see anything coming good out of this unless he gets treatment. What kind of treatment? im still in shocked with this HR... my cousin is no longer active and hasnt for years, due to his disease of polio. so he is constantly inactive, and im guessing polio could have some part in this as well... please clarify things for me. thanks!

[Douglas Bogart, MD]

Other than monitoring for symptoms of weakness and passing out I don't think there is anything you should do.  Again I don't think the HR was 11.

[pearl4]

oh i see. ya thats what i was thinking. i was in shocked.  that number was just abnormally low.... but i was going what what they told them. with this abnormal low HR what could be the complications? the adverse affects? what should we look for? (while waiting til he gets treatment.)

[Douglas Bogart, MD]

I can't think that the heart rate was correct at 11 beats per minute.  If it were the doctors would have recommended a pacemaker.  The issue needs to be clarified.