Bounding Pulse

[jimroy]

A couple weeks ago I had an episode of sustained tachycardia.. Heart rate stayed in the low 100s and jumped to 120s with minimal exertion..  My regular doc put me on  Toprol XL for a week, I had alot of side effects but it did slow down my heart.  I went back to see him after the Toprol and my heart rate was still high so he sent me to a Cardiologist.



The Cardiologist did blood tests, urine tests, holter monitor, echo, numerous EKGs and blood pressure monitoring.. everything came back ok.  



I have severe white coat hypertension, I mean i straight flip out when I go to the doc, and since everything came back normal from my cardio tests, his nurse seems to think I have an anxiety problem.



My heart rate is fine now, low 60s to high 80s when doing something.. but my pulse is still hitting hard, any idea what could be causing this?  I've been off the Toprol for over a week.  Could chronic anxiety cause a bounding pulse?  Its pretty uncomfortable.. thanks



-jimroy

[CCF-M.D.-CRC]

Dear Jimroy,

The treatment would depend on what type of tachycardia you were experiencing. So the first step is to determine exactly what type of tachycardia is occuring.  This is usually done with an electrogram or Holter monitor.    The second step would be to determine if there are any underlying medical conditions (e.g. hyperthyroidism) that could be causing the tachycardia.  Once these are done the treatment can be decided.  In general most tachycardias can be treated with medications or ablation.  Medications may have side-effects and are not always effective.  Ablation is a fairly low risk procedure that can be done as an outpatient and can cure most tachycardias.  If you are interested in ablation the type of doctor you would see is called an electrophysiologist.  Anxiety can cause rapid heart rates but I would only make this diagnosis after everything else has been excluded.

[wilson-wilson]

Seems JimRoy was asking about "anxiety" and tach/hard pulse.



I wish you wouldv'e addressed this question, "Could chronic anxiety cause a bounding pulse?"  It seems that most of us with PVCs/PACs have the "bounding pulse" and this is the first time I have seen anyone ask about it here.



Thanx

wilson-wilson

[arthur]

For a fact, adrenaline causes a "bounding" pulse...ie, a hard hitting faster than normal pulse.  So, as a non MD and totally speculating here...I would suspect anxiety which leads to heightened adrenaline levels, which leads to a bounding pulse...of course, I may be entirely off base.

[malouticzon]

A related discussion, causes of bounding pulses was started.