Aa
Dizzy, faint, and tired
Thanks for this great forum. I have posted here before and appreciate your great input. I have IST, LVH,& HBP. I take sotalol 80 mg every 12 hrs. and Lasix 20 mg. daily as needed. This summer I have experienced frequent dizziness, fatigue, exercise intolerance. I have also noticed that my heart rate jumps up to 120 or higher at times when I am just sitting doing nothing. This is generally in the evening a few hours before I am due to take another dose of sotalol. At times this is accompanied by dizziness. I am also getting dizzy and when climbing stairs or walking (not fast).
My question is: Does this mean that I am building up a tolerance to sotalol? I have tried other medications and none seem to work. My doctor said that he does not want to increase the dose of sotalol and after 2 EP studies and unsuccessful ablations feels this is the only drug that will work for me. What should I do?
I am female 46 years old, in otherwise good health. Moderately overweight,could stand to lose 30 lbs. or so. Have been unable to exercise regularly since May because of my symptoms. Normally my husband and I do a lot of hiking in the Summer, but I have not been able to handle it this year. The heat also seems to be bothering me a great deal. I get dizzy, sometimes nauseated, and feel faint if I try to push myself at all. My blood pressure is also no longer controlled, probably in part because I have not been able to exercise. We were up in Buchart gardens recently and the 80 year olds were passing me. We finally had to leave so I could go back to the hotel and lay down.
My question is: Does this mean that I am building up a tolerance to sotalol? I have tried other medications and none seem to work. My doctor said that he does not want to increase the dose of sotalol and after 2 EP studies and unsuccessful ablations feels this is the only drug that will work for me. What should I do?
I am female 46 years old, in otherwise good health. Moderately overweight,could stand to lose 30 lbs. or so. Have been unable to exercise regularly since May because of my symptoms. Normally my husband and I do a lot of hiking in the Summer, but I have not been able to handle it this year. The heat also seems to be bothering me a great deal. I get dizzy, sometimes nauseated, and feel faint if I try to push myself at all. My blood pressure is also no longer controlled, probably in part because I have not been able to exercise. We were up in Buchart gardens recently and the 80 year olds were passing me. We finally had to leave so I could go back to the hotel and lay down.
My doctor has done a TSH 3 times in the last two years. It always comes back normal.
You may want to have a blood test and get the thyroid checked. Your symptoms sound somewhat like hypothyroidism.
neener99,
Some of those 80 year-olds are pretty tough.
The source of the dizziness deserves attention. One way to see what might be causing the dizziness would be with a stress echo. This test involves you walking on a treadmill at a gradually increasing speed. Your heart rate, blood pressure, heart rhythm, and symptoms would all be monitored. Furthermore, the strength of your heart's squeeze would be examined pre- and post-test.
Potential causes for the dizziness could include rapid heart rate with activity, a tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy, hypotension from the sotalol, cavity obliteration from the LVH, or something not cardiac at all.
A stress echo would provide fairly extensive evaluation of most of the above-named cardiac conditions. It is important that these be done at an experienced center; the test is fairly new and not well read by every cardiologist.
If the stress echo is unrevealing, an event monitor or holter might be warranted to monitor the heart rate during a dizzy spell.
Good luck.
Some of those 80 year-olds are pretty tough.
The source of the dizziness deserves attention. One way to see what might be causing the dizziness would be with a stress echo. This test involves you walking on a treadmill at a gradually increasing speed. Your heart rate, blood pressure, heart rhythm, and symptoms would all be monitored. Furthermore, the strength of your heart's squeeze would be examined pre- and post-test.
Potential causes for the dizziness could include rapid heart rate with activity, a tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy, hypotension from the sotalol, cavity obliteration from the LVH, or something not cardiac at all.
A stress echo would provide fairly extensive evaluation of most of the above-named cardiac conditions. It is important that these be done at an experienced center; the test is fairly new and not well read by every cardiologist.
If the stress echo is unrevealing, an event monitor or holter might be warranted to monitor the heart rate during a dizzy spell.
Good luck.
You are reading content posted in the Heart Disease Forum
Is a low-fat diet really that heart healthy after all? James D. Nicolantonio, PharmD, urges us to reconsider decades-long dietary guidelines.
Can depression and anxiety cause heart disease? Get the facts in this Missouri Medicine report.
Fish oil, folic acid, vitamin C. Find out if these supplements are heart-healthy or overhyped.
Learn what happens before, during and after a heart attack occurs.
What are the pros and cons of taking fish oil for heart health? Find out in this article from Missouri Medicine.
How to lower your heart attack risk.
