breathing and heart and medication

[Joy]

In feb I was diagnosed with a sinus Tach. *I went on toporal 50mg
I did pretty well then became dizzy a majority of the time and at times had difficulty breathing. Dr. Lowered my dose to 25 mg and I felt much better with the dizziness gone and only had breathing problem once in awhile. I felt great for most of the summer with a few rough days where I had heart palps. Over the last month I have been having bouts of racing heart again and shortness of breath mainly when I walk steps or even a flat surface. The Dr. increased my toporal to 50 mg last week and I am still having trouble breathing when I walk and at night waking up with a racing heart and breathing trouble. My lungs are clear I had an xray. I know you can't diagnose but have you ever seen this come back when I was feeing so good.? ANd any idea what is going on with my breathing? Could the toporal cause the shortness of breath? And Could these be symtoms of a Mitral Valve Prolaspe? Any other thougts I miss feeling normal?
ANd I really appreciate the time you take to read and answer the many questions. Oh I am a non smoker and non drinker I am 42 years old And do my best to eat right and take vitamins
Thanks in advance
JOY

[Cleveland Clinic, MD]

Thanks for your comments.

[Jane]

I just wanted to let you know I had the same exact problem when I was on Toporol.  I also started with 50 mg.  Right after I started, I felt terrible -- tired all the time and out of breath.  That improved, but my lungs did not.  I couldn't walk anywhere without gasping for air.  No matter how slow I walked, I was out of breath.  I had all the tests for my lungs (normal)and finally my dosage was decreased to 25 mg.  That helped a lot, but I still had trouble breathing.  Finally I stopped it all together.  The first week after I stopped the beta blocker was awful -- I fainted and was dizzy all the time, but after about a month I no longer had pain in my lungs and I'm now back to normal.  I thought I'd let you know that I feel strongly that the beta blocker can affect the lungs.

[Cleveland Clinic, MD]

The XRay does not rule out asthma.  You would need to get breathing tests to exclude this diagnosis.

[Joy]

Thank you for your reply. Mylungs were clear on the xray so that rules out Astma right? and I know it is not aniexty because it can wake me up at night and it happens when I am active or a I talk alot and when I am just calm and talking. I was hoping that you might have seen something like this I am really frustrated and I enjoy my life and want to be active.  I had a horrible night last night I woke up with my heart racing and then slowing down for several hours and then the breathing problem. If you have any other thoughts I would welcome them.
Really do appreciate your time
Thanks
JOY

[Cleveland Clinic, MD]

Dear Joy,

It is possible this is related to the Toprol but you are on a small dose.  I would ask your doctor about other potential causes such as the tachycardia, asthma, deconditioning or anxiety related conditions.  All these are potential causes of your complaints.  Best wishes.