High Pulse Pressure

[cobbler5]

After an ablation for a-flutter, I began to experience a-fib. I  was treated with sotalol but had breakthroughs. Switched to flecainide which worked but with side effects. I recently stopped the flecainide and have had no significant a-fib that I can discern, although some skipped beats. I do continue to take bystolic and azor for high blood pressure.  However,  since discontinuing the flecanide, I have had what I would describe as a pounding heartbeat (not rapid), dizziness, and consistent blood pressure readings of 140s/50s. I have read that the high difference between systolic and diastolic pressures can be significant and that the difference (termed pulse pressure) should be between 40 and 60. Is a pulse pressure of 90+ clinically significant for a 59 year old female? Does it indicate anything in terms of heart rhythm? Thank you.

[cobbler5]

Thanks so much for your thoughts. I take 5 mg of Bystolic. Just reread the side effects. This could be the source of the issue. Getting the blood pressure meds right is tricky business and some more tweaking may be necessary. I have taken Azor with the Bystolic. I may need to resume that. Again, thank you.

[MadyJaye]

Hi there! A pulse pressure of 90+ does seem pretty high to me. While your systolic reading doesn't seem crazy high, your distolic reading (50) seems low. The primary thing that effects my systolic reading is stress and anxiety, I can get a pretty wide pulse pressure (my systolic shoots up) when I am anxious during a reading. I am also on bp meds so my distolic stays fairly regular all the time. What dosage of Bystolic are you on? I was put on this medication after running with bp 150/110 for about a month, and they have had to cut my dosage back twice because my bp drops so low. I would definitely mention the readings you have been getting to your PCP or cardiologist and see what their response is. I am not aware what wide pulse pressure indicates other than intracranial pressure. (If you are not experiencing bradychardia or had a recent severe head injury, I don't think you need to be concerned about that. Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Best of luck to you.