Sitting and Standing

[crystalhanzelka]

So is is normal when I sit down for my heart to slow down.  It can be beating like... beat, beat, beat then I sit and it is Beat____Beat_____Beat but only for a few seconds.  Then returns to normal.  Is this just normal slowing when sitting or something to be worried about.  It does it when I stand sometimes too.

[Brooke_38]

   When a person sits, receptors in the aortic arch and carotids sense this change in blood pressure. This response causes the peripheral blood vessels to dilate, the heart rate and contractility to decrease and the kidneys to release fluids. This action pushes blood away from the core circulation to supply the primary organs (heart, lungs, kidneys, liver and brain).

This is refered to as orthostatic change.  The "20-10-20" rule may be used as a guide . The rule refers to the expected increase in systolic B/P (up to 20 mm Hg), a decrease in diastolic B/P of 10 mm HG and an decrease in heart rate by 20 beats per minute.

So, as you can see...your heart acted appropriately to your bodies change in space. So if you stand, the opposite response will occur...blood vessels will constrict, kidneys will hold fluids, blood is pulled away from the core circulation. The "20-10-20" rule will reflect a decrease in systolic B/P (up to 20 mm Hg), an increase in diastolic B/P of 10 mm Hg and an increase in heart rate by 20 beats per minute.

I hope that I didn't confuse you ;) If you need further explanation, Im happy to help you:)))

[crystalhanzelka]

BROOKE_38....please

[Jerry_NJ]

Your references beat mine : >)

Polar is a brand name for a heart rate monitor. It is very popular among athletes and others who "work out" and want to set their pace (usually runners, bikers) such that they are in the aerobic zone they want.  For runners/bikers in competition this is usually at or near their maximum HR.  These units are available everywhere, including Walmart.  They include a HR detector/transmitter that is strapped around the chest.  I have found the signal is a "standard", that is the commercial treadmills at gyms that can display HR pick up the signal and display your HR on the panel.   The Polar display looks like a wrist watch.

[crystalhanzelka]

Everything I have read says the opposite.  That PACs if continuous MAY trigger AFib.  But Brooke_38 and My cardiologist says that isolated PACs are of no concern and that everyone has them...some just can not feel them.  What is a Polar Monitor?

[Jerry_NJ]

Not an expert here, but I do believe PACs are frequently joined by brief periods of AFib and Flutter.  It is all in the Atrial.

I have to decide every morning:  Do I wear my Polar monitor or not.  I need to put the chest strap on before I dress.  Many mornings I say to myself:  give it a rest, and don't put it on.  If I have a change in medications (I do "play" with dose sometimes, especially with my beta blocker - and am thinking about trying 50 mg instead of 100 mg per day), and when I do that I always put on the monitor.  I also wear if I am exercising, which now is no more than serious walking, and mostly on the level.  My days of jogging are now becoming ancient history... over 1.5 years ago.

[crystalhanzelka]

I do pay too much attention...
The only thing I have been told is that I have PACs and Sinus Arrythmis/tachycardia

[Jerry_NJ]

Hard to say, depends on what, if any, arrhythmia problems you have.  One problem my be paying "too" much attention to the heart beat.

I suffer from chronic AFib, and when I have a (polar) heart monitor on I normally see my HR slow down gradually when I sit down.  But, with AFib, this is with some jumps up/down of perhaps 10 bpm swing.  This is normal for me with AFib.  When I was in sinus I am almost sure the HR just got slower and slower until it hit a new equilibrium with my new resting posture.  In sinus that would be about 65, in AFib it will bounce from 75 to 85 and back again.