Heart Rate and CAD Questions?

[BryanD43701]

31 year old male.
5'9 Height

Decemeber went to ER for High BP. Said EKG abnormal....showed T and Q Wave inversion. Took blood test and x ray which came back okay. Said EKG may show inferior ischemia and at the time my blood pressure was 210 over 130. Gave me Ativan for stress...before I left blood pressure was 140 over 85 and another EKG was better but still showed abnormality.

Stopped drinking, smoking all together, working out more, lost weight (was 190 now 175), eating better. Past two weeks have been complete Hell. Couple Sunday's ago I was working out caquse I always do it for a stress relief. This time though was overcame with a fear of dying, felt like I forgot how to breathe, palms sweaty and burst of adrenaline running thru body. Took a couple Ativan to calm me down and knocked me out until I woke up the next day with no pains and blood pressure was 115 over 75 with a heart rate of 60 BPM.

Since then.....everytime I start to exercise that moment pops back into my head and I can feel another attack startiing to come on. I went to Urgent Care and they said maybe it's Panic Disorder.....gave me more Ativan and put me on blood pressure meds.

Today I woke up after beiing on these pills for 10 days and took my BP which was 125 over 88. BPM were down to 50. Said okay that's kinda low and not used to that. Thought machine might be off so I took it using my neck artery...about three beats into it it felt really far apart and then all of the sudden I got lightheaded and it looked like everything was fading into black. Scared the daylights out of me and a burst of adrenaline came over me just like it did whehn I was exercising that time. Sat down, took a ativan, calemed down some and blood pressure went back from 145 over 110 to 120 over 75 but BPM were still at the 55 mark.

Called doc and they said cut down on the Metroplol to half a pill.

Now though I am sitting here in terror thinking that what if what I'm having is heart failure? That's the only thought running thru my brain when ANYTHING like this happens. When the attacks happen I can't get anything else in my mind and it's on brain the rest of the day.

Is 50 BPM a sign of heart failure? If the heart rate is that low then shouldnt my blood pressure go back on the rise to pump more blood in there? And how common is it for someone my age to have clogged arteries which is something else I can shake that gets me worked up. I had a similar problem 7 years ago but it turned out arteries were fine but heart was enlarged causing the wall to work improperly.  And I know lifestyle matters as well but Im not what you call a hermit or extremely overweight. I've never been over 190 LBS and I have alot of muscle to me as well. I smoked but usually only when I drank and now I don't even get near someone with it in hand. Cholesterol has never been an issue but I am stressed out A TON.

[klepanga]

It is the Ativan interacting with the  Metroplol . I am not a doctor but my wife is a nurse and I have been taking Ativan for 20 years. Almost any High Blood Pressure medicine will interact with the sedative/Benzo Ativan and increase their effect or cause syncope (fainting). I tried all types of  High Blood medicines with the same effect with Ativan and either almost fainted or had fast heart beat that increased my Blood Pressure and gave me a panic attack. You need to get off the Ativan to take most if not all you HB Meds. Even if you need to go to rehab center to detox to do it. Otherwise you will be in the Emergency Room all the time.

[Tommy2shoe]

Another good rule of thumb when you're freakimg out and worried you're having a heart attack is if there is no pain (like stabbing pains in chest) it's almost certainly just a panic attack even tho you're convinced it's a heart attack at the time. Sometimes if you've just had an extreme panic attack you can get clammy skin so don't go to the ER if you don't have health insurance unless you're CERTAIN is a heart attack if you do have insurance then you might as well go bc they might give you a new medication that helps more than what you're currently taking. Just don't keep racking up several thousand $$$ ER bills bc of panic attacks.  Another good way to realize how bad a panic attack is effecting you at the time (so you're not flipping out thinking you're having a heart attack) is that there is a huge difference in panic attacks and anxiety attacks, anxiety attacks are what you deal with on pretty common basis and are very uncomfortable and stressful while panic attacks are an exceptional and rare experience where you're convinced you're dying and have horrible scary side effects like can't breathe, feel like you're going to lose consciousness, and/or feel like you're having a fatal heart attack. So if you think you're having a heart attack bc you don't usually get that feeling during an anxiety attack just remember you're experiencing an unusually severe panic attack, just take a benzo and/or a beta blocker and try to relax it'll take a little bit when it's a severe attack. I've had problems differentiating between heart attack/panic attack and what's saved racking up huge expensive ER visits is remembering that if there is no pain then it's just a panic attack. I just recently started getting high blood pressure which has anxiety as a side effect so it's a never ending struggle for me bc it w allergies it can effect my breathing and spin me into a full blown panic attack bc my chest gets really tight and can't breathe, it's TERRIFYING. Sometimes it's so bad even taking a beta blocker and an Ativan don't take away the thumping heart feeling so my mind races even tho my body isn't in flip out mode bc of the panic induced adrenaline.

[BryanD43701]

See that's the thing.....when you have no insurance the doctors have a habit of blowing you off. I had to get an appointment at the health department which I signed up for at the first the year and they are finally getting me in April 2nd. Now I'm just afraid that I'll have to make another ER trip just to have them tell me you need to see a family practice doctor. I live in Lancaster OH btw which treats you like an outcast with no insurance.

When I wake up or if I'm not stressed out the blood pressure was down to 115 over 75 which my doctor said was good but they can't figure out why it shoots up so high when I get stressed out. he actually had the nerve to ask if I was on cocaine and I just looked at him with a disgusted look. I know he was just doing his job but I was in a bad mood.

[Encephalomalcia]

If your blood pressure is 125/88, the 88 is still too high.  50 BPM is not that slow, some people who are athelics have that slow of a pulse and are considered healthier.  The Metroplol that you are taking has side effects of lightheadedness and visual problems.  Metroplol can slow the BPM down a lot.  The dose is most likely too high for you.  If the smaller dose does not work for you, your doctor may need to prescribe a different blood pressure medicine.  Try not to get stressed out.  Ask your doctor if you can add some B vitamins to your diet.  A lot of people are not getting enough B12 and Niacin in their diet. If you do get clammy skin (cold and wet) make sure to dial 911 to get some help.  Clammy skin is a sign of a person going into shock and could be a sign of a heart attack.  In the meantime, it would be wise to get another ekg to make sure there hasn't been a change and you have not had a recent heart attack. You should be concerned, but try to avoid the stress as much as you can.  People can be blocked up at age 31 and even children can be blocked up.  My 10 year old male cousin was and by the time he was 50, he had three bypass surgeries.  See your doctor soon.