28 and my heart rate drops to low 30s

Question

I had a sleep study done and found that my heartrate has been dropping to mid 30s and my doctor is wanting to have me rushed to a cardiologist, im surprised about this because im just turning 28 and finding out that something may be wrong with my heat? What might be some issues I may have to prepare my self for and just how serious could this be?

TimLighthiser · Answer

Has your doctor diagnosed you with anything yet? I'll be 28 this Sunday and have been wearing a heart monitor for the past 19 days. They all me once to twice a week telling me my heart rate goes really low down the the 30s while sleeping. Today I got woken up to a phone asking me if I felt okay because my heart rate dropped at 4am down to 32 with a pause. I have been suffering from dizziness, fatigue, and weakness everyday of my life since I was 14 years old and all doctors told me it was just anxiety. I have had every test done that a doctor can possibly think of but everything comes back fine besides this right now.For the very first time my doctor told me to go see a cardio and now they are going more into depth of what is going on but still no answer.

FLA467 · Answer

I'm 41 and just happened to find out on Holter and other monitors that my heart rate falls as low as 32 bpm during sleep. Usually for me it was during the time frame between 4-530a.m. which has something to do with the sleep cycle. I was checked for sleep apnea and it was negative. My EP did not seem concerned as my resting HR is often in the high 50's very low 60's during the day, and he said during sleep the heart can do that. I even had some slight pauses and he wasn't too worried. It is much more concerning if this happens while you are awake and you would probably have symptoms like being dizzy and feeling tired. I think alot has to do with how the sleeping rate compares to your regular resting rate when you are not asleep? In any case, I have to admit that I do have a slower AV node and sometimes even have had first degree heart block on ECG which means my impulses travel through the heart but slower than normal. Wish I could say I was an athlete but nope, I was just born this way I guess. However when I work out things are ok as the poster said above. Ironically I have another abnormal heart rhythm called psvt (AVNRT) which makes my heart randomly beat very fast at times out of nowhere. So I have both issues sometimes too slow and others too fast! Either way I wouldn't worry too much. If they want to do some tests go and do them but during sleep its probably just fine.

hefner33 · Answer

Same thing happens to me. It actually is what lead to my cardio workup. I had periods where I got to 35bpm. They were all occuring between 3am-5am. I had what the call the "poor mans" sleep study where they put a pulse oximetry on my finger to watch my oxygen levels during sleep, which never went below 93. 

Symptoms is what they look for when your rate is that low. My doc told me if your heart responds to exercise or exertion than your heart has a "good response". Its when your trying to exert or put demands on your body and your heart doesn't respond, causing you to fatigue,lightheadedness, presyncope, or actually passing out.

I am 31 as well

is_something_wrong · Answer

The heart rate can drop remarkably low at night. People who have had Holter tests done (24 hour EKG monitoring) will often be surprised that their heart rate dropped to 30-35 during sleep. My cardiologist told me; "if people knew all the funny stuff the heart can do during sleep, they would stay up all night, afraid to sleep".

My heart rate drops to low 30s during sleep. My cardiologist didn't even tell me, I found out myself after examining my Holter results. (my resting heart rate is 50)

I don't understand why your doctor is so stressed about this. It is almost always a normal phenomenon, and unless you have symptoms of bradycardia at daytime (fainting or severe dizziness), I didn't think treatment would be necessary.

Most likely, you can relax.

Bromley · Answer

If you aren't highly athletic, mid 30's is probably lower than desired. Athlete's get slower beats because their stroke volume is greater than normal. According to wikipedia (see Bradycardia article), some healthy athletes have had rates as low as 27bpm.

The wiki article outlines several possible causes, but I think your intuition about age is leading you towards the most likely diagnosis.  Of course, we'll have to see what the doc says, but if you are taking a beta blocker, the problem could be as simple as being caused by your beta blocker. (In other words, if you are interested read the article, I would avoid getting too excited about the more exotic causes.....).

Jerry_NJ · Answer

I believe a HR in the 30s even when asleep needs attention.  

What is you HR when up and awake?  Do you suffer any symptoms of bradycardia (yes it has a name) when you are awake? (Dizzy, shortness of Breath...).

Yes, the young have fewer heart problems than us old folks, but unfortunately no one, regardless of age, is guaranteed not to have any heart problems.  

A full exam by a cardiologist is best.  That said, who/what did the sleep study and didn't that doctor make any recommendations?