Aa
Low pulse
Hi,
Quite a while ago I posted this http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Heart-Rhythm/Low-pulse-and-palpitations/show/1537421#post_6981777 and received various suggestions, all of which I tried out but none of them have pointed to any explanation and my symptoms have increased so I thought I would post again and see if anyone had any new suggestions.
Basically, I'm now 31, at the time of my last post I was obese but I've since lost 4 stone and am now about 7lb overweight but am still working towards normal weight. I have been having the palpitations quite frequently along with tiredness, dizziness, nausea and chest pains, my dr sent me for a 24 holter ecg which came back saying that there were no problems at all with the rhythm but my pulse did go down to 51 which he said was normal if I was an athlete which I'm most definitely not!
I have also noticed the last few days that my bp has dropped to 99/60 a few times.
He's suggested going back for more blood tests for the same things as before, but they all previously came back fine with my dr commenting that every reading was bang in the middle of normal range.
Is there anything that anyone can suggest that could be causing the symptoms? My trackers on my profile are updated quite regularly if anyone wants to check them for clues :)
Quite a while ago I posted this http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Heart-Rhythm/Low-pulse-and-palpitations/show/1537421#post_6981777 and received various suggestions, all of which I tried out but none of them have pointed to any explanation and my symptoms have increased so I thought I would post again and see if anyone had any new suggestions.
Basically, I'm now 31, at the time of my last post I was obese but I've since lost 4 stone and am now about 7lb overweight but am still working towards normal weight. I have been having the palpitations quite frequently along with tiredness, dizziness, nausea and chest pains, my dr sent me for a 24 holter ecg which came back saying that there were no problems at all with the rhythm but my pulse did go down to 51 which he said was normal if I was an athlete which I'm most definitely not!
I have also noticed the last few days that my bp has dropped to 99/60 a few times.
He's suggested going back for more blood tests for the same things as before, but they all previously came back fine with my dr commenting that every reading was bang in the middle of normal range.
Is there anything that anyone can suggest that could be causing the symptoms? My trackers on my profile are updated quite regularly if anyone wants to check them for clues :)
Thanks Michelle, I will try drinking more water and will add a bit more salt to my diet as I don't really have all that much salt.
The weight loss has all been diet based rather than exercise based, I'm on the dukan diet so the only real exercise is 30 minutes of walking per day. The symptoms were there pre-diet so my dr said he doubts the diet/restriction of certain foods is causing the symptoms.
I'm going to keep on at them, I have an appointment tomorrow to be referred for the blood tests again, the dr who I spoke to about the holter results said if the blood come back clear again they will refer me for other tests such as exercise based ones so still more stuff to explore.
The weight loss has all been diet based rather than exercise based, I'm on the dukan diet so the only real exercise is 30 minutes of walking per day. The symptoms were there pre-diet so my dr said he doubts the diet/restriction of certain foods is causing the symptoms.
I'm going to keep on at them, I have an appointment tomorrow to be referred for the blood tests again, the dr who I spoke to about the holter results said if the blood come back clear again they will refer me for other tests such as exercise based ones so still more stuff to explore.
Our bodies tend to adjust for condtions so I wonder if your heart operation has not caught up yet with your change in weight. Meaning your brain is sending signals for the heart to work based on your old weight. I don't know if that is the case as you state it has been going on for a while but something to think about. I guess what I would say is if you are working out hard to loose the weight maybe ease up just a bit until you heart gets a bit stronger. I know when I push myself too hard on the eliptical my heart will start to act a little erractic changing pace and getting ectopics. It's hard when you want to be gung ho but the heart takes a bit longer to respond then other muscles in your body likely becasue it has to keep operating 24/7. Obviously whatever is going on is making you feel ill so keep up with the doctors and make sure you drink lots of water. It really does help any heart symptoms I feel. And if it is ok with the doctor maybe add a bit of salt to your diet if your bp is going too low. Not a lot but a little does help me. I know when mine goes low I get very wozzy and nauseous and a few pretzels fixes me right up. And water, water is good : ) Well anyways, not sure if I have been able to help but I do send wishes that you feel better soon. Take care.
My concern is that, as my heart rate and blood pressure drop further, I feel more and more ill.
I'm constantly tired no matter how much I sleep, I have palpitations while my heart rate is in the 50's, I have almost passed out on several occasions when either my hr or bp have dropped which is accompanied by nausea and I have chest pains pretty much daily. If I didn't have these symptoms then obviously I wouldn't be concerned about it, it is the symptoms that have highlighted that they are low.
You mentioned 'As an example, someone with a resting heart rate of 50 and max heart rate 200 is likely to be in great shape. Someone with resting heart rate of 50 and max of 130 is not necessarily so', my maximum hr during the holter was 140 which was during exercise. My pulse has been hitting the low 50's not just while sleeping but while sitting and after walking around.
I'm constantly tired no matter how much I sleep, I have palpitations while my heart rate is in the 50's, I have almost passed out on several occasions when either my hr or bp have dropped which is accompanied by nausea and I have chest pains pretty much daily. If I didn't have these symptoms then obviously I wouldn't be concerned about it, it is the symptoms that have highlighted that they are low.
You mentioned 'As an example, someone with a resting heart rate of 50 and max heart rate 200 is likely to be in great shape. Someone with resting heart rate of 50 and max of 130 is not necessarily so', my maximum hr during the holter was 140 which was during exercise. My pulse has been hitting the low 50's not just while sleeping but while sitting and after walking around.
Sorry to say, I don't understand your concerns regarding the slow heart rate if that was your minimum during 24 hours (assuming that you also slept during the 24 hours). To compare, my low during 24 hours was 38, and that was considered completely normal. I'm not athletic.
A blood pressure of 100/60 is completely normal. If you had the palpitations during the 24 hour monitoring, and the doctor said it was OK, they are normal too.
Even non-athletes can have a heart rate of 51 when they are awake. We are all different. Some of us have "truck engine" hearts with slow resting heart rates, and also fairly low maximum heart rates. Some of us have motorbike engines with resting rates in the 80s but max far above 200. What determines if you are athletic or not is how much your heart rate can increase in % of your resting heart rate, not the absolute numbers. As an example, someone with a resting heart rate of 50 and max heart rate 200 is likely to be in great shape. Someone with resting heart rate of 50 and max of 130 is not necessarily so. The same goes if the relation is 80 and 180.
A blood pressure of 100/60 is completely normal. If you had the palpitations during the 24 hour monitoring, and the doctor said it was OK, they are normal too.
Even non-athletes can have a heart rate of 51 when they are awake. We are all different. Some of us have "truck engine" hearts with slow resting heart rates, and also fairly low maximum heart rates. Some of us have motorbike engines with resting rates in the 80s but max far above 200. What determines if you are athletic or not is how much your heart rate can increase in % of your resting heart rate, not the absolute numbers. As an example, someone with a resting heart rate of 50 and max heart rate 200 is likely to be in great shape. Someone with resting heart rate of 50 and max of 130 is not necessarily so. The same goes if the relation is 80 and 180.
Thanks Jerry :) A stone is 14lb.
Losing the weight has lowered my pulse and blood pressure, before the weight loss my pulse was around the 60-70 mark and my bp around 120/67 so for both to drop concerns me that they will drop even further by losing more weight but as my dr agreed being overweight isn't healthy either so I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't!
My dr hasn't mentioned any of these things, unfortunately it seems like unless I suggest something they don't test for it! My dr has actually just come straight out and asked if there's anything else I can suggest that they can test me for, I've seen 3 dr's now and they all seem as clueless!
The symptoms have been getting worse over the past year so I'm not sure that I'm likely to adjust over time although it would be great if it did!
Losing the weight has lowered my pulse and blood pressure, before the weight loss my pulse was around the 60-70 mark and my bp around 120/67 so for both to drop concerns me that they will drop even further by losing more weight but as my dr agreed being overweight isn't healthy either so I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't!
My dr hasn't mentioned any of these things, unfortunately it seems like unless I suggest something they don't test for it! My dr has actually just come straight out and asked if there's anything else I can suggest that they can test me for, I've seen 3 dr's now and they all seem as clueless!
The symptoms have been getting worse over the past year so I'm not sure that I'm likely to adjust over time although it would be great if it did!
COMMUNITY LEADER
First, congratulations on your successes with weight loss (many of us in the US don't know what a "stone" is, I guess it is equal to several pounds).
Has the diet weight loss made the pulse lower? This may have already been suggested.... but bad as salt is, maybe you can eat a little more as it causes high blood pressure, not sure if it has any effect on heart rate.
While medical science has come up with many medications to lower HR/BP, I don't know of any that push them up... has your doctor discussed a pacemaker? Given your symptoms, it seems you don't tolerate the low BP/HR well. Still, given more time you may adjust. My simple understanding is a low HR that is over 50 and has no symptoms is fine, but most of us have a resting HR over 60 even if we are in "good shape" and work out. When I was still running and in normal sinus rhythm my resting HR was still in the mid to low 60s.
Has the diet weight loss made the pulse lower? This may have already been suggested.... but bad as salt is, maybe you can eat a little more as it causes high blood pressure, not sure if it has any effect on heart rate.
While medical science has come up with many medications to lower HR/BP, I don't know of any that push them up... has your doctor discussed a pacemaker? Given your symptoms, it seems you don't tolerate the low BP/HR well. Still, given more time you may adjust. My simple understanding is a low HR that is over 50 and has no symptoms is fine, but most of us have a resting HR over 60 even if we are in "good shape" and work out. When I was still running and in normal sinus rhythm my resting HR was still in the mid to low 60s.
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