Change in heart rate

[xtremlee]

Ok I have been having PACs maybe 2-8 times a day for 2 weeks but I have also noticed that my BP has dropped and my heart rate has decreased.
Presurgery was 60bpm
Post surgery was 90 bpm
After 1 mile walk with 30 min rest 80bpm
At night 70bpm

BP 130/90 after surgery
Bp 110/70 today

I am just wondering about the 70bpm at night when its been 90 bpm post surgery for 6 months at night at daytime what ever.

I started walking yesterday again and did 1 mile and last night had a pretty good night no pacs all night but had 2 this morning.

It also seems like my thump is not as loud as it used to be when my heart beats.

I hope this is all in my head and Im over analizing everything.
Any input would be great.
Lee

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Lee,

My non-professional GUESS is that your lower HR and BP is a sign that your heart is getting BETTER. Cardiologists usually consider PAC's to be benign and shrug them off. That may also be because there seems to be little they can do about them (other than perhaps ablation and / or a pacemaker) which they would prefer not to do unless there is a more threatening condition. PAC's aren't fun but I guess we must resign ourselves to just put up with them. Reducing 'triggers' such as alcohol, caffeine, stress, and sufficient rest is the best advice.

My understanding is that low HR is NOT a problem as long as it is above 40 bpm for most people. Highly conditioned athletes (such as Lance Armstrong) may have even lower heart rates but they are special cases.

'AL'

 

[xtremlee]

I hope your correct. It just freaks me out when things start happening for no reason.
I feel better. Have more enegrgy and Im not as tired as I was.

My wife says Im a worry wart.

 

[tobagotwo]

I sure hope that lowered BP is a good sign.

My OHS was within a week of yours. Right after the OHS, I had the blood pressure of an eight-year-old. Since then, my blood pressure kept creeping up (to an average of maybe 140/80), and it annoyed my cardios that it also didn't go down at night. Along with that, I was still holding onto an inverted T-wave, from about six months before the surgery.

At my six-month exam, the cardiologist noted that my T-wave was finally reverting to normal. My BP was still at that high point, and not really going down at night.

Now, at seven months, I've noted that my BP is dropping back to more normal levels (for me) - 126/72 at night, although still somewhat higher in the daytime. And my resting pulse (I should say laying-around pulse, measured while watching TV) is hovering around 60, down from 80-something. Which is fine, as I pop right up during commercials without any light-headedness.

And I rarely feel my heartbeat anymore, whereas it was like the bass from a teenage's car stereo before surgery. I have had the occasional very brief palpitation while resting, but I believe that is a normal occurrence for a heart that's shrinking back to its original size, HB, and BP. To expect no cardiac confusion during the readjustment phase seems unrealistic. Heart rhythm and timing is a very complex process; resilient, but easily disturbed.

Like you, I've found that exercise tends to reduce or eliminate PACs and PVCs.

I believe these to be good signs, and the fact that similar things are also happening to you at about the same point in recovery makes me feel even better about them.

Good news, I think, for us both.

Best wishes,

 

[tommy]

Your BP and HR sound very good.

Before AVR, I could hear and feel my enlarged heart pounding away. I never bothered to take my HR prior to surgery, but afterwards it drifted from 90's to 60's at rest. With exercise, I'm in the 50's at rest.

Try checking your HR 3 minutes after exercise. If it drifts down quickly, that is a really good sign.

 

[xtremlee]

I did check my heart rate after a mile of walking and it was around 95-100 and within just a couple of mins was back down to 70. I dont know if thats good or not.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

General 'rule of thumb' about HR:

The faster your heart returns to it's 'resting' rate following exercise, the BETTER.

Sounds like you're getting in GOOD SHAPE to me Lee.

Keep up the good work !

'AL'

 

[Gemma]

Hi Lee,
Jim had similar things happen to him a few months after his surgery - his HR slowed by about 10-15 bpm (resting and exercising) and his heart certainly doesn't thud like it used to (pre-surgery his left ventricle measured 7.7cm and it's now a much healthier 4.3cm ). And his BP's a bit lower now than earlier this year.
We actually mentioned Jim's "low" resting HR (around the mid 50s) to his cardio at the beginning of the month - he laughed and said he has a couple of highly trained athletes as patients whose resting HR is around 29 or so .
So, sounds like you're a long way off needing to worry. Keep up the good work with the exercise . (I think I agree with your wife by the way - if your BP's a bit lower, your HR goes to normal after a few minutes' rest and you feel BETTER, you're probably OK ).
Gemma.