High resting heart rate

[Aalok jain]

I am 22 years old had my AVR surgery 3 months back due to bicuspid valve and having On- X valve . I am on (beta blocker) metolar Xr 50mg 2 times a day and my heart rate is in between 90 to 100. Also in first 2 weeks of surgery I had A-FIB attack 2 times in the hospital with heart rate 140 due to stress.
Is this normal or I have to worry as my valve is working fine .But I am worry of A-fib related issue .
One of my cardiologist suggest me to increase my dose to 75 mg so that my heart rate would come to 70-80 range .
Please give me some advice how can I handle this situation.

 

[pellicle]

when I got out of ICU my HR was about 120, I was on metoprolol for some time to keep it down. I asked about it and was told it was pretty common.

For as long as a few months out of surgery my resting HR was in the 90's to 100 range even after I stopped metoprolol.

eventually I found that (resting) taking a deep deepest possible breath and holding my breath resulted in the HR going down. It would slowly resume over a few minutes. I'd repeat this at intervals. I was hoping that it would assist the system in retraining as to the need for the high HR (no need).

gradually the intervals got longer and within a few more months it was closer to my normal of 70 (60 on first wake).

 

[d333gs]

I too was wondering if the higher BPM was permanent after AVR. I am about 12 BPM higher.
I also watched some youtube stuff like this, that pellicle was talking about above.



There used to be a gadget around that you clipped onto your finger. It beeped with each heartbeat and the exercise was to slow it down. I am doing what pellicle was talking about, at night when lying in bed. Apple Watches are a lot of fun...........

But, what it feels like, in my imagination, the heart is not making complete heartbeats, the contraction is triggered before the left ventricle is completely full and it is pumping less than full loads. As I said, "In my imagination".

I would like to hear from those of you that have a year or more post opp; Has your BPM returned to pre opp levels?

 

[pellicle]

Has your BPM returned to pre opp levels?

Yep, it's been normal so long now I can't say when it was, but I do know that by 6 months I was Nordic pole jogging on the beach with my wife and back to about pre surgery levels of fitness.

PS:

But I took retraining seriously, having had two previous experiences ... I didn't know what to do (and nobody told me) when I was 10 and it was perhaps only my youth which got me back to being strong and stronger. I was significantly weakened over where I should have been at my age at 12 but rectified that by 15 (still not equal to where I should have been).

I did better at 28yo and better again at 48yo

also, I don't need a biofeedback machine like that fellow uses in the video, I have an inbuilt self powered biofeedback machine which means I get that knowledge at any time I want (sometimes when I don't). It is however very helpful in so many ways.

 

[AZATADINE]

I too was wondering if the higher BPM was permanent after AVR. I am about 12 BPM higher.
I also watched some youtube stuff like this, that pellicle was talking about above.



There used to be a gadget around that you clipped onto your finger. It beeped with each heartbeat and the exercise was to slow it down. I am doing what pellicle was talking about, at night when lying in bed. Apple Watches are a lot of fun...........

But, what it feels like, in my imagination, the heart is not making complete heartbeats, the contraction is triggered before the left ventricle is completely full and it is pumping less than full loads. As I said, "In my imagination".

I would like to hear from those of you that have a year or more post opp; Has your BPM returned to pre opp levels?

I was about 100 bpm for the first week or so post op but by the time I left hospital, it was starting to come down. I assume that was the daily dose of 2.5 mg Bisoprolol having an effect. After about 6 weeks I was back to pretty normal bpm and my dose was halved as my BP was a bit on the low side. At my 3 month post op meeting with cardiologist, everything looked great and I stopped Bisoprolol (and warfarin as I have a tissue valve).

I'm 5 months post op and my resting heartbeat is around 70 so still a little higher than pre op but pretty good considering I'm not on medication now.

 

[Chuck C]

My resting heart rate has gradually come down since surgery, but is still a little higher than it was pre-surgery.

I check my blood pressure and pulse at least once per week. The average of my last 5 resting HR readings was 67.4 bpm. The average of the 5 readings prior to my surgery was 60 bpm. It does not seem to be coming down any more at this point. I am not on any medication to lower it, nor was I prior to surgery.

Also, I checked my data to see where my resting pulse was 2 months post surgery. This was the point at which I went off of metoprolol. At that point I was tracking it daily, to be sure that it stayed in a safe range since I was no longer on any meds to control it. The average of the next 5 resting HR readings was 89.2. So, from 8 weeks out to 12 months out, my average resting HR dropped from about 89 to about 67.

 

[pellicle]

So, from 8 weeks out to 12 months out, my average resting HR dropped from about 89 to about 67.

good data there Chuck ... hats off

 

[Brokenhip]

I too was wondering if the higher BPM was permanent after AVR. I am about 12 BPM higher.
I also watched some youtube stuff like this, that pellicle was talking about above.



There used to be a gadget around that you clipped onto your finger. It beeped with each heartbeat and the exercise was to slow it down. I am doing what pellicle was talking about, at night when lying in bed. Apple Watches are a lot of fun...........

But, what it feels like, in my imagination, the heart is not making complete heartbeats, the contraction is triggered before the left ventricle is completely full and it is pumping less than full loads. As I said, "In my imagination".

I would like to hear from those of you that have a year or more post opp; Has your BPM returned to pre opp levels?

Currently just over 4 yrs post op & resting HR is about 55 which is similar to before the OHS. Left hospital on Amiodarone due to AFib which started about 48 hrs into recovery. Ceased the Amiodarone after 6 wks & resting HR settled into pre op levels.

 

[Lynn]

You are not alone in dealing with this issue it would seem.My resting heart rate was quite a bit higher after surgery and took several months to return to normal, which it has. Though I never experienced Afib, I did find my heart rate was quite a bit higher on mild exertion and at rest after surgery.

I did some Cardiac rehab with a kinesiologist and her recommendation was to be consistent with my cardio (but not over the top) to get my resting heart rate to return to normal. I believe cardio and a combination of breathing techniques is what helped… and still does. Best of luck.

 

[carolinemc]

I too was wondering if the higher BPM was permanent after AVR. I am about 12 BPM higher.
I also watched some youtube stuff like this, that pellicle was talking about above.



There used to be a gadget around that you clipped onto your finger. It beeped with each heartbeat and the exercise was to slow it down. I am doing what pellicle was talking about, at night when lying in bed. Apple Watches are a lot of fun...........

But, what it feels like, in my imagination, the heart is not making complete heartbeats, the contraction is triggered before the left ventricle is completely full and it is pumping less than full loads. As I said, "In my imagination".

I would like to hear from those of you that have a year or more post opp; Has your BPM returned to pre opp levels?

That gadget is still used in the 21st century, and you can buy one at a pharmacy. They use it when I go for INR. Mine is normal BPM. I just have irregular heart beat and hope to find out something in May.

 

[RAS]

Seems to be common to have a higher rate for awhile, but I don't know why. My rate was in the low 80s post surgery. I was concerned because a rapid heart rate was one of the sudden symptoms I experienced prior to being diagnosed with a defective and severely leaking valve. I expected it would go back to normal immediately after AVR. A month after surgery, I asked my cardiologist why it was still so much higher than my normal rate. He did not provide a reason, but said I was within normal range. Eventually it came down to my normal rate (54-60). I don't remember how long it took.

 

[pellicle]

eems to be common to have a higher rate for awhile, but I don't know why

my surgeon offered the simple explanation of "the heart does not like to be touched as typically in nature this is associated with imminent death".

 

[AZATADINE]

Is it as simple as the fact that the heart pre-op typically pumped at "x" BPM through a narrow orifice and now that the new valve is there, blood pumps through the larger orifice without much resistance and this in turn causes the heart to beat faster? Over time, it recalibrate itself to normal heart rate?

 

[Al3x]

I've had a similar experience to everybody else. Pre-op overnight resting heart rate was 42 (I'm guessing as a result of excessive distance running). Immediately post-op without Bisoprolol was 90. Bisoprolol brought this down to 65. 7 months later and it's down to 47 without Bisoprolol (other than over the last week - damn COVID has shot it right back up!).

3 months is still very early. Give it time and listen to your cardiologist.

 

[AZATADINE]

A co-worker of mine had Covid and she experienced an impact on her heart rate too. She has no heart issues but her resting heart rate went up into the 90's and any exertion ata ll such as climbing stairs in the house caused it to shoot up into the 130's. She's over Covid now and it's settling back to normal. Anyway, just a side comment really when I saw your comment about the effect of Covid on your heart rate.

 

[pellicle]

Over time, it recalibrate itself to normal heart rate?

That's a framework I use as well...

 

[juniper]

Interesting. I've always had a high resting heart rate and thought surgery would bring it down, but mine has also gone up. My resting heart rate before surgery was 66 according to my apple watch; after surgery it went up to the low 80s, and has since declined to 72 at 8 months post surgery. I was (and am again) quite fit, I do a couple hours of running or bicycling every day, and my friends who do these things with me have resting hearts rates in the mid-40s, so you would think I would as well.

 

[Estrazz]

My heart rate was extremely low after surgery. I am not sure what I was at in the ICU but once I got to PCU I was in the low 40's. They think that I was on too much beta blocker and that triggered me to have SVT. I was still in the 40's several weeks after surgery until they knocked me down on the beta blockers. I am almost 5 months post op now. I was off beta blockers for about 3 weeks but recently started back on 12.5mg of metorprolol. I was in Jamaica about the second week of March and noticed my heart rate was constantly over 100. I came to the conclusion that it was alcohol related and it seems that pretty much any amount of alcohol causes my heart rate to really get up there. I have found that I just generally feel better right now on the low dose and it keeps my resting heart rate in the high 60's.

 

[Eva]

I am 22 years old had my AVR surgery 3 months back due to bicuspid valve and having On- X valve . I am on (beta blocker) metolar Xr 50mg 2 times a day and my heart rate is in between 90 to 100. Also in first 2 weeks of surgery I had A-FIB attack 2 times in the hospital with heart rate 140 due to stress.
Is this normal or I have to worry as my valve is working fine .But I am worry of A-fib related issue .
One of my cardiologist suggest me to increase my dose to 75 mg so that my heart rate would come to 70-80 range .
Please give me some advice how can I handle this situation.

No, don’t worry. My resting heart rate after my surgery went up to high 90s, despite the metoprolol I was taking. It was months for me before it slowed down. Some hearts need more time to readjust from what they went through in the surgery room!

 

[jamessd]

I am 1 week post MAVR and my rate has gone up from 80s (with tissue AVR), to 96-103 ish. Hospital doctors doubled my bisoprolol from 2.5 pre-op to 5mg and wouldn’t listen to me about giving it time to heal and settle down. I would rather have allowed my heart time to adjust to the new valve with a normal exercise routine (not sitting idle in a ward), and reviewed the dose in a few weeks, but they wouldn’t listen. Am I wrong to be considering switching back to 2.5mg and monitoring it myself, this can’t be dangerous right? At 30, I just don’t want to be developing more drug dependencies if I can avoid it, and some of advertised risks (heart failure) of bisoprolol worry me.