Wellness

[jubilant]

On 3/23/2015 AnotherView2 said:

I'm with John and think that you need to also be seeing a cardiologist especially with a change occurring with your BP and heart rate that you never experienced before.

I come from a family with 2 parents that had heart issues and all five of us kids have them, too. Many of us have been operated on for both electrical heart issues as well as mechanical issues (blockages). We've pretty much seen the gamut of heart issues in my family, most of them genetic/familial.

The part about your situation that perked up my ears is the lowering BP, lethargy, lowered heart rate, etc. Do you have any chest congestion or a "chest cold" that won't go away? Swollen ankles? Gaining weight for no reason?

Sometimes a drop in BP and heart rate is signaling a bout of congestive hart failure caused by dilated cardiomyopathy (can be familial) and it can come on in patients that are prone to it and then they go through a period of severe stress that makes it kick in.

My two sisters, both with heart issues, are being treated for their thyroids, too. The cardiologist and thyroid doc both coordinate together and INSIST that they get a report from the other before adjusting their meds.

It may help, and certainly wouldn't hurt, to get things checked out by a cardiologist.

My DH has excellent heart doctors. He had a cardiac arrest about 2 1/2 yrs. ago. They pulled him through and the odds were really against him. I am thinking about seeing his heart doctor. He has a lot of faith in him. Thanks for the heads up. I do have some of the symptoms you mentioned. Of course everyone thinks they have severe stress. I have mentioned some things on here that I am going through but there is much more I haven't said so...yes...I would have to say this has probably been one of the most stressful years of my life in more ways than one.

[jubilant]

On 3/23/2015 wismiss said:

Yes, all of a sudden my blood pressure plummeted, much like yours. I had been on the same blood pressure medicines for years and at the same dosage and everything was good. All of a sudden, boom, the b/p dropped, the pulse dropped, and I was so tired I could hardly blink my eyes.

You need to get an appointment with your doctor as soon as possible. In the meanwhile, make a journal of your readings, date, time, b/p and pulse so you can take it with you to your appointment.

My kidney specialist and primary care specialist worked together in adjusting my medication after they had ordered a lot of blood work. (I think I gave five vials that time.) They stopped a medication completely and reduced another one, and my b/p has never gone back up to being too high and has not gone down too low.

So, you need your doctor(s) to analyze the results of your blood work, if that is the route they go, and s/he will have recommendations based on that.

Take care, and when your blood pressure is low, get up, get walking and moving. That will raise your blood pressure a bit. Do not just lay or sit. You need to do activity to keep that blood pressure up or even to increase it.

I started up my treadmill again so I am trying to move more. I know that is important. I can do 35 minutes but that's it. I'm not walking very fast but it's better than nothing.

I have been writing down my BP's so next time I can take in about 2 weeks worth. I see my doctor again early in April. I have had blood work done but they only took 1 vial so I will ask my doctor about that. Thanks for your post.