Question regarding low blood pressure post-op

[harleygirl528]

Hello everyone,

just a quick questions regarding my currently situation with my blood pressure. Immediately post-op in the hospital I was on a ton of medications to try and lower my bp including Atenolol, Norvasc and Cozaar and still my systolic bp was over 140 most of the time. By the last day in the hospital it was starting to drop but was still mostly in the 110's. Since I have been home I have had to discontinue all of the bp meds except the Atenolol, which is also good for preventing atrial fibrillation. It has been cut to 25 mg bid and that is basically the only bp medicine I am on. Unfortunately, my blood pressure has continued to run really low. Last night at its lowest it was 78/56 and systolic bp is usually under 95. As a result, I have been feeling really light headed, weak and generally not very good. I did speak with my surgeon today and he told me to discontinue all bp meds except the Atenolol, which he cut in half. Also, he wants me to have an echo to rule out fluid around the heart. Just wondering if anyone else had a similar experience post-op with low blood pressure? I was feeling so good but now with the low bp issues I am really nervous about what the cause may be. Thanks in advance for your input!

 

[Magic8Ball]

I was on antenol too after surgery and had dizzy spells that were put down to low bp (although it was never measured during a dizzy spell).

I switched from antenol to bicor and all has been sweet since.

I was told that different beta blockers affect people in different ways and that not all meds are suitable to all.

Give bicor a shot.

 

[Bridgette]

Lorie

I think it would be wise to have that echo, just to be sure.

I had post op pericardial effusion (fluid in the pericardial sac) with tamponade, and one of the symptoms was very low blood pressure. There were other symptoms too, and I was readmitted to hospital and reoperated on to get rid of the fluid.

Not trying to scare you or imply that you have got pericarditis, but your surgeon is on the ball suggesting an echo, just to rule it out.

Good luck
Bridgette

 

[tobagotwo]

I had the blood pressure of a six-year-old after surgery. Unfortunately, it doesn't last. You'll miss this low BP later.

Your heart is rearranging itself in many ways. It's healing from a wound, all of its internal pressures changed overnight. It's enlarged and musclebound, and is trying to reduce back to normal size. It was pulling a rock-laden cart up a mountainside a few days ago, and now it's riding a dog cart down a gentle hill.

It's very common to have palpitations, blood pressure changes (it may go high on you for a time, too), and other issues. By far, most are temporary. Do try to be careful not to respond too strongly or quickly to such changes, as you may wind up on medications that are hard to get off of, or which might affect your heart's remodelling and its ability to find its own, new pattern.

I don't mean not to go to the doctor if something seems wrong, but don't push him to give you what might be a long term answer to a short term problem.

Best wishes,

 

[Philip B]

Bp

Bp

Hi Harley,

It sounds like you've been commmunicating with your doctors about the BP situation and they're responding to concerns. An echo sounds like a good idea.

Previous posts concerning the changes your heart is making as a result of your successful surgery make some good points as well.

Sorting through the BP medication thing to find the medication your body will respond to the best is often not an easy thing. It would be great if there was a catch all medication that worked the same way for all of us. Unfortunately, this is not the case. I had to try several different BP meds to get me where my cardiologist wanted me to be.

Presently, my BP has been running in the 110/60 range with a occasional days of 102/60. My school nurse feels these ranges are too low; my cardiologist is extremely pleased with these numbers. Maybe the range is pretty good for a high school prinipal (low BP in a high stress job).

Please get things checked per your doctor's advice. It's always a good idea to make sure everything is working like it's supposed to.

-Philip

 

[Bina]

During the day my BP (at rest) is anywhere from 108/73 down to 93/62 it does go lower and does go higher, I am in the process of slightly reducing my BP meds. I am taking 50 mg of metoprolol per day.

 

[briansmom]

Harley,
R u still on pain meds? I haven't had OHS, but every surgery I have ever had that required pain meds crashed my BP. I actually called the paramedics after my last knee surgery. So anyway, my point is that pain meds can also lower your bp. Hopefully, you and the docs will get this figured out soon.

 

[Marguerite53]

Hi Lorie. I had just pounding heart arrythmias about a month post surgery and they decided to take a look with an echo. It was pretty uncomfortable with the wound still being pretty new, but since they discovered it was nothing, I was able to just go on about my way through recovery.

Definitely go for the echo. They can look at the repair and the nature of your heart and its surrounds. It will give your cardiologist the opportunity to become freshly familiar with your condition and is just an all around great idea.

The words "your valve and heart look great" mean as much as an "I love you" at this point. Make that appointment.

Best wishes.

Marguerite

 

[dan777]

Atenolol

Atenolol

Lorie

Sorry to hear your are having problems with your BP.

The following is PURELY CIRCUMSTANTIAL but I thought I would add my 2 cents since I saw a similar note.

Years before my operation I had a well meaning GP prescribe Atenolol thinking a very small dose would help keep my heart from working too hard with the developing stenosis. It nearly killed me after one day, and I discontinued it. Later, when I saw my cardio, he nearly flipped out to hear that someone (in his hospital, had prescribed Atenolol for me, given my BP was already within tolerances.

I only add this since Atenolol will be on my list of things not to do forever.

Wishing you the best !!!

 

[Susan BAV]

Hope this is helpful...

Hope this is helpful...

I had the blood pressure of a six-year-old after surgery. Unfortunately, it doesn't last. You'll miss this low BP later...

Ditto here... One of my doctors told me it would happen. I also had some lazy kidney issues immediately post-OHS and wondered how much the two situations were related and/or whether the chicken or the egg came first and/or what the source of the cause-effect might have been...

I also developed some a-fib/a-flutter about a week post-op and had to be temporarily medicated for that but it didn't seem related to the lower bp issue. For several months post-op also, my heart beat extremely hard, particularly as I slept and especially when I began sleeping on my left side again. I've read that smaller valves beat more loudly than larger valves too.

I'm terribly busy and my thoughts are scrambled but hope this experience is helpful.

Take care and post again.