Dyspnea and slow heart rate

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palmaceae

palmaceae

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 25, 2009
Messages
280
Location
Eastern TN
I have been having issues with shortness of breath upon exertion and even at rest, and a chronic cough, this was happening even before my AVR in March of 2009. It seems to be getting worse so I went to to my primary doctor, my valve seems to be working in good order, but I do have aortic stenosis at 1.2cm but the cardiologist is not worried about it.
So I am now seeing a pulmonologist, which today I had a cat scan of my lungs and another breathing test, which I went though all this before my surgery but they never really found anything except some scarring of the lungs. But today when I took the breathing test, the nurse made me walk for a while with a oximeter on and after I was SOB, which did not take long, my oxygen level stayed around 97 which is good but my heart rate went down to 37 bpm. She looked at me with a worried look asking if I was OK, I said yes, just a bit dizzy and SOB. My heart rate went t back up to 70 bpm after a couple minutes.I am wondering if that can make me SOB?
I have chest pain every once in a while and PVC's, before my AVR they performed a cardiac catheterization and found no major blockages. They say I have restrictive lung disease but not sure what is causing it. I also have a hiatal hernia and bad acid reflux, so I have always thought since I have a hiatal hernia it is pulling my stomach up and compressing my diagram, but of course I am not a doctor (but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night :wink2:) but it is getting tiring coughing and being SOB all the time.
I am not over weight and in reasonable physical shape for a 48 year old, and never smoked and do not drink.
Thanks for you thoughts!
 
are you on ace inhibitors and/or beta blockers? They did it to me sometimes and they adjusted my doses/meds for it.

Just remember it's important to never stop/modify your meds without your doc's blessing.
 
I am on:
Diltiazem (Beta Blocker), I have had the dose changed a few times to keep my heart rate normal, this may be causing the slow heart rate at times but my doc has not changed it lately.
Omeprazole DR (Acid Reflux)
Simbastatin (Cholesterol)
Gemfibrozil (Cholesterol)
 
Be sure to send a copy of your Pulmonary tests to both your Primary Care Physician and your Cardiologist and make sure they are aware of the Low Heart Rate. That could be significant.

'AL Capshaw'
 
ALCapshaw2 said:
Be sure to send a copy of your Pulmonary tests to both your Primary Care Physician and your Cardiologist and make sure they are aware of the Low Heart Rate. That could be significant.

'AL Capshaw'
Click to expand...

Will do, I was a bit suspicious of this pulmonary doctor as when I first saw him he seemed a bit "out there", but he sent me, my primary, and my cardiologist a report of our meeting and he was right on.
And in the back of my mind, which may be unfounded, living in a small town now (we moved from Chicago to here a few months after my AVR), are the small town doctors as good as the larger towns? My cardio and pulmonary docs are from Sioux Falls and they travel over here once a week, but I guess I am used to big name doctors. Plus since we moved I had to find these new doctors which did not know about my history except through my records.
 
I am keeping you in my thoughts and prayers, hoping the cause of what you are going through can be treated.

I do have SOBs on and off, especially after a long day or if I do wake up early before my body got the full restful sleeping hours.

Good luck and keep us posted.
 
I, too, experienced very low pulse rate while using a beta-blocker; in my case it was metoprolol. At times it dropped so low that I could do nothing until my pulse rate increased. As Duff Man suggests, you may want to speak with you family doctor and cardiologist sooner rather than later. Even if you cardiologist is not in town, you can call his office. You might also write down a description of your experience and send that to his office by FAX. With a telephone call, one can only leave a short message but with a FAX you can include details. It can be difficult at times to find the right balance of medications. Also, have you been evaluated for diastolic dysfunction? It is one of the problems that can remain after an AVR and take a long time to resolve and it does leave one short of breath at times during exercise.

Larry
 
My wife talked to my cardio today and told him what was going on, so he wants me to take a stress test this coming Monday. He was concerned with my symptoms. So I will be taking a trip to Sioux Falls!
I do not believe I was ever tested for diastolic dysfunction, I will ask about that.
 
Update, I had the stress test (nuclear) and all looked good except for the PVC's and slow heart rate so they doubled the dosage of my calcium beta blocker. I also saw the pulmonary doctor and he said I have a restrictive lung disease and too much air in my lungs. A few things that can cause that according to him, my heart surgery, and my GERD with the hiatal hernia (which causes my stomach to be pushed up causing mechanical issues with my lungs). So on the 28th I will talk with a surgeon to discuss having a Nissen Fundoplication done. I have heartburn 24/7 now and coughing up blood at times, I cannot drink soda and spicy stuff really bothers me (and I love spicy food). I have been telling them this for a while now, so they finally believe me!
 
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