Bradycardia

[Syrreal]

Does anyone know much about this condition? DH apparently has a really slow heartbeat (like 52 per minute) which has been causing him some issues (super tired, prone to fainting, etc) and his Dr will be sending him to a cardiologist. While we're waiting for him to be scheduled and go in, I'm just trying to learn about it.

 

[IloveDMB]

Bradycardia is not a condition. It is simply a word that means slow heart rate. Brady-slow cardia-heart rate.

It is a symptom of a condition, not a condition itself. They need to find out the etiology of the bradycardia.

You should research conditions that have bradycardia.

 

[Christine]

Like tachycardia (fast heart rate), there can be many causes for it. The easiest to figure out is if any medications do it, but I'm sure you doctor has check that. The cardiologist can do various tests to determine if it is an "electrical impulse" issue from the sinus nodes in the heart. This is often the case with unusual heart rates. They can sometimes offer medications to speed up or slow the heart, or the can do surgeries to alter the sinus nodes and/or add a pacemaker.

Good luck.

 

[Christine]

Bradycardia is not a condition. It is simply a word that means slow heart rate. Brady-slow cardia-heart rate.

It is a symptom of a condition, not a condition itself. They need to find out the etiology of the bradycardia.

You should research conditions that have bradycardia.

Yep. Hypothyroidism is one of them. I am probably stupidly assuming that the general physician check for all those before sending directly to a cardiologist?

 

[IloveDMB]

Yep. Hypothyroidism is one of them. I am probably stupidly assuming that the general physician check for all those before sending directly to a cardiologist?

One would hope, but I've noticed more and more lately that GPs are pulling the trigger much more quickly when referring to a specialist, instead of investigating the cause themselves.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Is there anything specific you'd like to know?

 

[Syrreal]

They ran a whole bunch of tests at the Dr including blood tests and we are awaiting the results. This was all done yesterday. The Dr told him that they may want to do a "table test" (not what she used but how he explained it to me) where they will put him on a table at different angles and see what happens.
I did do a little bit of internet research on it and that it could be caused by some kind of infection, hypothyroid (although I don't think this is it since he hasn't had any other symptoms of hypo), high cholesterol, etc.
If anyone has this, how have you been treated and what were the dr's recommendations?
Again, I'm just wanting to learn about it)

 

[Christine]

The tilt table test is done when to see if changes in your posture (sitting, standing, laying, etc) have any effect on your heart. There is a condition called POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) that is caused by changes in standing. Many people who have this, often have bradycardia when laying down and then when they stand their heartrate goes way up and they get all sorts of symptoms. Your husband doesn't sound like he has this; however, I'm sure the tilt table is useful in determining if any of his standing/sitting/laying positions affect his heart rate.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I had this with the H1N1 earlier in the month, it was really weird but I didn't know it had a name until you all gave it a name, thanks. Since it was a new thing for me the Dr thought it was due to dehydration. He wanted me in the hospital but I had kids to care for so I bought a medium size Gatorade and drank it in about 2 hours, kept up with the fluids and had a another Gatorade the next day, and the next. Forcing fluids of 8 glasses a day and stopping caffeine & alcohol would fix it quickly if that's what's going on and would help the DR rule out that cause. Just remember too much fluid at once can cause water intoxication and land you in the hospital faster than not enough.

BTW, once the Flu was gone so was this... it made me soooo tired but before the Dr I thought it was the fever. Live and learn.

I've never had any trouble with my heart or BP before nor since.

 

[minkydog]

DH had this after he was real sick(real, real sick, in the hospital sick.) WHen he went in his Heart rate was normal, but by the 4-5th day his heart rate was 25 and the CCU nurses had to keep waking him up. His skin was grey and he was confused by the time they got him down to the cardiac cath lab. They didn't really know what was going on. The cardiac cath revealed something wrong with the sinus node, the main electrical stimulator in the heart. It was not functioning anywhere near normal and the backup system was valiantly trying to keep his heart going. THey immediately put in a pacemake and he came out of the cardiac cath pink, talkative, feeling great and ready for lunch. It was like a miracle!

DH recovered and he still has his pacemaker. It paces about 40% of the time, which is just fine with us. His heart rate is normal now and he really doesn't have any problems with his heart, although he goes to see the cardiologist about every 4 months to check on the pacemaker and touch base with the doctor. Otherwise, the pacemaker has been a non-issue entirely.

Best of luck to your husband. I'm sure the cardiologist will do a thorough workup. I'm glad your GP decided to send him. I think in this situation it's better to seek a specialist sooner than later.