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Bradycardia (What Do I Need To Know)

BeeBoop

BeeBoop

Golden Member
My bros heart has been acting funny to the point that he can feel it slowing down. Went to the family doctor today which was a waste of time because he just referred us to a cardiologist but we can't see one until next week... What should I watch out for until then.
 
According to the thread title - what makes you think he has bradycardia? Bradycardia is when the heart rate is less than 60bpm. Have you/him/the doc measured it and seen what it's at? When does he actually feel it slow down? If he feels it slow down as he breathes out, that's considered normal (related to the Bainbridge reflex). If he feels it slow down spontaneously, that may be a heart arrhythmia/dysrhythmia. It could be because his heart misses a beat or because something other than the usual tissue takes over.

I mean, there's not a whole lot you can do until you see the cardiologist unless your friend is spontaneously fainting or something. Until he goes to the doc, I'd suggest no strenuous activity, as that can exacerbate arrythmias. Whenever he feels weird, tell him to take a seat and ride it out.
 
It's spontaneous, like an arrhythmia. According to him it's been happening regularly in the past two days. Got an EKG at the doctor and some blood work but blood work won't be in until next week. If he passes out or something, pump the chest until 911 arrives I guess?

Edit: I should also add that the EKG picked up something but the doc didn't know how serious it was. He basically said it could be normal or it could be bad.

Edit: Our guess is that it is low potassium but we won't know until the blood work comes back.
 
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GinormousNG said:
It's spontaneous, like an arrhythmia. According to him it's been happening regularly in the past two days. Got an EKG at the doctor and some blood work but blood work won't be in until next week. If he passes out or something, pump the chest until 911 arrives I guess?

Edit: I should also add that the EKG picked up something but the doc didn't know how serious it was. He basically said it could be normal or it could be bad.

Edit: Our guess is that it is low potassium but we won't know until the blood work comes back.
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Well, if he passes out, you don't necessarily have to do CPR. First, you take his pulse at his carotid artery. If you feel something and you see/feel he is breathing, you DO NOT do CPR. If he does not have a pulse, then you start CPR. Read an online tutorial if you're really concerned about it and watch a couple of official videos.

Low potassium is only one cause of heart stuff. It can be everything from ion imbalance to normal aging. People lose conductive cells in their heart over time. I think it's by the age you're 40, you lose about half of the ones you were born with. It may not be something serious at all.
 
GinormousNG said:
he can feel it slowing down.
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How so? Like he can feel that it is beating slower or is he getting side effects like dizziness or falling asleep all the time?

If it's the first one, likely he's not feeling it slow, he's feeling it beat differently or harder if it's out of sync or something. That would be an issue of course but not necessarily brady. But if he's ready to pass out or something, that might very well be the case. Given what the doc said it's probably the first one, and it could very possibly be something like caffeine, health issue (not necessarily heart related), medication as mentioned,and so on.

I'm not a doctor, FYI, in case it's not obvious. But - there could be two reasons he "feels" something, you'd have to clarify which to even try to analyze it on your own while waiting for a cardiologist to do it properly.
 
My brother is saying that it's occuring more often now every few mins. Should we go to the hospital?
 
My resting pulse is about 40. I've never worried about it. If yours is acting weird and you are worried head to the ER.
 
Bradycardio isn't always bad. Endurance athletes have scary low heart rates. When I wake up mine is about 30bpm and hovers around 40 while doing every day stuff. But if his heart rate is not low all the time but spikes low, that seems odd. I hope all is well.
 
We didn't see the doctor at the ER because we waited about 3 hours after seeing two nurses and being hooked up to an EKG for 2 hours, so we figured that it wasn't that serious and decided to go home. They call it a PVC which I assume it is different from a Bradycardio? His PVC occurs every few mins. Bradycardio was the first thing I found when I googled what he was telling me. We're still going to see a cardiologist this coming week.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premature_ventricular_contraction
 
PVCs can be classified in different ways (bigeminy, trigeminy, quadrigeminy) and definitely effect the amount of blood that gets into the circulatory system. If you get three PVCs or more in a row, it's classified as ventricular tachycardia, which is relatively serious but treatable. It could also be something else, as you haven't seen the cardiologist and nurses are typically allowed to diagnose these conditions. As I said before, have him take it easy and don't exercise.
 
Ehh. Most PVCs (premature ventricular contractions) are isolated and not bigeminy/etc. Most are harmless. Normally your atrium contracts first then the ventricle contracts. PVCs are when the ventricle contracts on its own and there is a compensatory pause between the next heart beat. They can cause palpitations which is my guess at what your brother is experiencing, but you've given a vague history. Without seeing an EKG that captures an event your brother is experiencing, there is no way for me to tell what his heart is doing (electrically anyway). Most likely, the cardiologist will have to put him on a holter monitor to capture the event anyway. Isolating electrically what is happening is just the first part anyway. The next step is why: thyroid problem, structural heart problem, medication/herbal/energy drinks, etc.
 
Is there a semi natural way to get your heart rate up a bit? Caffeine doesn't do it, exercise brings it up, but never enough to match the amount of work required to get it up. Are there any natural stimulants besides caffeine?
 
Mine is always low in the morning, I think because my bloodsugar is low. So I eat cake for breakfast with coffee problem solved.
 
Mine dips down into the very low 40's at random times. All I want to do then is lay down and take a nap.
I can't take up smoking again, the personal cost of quitting is way to high, meth seems like a poor overall choice, and caffeine just doesn't do the job.
 
Greenman said:
Mine dips down into the very low 40's at random times. All I want to do then is lay down and take a nap.
I can't take up smoking again, the personal cost of quitting is way to high, meth seems like a poor overall choice, and caffeine just doesn't do the job.
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Its like a sugar crash as an adult. If you either eat a really high protein/fat meal and your carbohydrate metabolism crashes, OR if you eat a high sugar meal and insulin makes your sugar crash, either way. The older I get the more I notice I can't just eat whatever I want without negative effects. 😛
 
Greenman said:
Mine dips down into the very low 40's at random times. All I want to do then is lay down and take a nap.
I can't take up smoking again, the personal cost of quitting is way to high, meth seems like a poor overall choice, and caffeine just doesn't do the job.
Click to expand...

Unless you're very fit, this is significantly abnormal. You need to see a cardiologist about it.
 
SociallyChallenged said:
Unless you're very fit, this is significantly abnormal. You need to see a cardiologist about it.
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I lead an active life, as I'm in construction, but I'm not an athlete by any means. I have an appointment with a cardiologist next week, I was just looking for some suggestions to get me through the week. I've never felt so thoroughly drained in my life.
 
Greenman said:
I lead an active life, as I'm in construction, but I'm not an athlete by any means. I have an appointment with a cardiologist next week, I was just looking for some suggestions to get me through the week. I've never felt so thoroughly drained in my life.
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What you're looking into are called stimulants and they are not inherently good for your heart. They can actually make arrythmias worse so you need to avoid doing that. Medications your cardiologist can give you will likely work at the cells that cause the heart to contract. Make sure you're eating, hydrating, and sleeping well but don't take anything extra until you see your physician.
 
SociallyChallenged said:
What you're looking into are called stimulants and they are not inherently good for your heart. They can actually make arrythmias worse so you need to avoid doing that. Medications your cardiologist can give you will likely work at the cells that cause the heart to contract. Make sure you're eating, hydrating, and sleeping well but don't take anything extra until you see your physician.
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Sensible advice. Though I don't see a mild stimulant causing a great deal of harm, I think I'll follow it.
 
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