I Feel So Sick Today - My Bp & Hr Have Been Sky High

[arizona girl]

I was doing much better emotional yesterday because I was so mad about what happened by this incident with the doc has made my heart rate and bp go even higher when I'm upright then usual.

Along with my current doc we have realized that the beta's while they lower my heart rate are actually raising my blood pressure. I saw on this website that sometimes ace inhibitors are used, but I have know idea which one. Anyone here been on one that's helped you.

My symptoms are orthostatic hypertension and pots, then syncope are being upright to long or some other trigger like heat or motion. I also get bracy and hypo when I supine for extended periods.

Any suggestions would really help. thanks guys

[Tammy]

The only ace inhibitor I'm familiar with is Zestril. You can do research on in and see what you think.

[iheartcats]

I take a BB AND Midodrine to help with the rate and BP.

Odd balancing act, I know.

[morgan617]

I'm not certain ACE inhibitors slow the heart rate like betas do. I hate the side effects of my beta, but I hate the racing heart more, so just deal with the fatigue and stuff.

One thing about ACE inhibitors, they can cause a chronic dry cough that is really annoying. I've tried just about everything out there, but until you try stuff, you just don't know. What one person finds to be a God send, another finds a nightmare. It's all trial and error and even then, sometimes you think you've got it all right and it stops working. This stuff is like a virus, you think you've got it figured out and it mutates on you. morgan

[arizona girl]

thanks tammy I'll do that.

Cat Lady and Morgan do both of you have orthostatic hypertension as well. I thought the midorine was for hypotension

Speaking of viruses I've had mono and I'm positive for cytomegylo and HV66 viruses. Also have an adrenal nodule that I'm still not totally convinced isn't a factor.

Yea I'm getting that you have to try stuff, the beta's don't make either of you get hypertensive though right?

[morgan617]

I used to get really really hypertensive. 230/120, whether lying or standing. I've been on atenolol for 3 years or so and my bp will be anywhere from 90/50 to 160/100. Depends on how I am feeling overall.

I have always had a hypertensive type OI, as opposed to hypotensive, always confusing tp people doing orthostatic tests on me. I'm really not sure what's up with my BP at this point, it hasn't been this low since my early 20's, but then out of the blue it will sky rocket. The atenolol at least helps with those awful surges i get when it shoots up.

And yes, I did get more hyper tensive when I laid down. My doctor has diagnosed me with baro reflex type OI. But who knows, I don't care, at least he believes it! morgan

p.s. I know absolutely nothing about midrodine as my BP was always too high to even consider it....

[arizona girl]

I used to get really really hypertensive. 230/120, whether lying or standing. I've been on atenolol for 3 years or so and my bp will be anywhere from 90/50 to 160/100. Depends on how I am feeling overall.

I have always had a hypertensive type OI, as opposed to hypotensive, always confusing tp people doing orthostatic tests on me. I'm really not sure what's up with my BP at this point, it hasn't been this low since my early 20's, but then out of the blue it will sky rocket. The atenolol at least helps with those awful surges i get when it shoots up.

And yes, I did get more hyper tensive when I laid down. My doctor has diagnosed me with baro reflex type OI. But who knows, I don't care, at least he believes it! morgan

p.s. I know absolutely nothing about midrodine as my BP was always too high to even consider it....

That's interesting about your bp with atenolol, I was on it as well and had to stop because it was dropping by blood pressure too low when I sleep and I was still getting hypertensive when I was on my feet.

But your saying you had supine hypertension not hypo right. I have read that about some people, but they usually have standing hypotension with it. So what position are you in when you get 90/50 readings?

During my tilt table my bp and hr were high through out the test until my heart rate suddenly shot up higher and then my bp just tanked with my heart rate following took about 10 seconds and I was out cold. Thing is I remember standing there and the tech's were saying we can't get a bp reading on her, so I had no bp and I was still awake and standing at least for a few seconds anyway, then I started getting the symptoms I get before I collapse, stuffed ears, nausea, legs give out.

These OI's that swing from extreme to extreme are seeming to be difficult to treat. Did you doc tell you why he called it a baro reflex type of OI? I know there will probably be a cause for this found some day, and as we read how similar or different our symptoms are and how this subset of symptoms responds one way and another set responds a different way. You can see that someone researching this on our site might be able to find the subtypes here among us and find the answers right from our community. The answers are among us, I can just see it.

[morgan617]

Yes supine hypertension. I think I am just so sensitive to meds that I don't need much to affect me. Like benzos, I suppose. I take 25 mg of atenolol 3 times a day. This is not considered a big dose at all.

I wonder some days now if I am developing vagotonia. They decided it was baro reflex, because I just fit all the criteria for it in the literature. When I had my TTT, I was high BP while lying there and when they put me up, my BP shot sky high along with my pulse. It never dropped, just went higher and higher. I was not a fainter, just felt like every drop of blood in my body was in my chest, neck, and head. They had to put me down because she thought I was going to stroke, but even after lying for 1/2 hour my BP was 180/100 or so. There is also literature by Dr. Robertson and it is recommended that people with baro reflex take valium, and clonidine. I just don't tolerate the clonidine and I take about one tenth of the dose of valium they suggest.

About 6 months before I started on atenolol, I started having really brief syncopal episodes, as soon as I hit the ground I was coming around and I didn't turn pale or get clammy. Just had no warning at all. I felt like i was having some kind of arrythmias, but was pretty much ignored. Then one day, i just kept doing it all day and my husband finally took me to the ER. They saw I was having about 7 second pauses. I had a pacer inserted a week or so later. I was having rates of 130 that would drop to 25 in a couple of beats, so I would drop and it would kick back up from hitting the ground.

Atenolol is the only med I have ever tolerated as far as betas or any other cardiac meds, but they are notorius for slowing heart rate and here I was having these pauses. And then my BP started dumping too. So I got a pacer and then they started me on the atenolol (sorry, I had been on it for a few years when my BP first started going up, but had been off it for about 2) so the atenolol keeps my rate down, but exacerbates my slow rates, so I got a pacer to prevent that, because I needed something for my BP.

Now my BP falls to these weird very low levels, usually when I am sitting or standing. When I am lying, it shoots back up. Then out of the blue, it surges up sky high. It's crazy, so I don't think of myself as a good test subject for meds and BP's.

By the way, my doctor is convinced an ablation I had in 2003 caused the problems with the low heart rate, but I have no idea about why anything happens with my body. It's still high when I lie down, can drop a lot when I get up or go up, I really never know what it's going to do.

Are you totally confused yet???? LOL morgan