Breathing Problems For Five Days Now

[Elenapap11]

Hi everyone.i've been finding it difficult to breathe since Sunday and i don't know how to deal with it.My blood pressure is relatively normal with the lowest being 90/60 and the highest 110/70.My heart rate though is worryingly low.On Sunday i had 49 and 52 was the maximum.I felt terrible and i had to stay in bed for the most of the day.Yesterday my HR was higher(80) but today its 59 until 62 the maximum.

You're probably wondering why i didn't call the doctor but the truth is that i am really angry with him because he's been really indifferent lately.Plus he had me do all these tests and he never gave me any answers.He told me that i need to be patient because we are on a good track.On top of that when i asked to see him urgently this week he said that i've been having this problem for years so a couple of days of waiting won't make a difference(!!!!!!)

I cry my heart out every night that i can't breathe.i wish someone could tell me what to do...i thought of calling my previous doctor but she wasn't very helpful in the past either.

What would you do?Has anyone had similar problem for so many days non-stop?What did your doctor tell you to do?I would like to see a cardiologist again but last year i did a cardio check-up and they told me i am fine so i don't know if i should do it again now.

Any ideas?

[flop]

Sounds like you need to see a doctor. Do you have any other symptoms? Maybe you have got a chest infection / asthma ie don't assume it is because of POTS, any new symptom should be checked out by a doctor. A low HR can make you feel breathless so it may be linked to that. Do you take any medications to lower your HR like beta-blockers, calcium-channel blockers or Ivabradine?

Hope you feel better soon,

Flop

[Jordan]

yes i get like this a lot, specially when im tired. my doc had me takin albuterol ( the asthma) stuff which sort of helped with the breathin but then i would have a major collapse because it increased my heart rate so much and it made me really shaky. sorry, i dont have any answers

[potsgirl]

Yes, I have an idea. What it sounds like you're describing is bradycardia, which is a low heart rate. Normally, this is not dangerous until it gets into the 35-40 BPM range. Since your HR is in the 40s and 50s, and you're symptomic (KEY here), you need to go and get your heart checked. You may want to start out by asking for a Holter monitor, which will record what your HR is doing and how low it gets. They may want to do an echocardiogram on you to see how your heart is functioning and to find any possible problems. The Holter monitor showed that my HR was dipping into the low to mid 30s, and I eventually ended up getting a pacemaker, which gives me more energy.

I'm not saying that you have a heart problem, but that your symptoms sound close enough that you should at least check it out with the heart monitor. Especially since you're so short of breath and fatigue so easily. Those were some of my first symptoms.

Let us know what happens, and take care of yourself. Don't put this off, if you already have a cardio doc, it should be easy to get in for a Holter monitor fitting. (Feel free to PM me if you have more questions.)

Best of luck,

Cheers,

Jana