New To This Site, Curious About What Heart Rate Others Have When Walking Or Moving

[healingnow]

Hi all, I've been following posts here for the past month. I am on Florinef, .05 per day (.025 at 6am and again at 6pm). Other than that I am eating the Wahls diet, taking 500mg elemental Magnesium, 'Midochindrial Recharge' multivitamin, have seen a chiropractor, acupuncturist, osteopathic doctor, neurologist, cardiologist, had electrocardiogram, (normal) tons of blood work, CT scan (showed a crooked vein in left side of neck going to brain, but they said don't worry about it). Keep getting low potassium and low phosphorus. have been hospitalized for low blood pressure and my heart rate which swings low 40's to high 170s... 4 hospital stays of 4-5 days each in the past month.

I was diagnosed with POTS and have a standing heart rate that fluctuates like crazy with minimal movement. This makes me wary to walk or move much at all. How do others deal with this?

[Krissy21]

I take a beta blocker (atenolol) to control my tachycardia. I take 25 mg twice a day (8am and 8pm). Without it, my resting rate is 95-110, standing is 130, and walking for more than a few minutes and walking up stairs it's 170+. With the atenolol it's in the 60's resting, 90's standing and walking around and about 110-120 with exercise. Exercise was pretty much impossible withouth the medication.

[*Merlin*]

I take Ivabradine 5mg twice a day (plus an extra 2.5mg if necessary). Pottering about, my heart rate usually stays below 110bpm. However, taking the stairs or walking up a gradient will quickly send it up to 140bpm+. I struggle to exercise at all at the moment, not even recumbent (if it wasn't for the cat sleeping on it, my beloved Pilates machine would be quite redundant!). The medication seemed to work very well to begin with but, 4 months on, the effect isn't what it was - back to the drawing board . . .

[Faintinggoat]

I am on Propranolol 20mg 4X a day for my tachycardia. Without the medicine my resting heart rate is about 90, from sitting to standing is about 120-130, and simple movements and stairs and stuff like that my pulse has gotten close to 180. With the propranolol my resting heart rate is about 60, heart rate from sitting to standing is about 80-90 and walking around is about 110ish. I still can't exercise but can at least get around now, which I couldn't do without fainting before the Propranolol.

[healingnow]

Thanks for all the replies. I was on Propanolol also for 3 wonderful days. I loved it, but the doctors took me off. I guess my bradycardia and fluctuating bp were the issue.

[Faintinggoat]

Yeah, I have had issues off and on with the bradycardia and low bp with the propranolol, but the florinef seems to have stabilized that a bit. A lot of people who are not able to tolerate propranolol tend to get put on things in the same class after such as metoprolol, atenolol and nadolol.

[corina]

Hi healingnow, welcome to the forum!

[healingnow]

Thank you. Its been a strange journey and your posts have been very helpful.

[griffism]

Welcome to the forum!

I am taking Propranolol (Inderal), a beta blocker, at night for tachycardia that I have in my sleep, which also seems to help control my heart rate in the morning a little. Also, I am taking fludrocortisone, which helps with BP, and midodrine, which helps regulate my blood pressure and heart rate. Of all of the meds that I am currently on, midodrine and Inderal are by far the most successful in treating my POTS symptoms. I have taken metoprolol in the past, but it is far too strong for me (my HR was in the 30s on it). Hope this helps

Stefanie

[xRobin]

Mine was similar to everyone's posted. I was usually 75 or 80 lying down and up to 130 standing, and if I stayed on my feet washing dishes or brushing my teeth it would creep up to the 150s. Strangely, if I was walking around it would go down a little bit, I don't know why.

I am on bisoprolol. Because I have asthma they weren't sure I could take a beta blocker but apparently that one is the most cardioselective. It's in the 60s and 70s lying down now and in the 90s standing and usually caps out around 110 if I climb stairs.

[amyksmith]

Hi -

I too take low dose of beta blocker (Metropolol 1/2 a 25 mg tablet twice a day) for tachycardia, but the thing that makes me feel best in terms of heart rate is actually movement. I know it's strange, but my heart rate is lower and I am more comfortable in that regard, when I am moving than when I am standing still. So, for me, the real trick is to be able to immediately sit or even lie down after movement like exercise. If I'm walking, I need to keep going or march in place at corners with stop lights etc. It looks absurd, I am certain, but that's the best thing for me.

Lately my problem is not so much tachycardia as hypotension so I'm not allowed to go out walking alone and I have to wear a helmet everywhere I'm upright even inside my own house due to too many syncopal episodes in which I've gotten concussions. So, really I'd say ask your doctors before you do any exercise/ lots of movement and maybe even see if they will prescribe some type of physical therapy wherein your heart rate and BPs can be monitored while you exercise and when you stop. That way you will have some data to go on.

Good luck. - Amy

[little_blue_jay]

I've had a Holter monitor where it showed my maximum heart rate was 187/min and I was only walking. It was summer and very hot but I made sure I was well hydrated. But still! 187! My doctor wasn't concerned but that was before my latest episode last month of extreme racing heartbeat just doing dishes and mild housework, before I'd ever heard of POTS. Bet it was near that number again!