24 replies to this topic

[rwac]

I just recently got a heart meter, and using it I noticed that my heart rate is always on the high side, generally between 85-100 bpm.

Any idea what this means ?

My blood pressure is generally around 115/75.

[niner]

I just recently got a heart meter, and using it I noticed that my heart rate is always on the high side, generally between 85-100 bpm.

Any idea what this means ?

My blood pressure is generally around 115/75.

Are you taking any meds or supplements that would raise HR? You're right that it's on the high side, but your bp is fine. How's your cardiovascular exercise level?

[rwac]

Are you taking any meds or supplements that would raise HR? You're right that it's on the high side, but your bp is fine. How's your cardiovascular exercise level?

What would likely raise HR ?
I don't take anything that would count as a stimulant or weight loss stuff.

My exercise level is poor. I'm working on it, but it's still pretty bad right now.

[nameless]

Has it been high most of your life, or just now when you checked it? Do you have any other symptoms (asthma, breathing, palpitations)?

Any supplement or medication changes recently?

Have you had your adrenals and thyroid levels tested?

I'm not sure what supplements could affect heart rate, besides things like energy drinks, caffeine, etc. It's possible some herbs could interact with one another, or medications (if you take any). You could list what supplements you take (or if it's in regimens somewhere, point us there).

Worst case, see a doctor and he'll do an EKG, echo and maybe a holter monitor? Your resting heart rate is high normal, but not necessarily in the abnormal tachycardia sort of range.

[Declmem]

I had a pretty high BPM most of my life, until relatively recently. Now I'm around 40-60. Here's what I did:

1) Biofeedback

2) Exercise (!)

3) Lexapro (anxiety)

4) Guggul

Guggul has been the most recent development. I'm not certain if a supplement-induced lowering of BPM is healthy or not, but there you go. I'm using it for other reasons (acne), but it has had this effect nonetheless.

Good luck with it

[niner]

2) Exercise (!)

Yup. Cardio work tends to really pull down the HR. When my brother was running a lot, his resting HR was 42.

[rwac]

Has it been high most of your life, or just now when you checked it? Do you have any other symptoms (asthma, breathing, palpitations)?

Any supplement or medication changes recently?

Have you had your adrenals and thyroid levels tested?

I'm not sure what supplements could affect heart rate, besides things like energy drinks, caffeine, etc. It's possible some herbs could interact with one another, or medications (if you take any). You could list what supplements you take (or if it's in regimens somewhere, point us there).

Worst case, see a doctor and he'll do an EKG, echo and maybe a holter monitor? Your resting heart rate is high normal, but not necessarily in the abnormal tachycardia sort of range.

It's been this high or higher over the last couple of years, checking sporadically. I sort of attributed it to white-coat syndrome, but maybe it's more than that.

Thyroid seems to be pretty good (TSH=1.5) Doc says T3, T4 are normal.
Body temperature is consistently low, though. Cortisol was high, but it was checked a few months ago.

I think I'll put the EKG off till I have insurance ...

Finally updated my regimen after a while.

http://www.imminst.o...o...st&p=345512

[castrensis]

I have a similar problem, however my resting heart rate measured upon waking ranges anywhere from 100-120 but after a couple cups of coffee my HR tends to sit at the higher end of that range. I've had multiple 12-lead EKGs, worn a holter monitor for seventy-two hours & seen a cardiologist for the problem. My docs have officially diagnosed me with Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia because aside from having a high resting heart rate I will occasionally have runs up to 160-180 with no apparent provoking factor. I've been taking Diltiazem ER 240mg Daily which has been successful in eliminating the runs of high(er) HR, slightly lowered my BP by 5mmHg in both diastolic & systolic pressures, but has failed to make any significant impact on my resting tachycardia. My PCP isn't too terribly concerned & has reassured me that the long-term effects are negligible, however he's unwilling to trial a beta-blocker for fear that it will exacerbate my mild asthma.

Anyone able to comment on the long-term effects of SVT, come across any research elaborating the long-term effects or understand some mechanism, in theory, that should give me cause to worry?

[rwac]

I have a similar problem, however my resting heart rate measured upon waking ranges anywhere from 100-120 but after a couple cups of coffee my HR tends to sit at the higher end of that range.

castrensis,

Have you looked into a choline source (CDP-choline, etc) or a cholinesterase inhibitor (Ashwagandha)
to help your tachycardia ?

[nameless]

My PCP isn't too terribly concerned & has reassured me that the long-term effects are negligible, however he's unwilling to trial a beta-blocker for fear that it will exacerbate my mild asthma.

Anyone able to comment on the long-term effects of SVT, come across any research elaborating the long-term effects or understand some mechanism, in theory, that should give me cause to worry?

You could maybe ask your doctor about trying a baby dose of carvedilol and see if it helps. 3.125 or 6.25 once or twice daily probably wouldn't exacerbate your asthma. But if it did, you could always stop it (taper off).

I take 12.5 twice daily and also have asthma and it didn't seem to make it any worse than it already was. There's another newer beta blocker, which I forget the name to (maybe Zebeta?), which supposedly shouldn't affect asthma at low doses.

I also assume you've tried the supplement route. Fish oils (I think it's primarily DHA) could help a little there. Magnesium could also possibly help.

[OneScrewLoose]

I have a high resting heartrate too. Around 80-100bpm. However, I avoid cardo like the plauge. First of all, I have plantar fasciitis which makes it harder to do cardio. Second I am 5'11" @ 150lbs. I have a hard enough time keeping this weight on. No cardio for me.

[navyblue]

I have a high resting heartrate too. Around 80-100bpm. However, I avoid cardo like the plauge. First of all, I have plantar fasciitis which makes it harder to do cardio. Second I am 5'11" @ 150lbs. I have a hard enough time keeping this weight on. No cardio for me.

If you can afford it, the recumbent bicycle isn't bad option. I know someone with plantar fasciitis and this is what they got. Not sure if it helped him, but it might be an option as it will help take the pressure off.

[navyblue]

This definitely sounds like a cardio and/or anxiety issue.

[rwac]

My doctor just diagnosed me with POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome)

I've been drinking a lot of electrolyte solution, and my blood pressure is up, and heart rate is down.
Hmmm.

[kismet]

Anyone able to comment on the long-term effects of SVT, come across any research elaborating the long-term effects or understand some mechanism, in theory, that should give me cause to worry?

If you're interested in general research about HR, I may look into it if I don't forget (think I've got some papers lying around) but as to the mechanism, the biggest issue is perhaps fatigue fracture of elastin (due to increased cyclical stress). While this is somewhat plausible I am not sure if resting HR is independently linked to worse outcomes.

Assuming you still follow this thread.

Edited by kismet, 18 December 2009 - 06:41 PM.

[VespeneGas]

I'd track your dietary intake on the cron-o-meter if you don't already, and make sure you get plenty of sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. Do you regularly consume any diuretic supplements/drugs?

Also, taurine might be of some benefit. Do you supplement beta alanine?

Edit: noticed your BP is was high-ish before the electrolyte infusion. Magnesium deficiency can cause refractory hypokalemia, and both of those conditions can cause abnormal HR and hypertension. How's your manganese intake? I seem to recommend that you were megadosing it at one point, which would antagonize magnesium absorption, as would excessive dietary calcium or phosphorous. I forget if you're on antibiotics, but apparently aminoglycoside, amphotericin, pentamidine, gentamicin, tobramycin, and viomycin can also cause hypomagnesemia. It has a pretty broad presentation, you might check out this site if you haven't, it's cites are of mixed quality, but there's a lot of great info.

Edited by VespeneGas, 18 December 2009 - 07:11 PM.

[livingguy]

Fish Oil 4000mg per day, Co Ezyme Q10 200mg per day and Magnesium 300 to 400mg per day would help some people with high heart rate.

[sentrysnipe]

Avoid the guggul advice above. Guggul affects T4 levels. The last thing you want is high free t4 if your resting heart rate is borderline tachycardia.

The next test would have to be your adrenals yes. Have your doctor oeder a 24-hr urine VMA and catecholamine test. This will check for pheochromocytoma but this is rare, we just want to rule that out.

Otherwise, you would need to do cardio, which is fine since you said BP is normal

Do you think you have anxiety? Which supps do you take? Are you taking any scheduled drugs, e.g., medical marijuana?

EDIT: are you still taking the glandular adrenal extract? What do you need that for? That may affect your BP/heart rate.

Are you sure the BP is high? Was it a morning test?

Edited by sentrysnipe, 19 December 2009 - 06:42 PM.

[nameless]

Have you been taking (or eating) ginger? I thought I read in one of these threads you were trying it. Have you noticed any increase in HR from taking it?

I've been considering trying it for belly issues, but have also read it can sometimes increase HR, which wouldn't be so good.

[shaggy]

You could maybe ask your doctor about trying a baby dose of carvedilol and see if it helps. 3.125 or 6.25 once or twice daily probably wouldn't exacerbate your asthma. But if it did, you could always stop it (taper off).

Personally I would not recommend carvedilol for tachycardia...

From expereice and from much reading on Pubmed etc it has limited effects on controlling heart rate, particularly resting heart rate that is troubling the OP.

[nameless]

You could maybe ask your doctor about trying a baby dose of carvedilol and see if it helps. 3.125 or 6.25 once or twice daily probably wouldn't exacerbate your asthma. But if it did, you could always stop it (taper off).

Personally I would not recommend carvedilol for tachycardia...

From expereice and from much reading on Pubmed etc it has limited effects on controlling heart rate, particularly resting heart rate that is troubling the OP.

Yeah, maybe not. I was thinking more of a beta blocker that wouldn't worsen asthma, but a another selective one at low dose may be fine too. One of those things it'd be best to discuss with a doctor.

[sentrysnipe]

I have a similar problem, however my resting heart rate measured upon waking ranges anywhere from 100-120 but after a couple cups of coffee my HR tends to sit at the higher end of that range.

castrensis,

Have you looked into a choline source (CDP-choline, etc) or a cholinesterase inhibitor (Ashwagandha)
to help your tachycardia ?

How are you doing, rwac? Re: Ashwagandha, is tachycardia not one of the side effects of taking it?

[rwac]

How are you doing, rwac? Re: Ashwagandha, is tachycardia not one of the side effects of taking it?

Never heard of that one. A choline deficiency can cause tachycardia though.

Can you find references or anecdotal reports ?

[sentrysnipe]

How are you doing, rwac? Re: Ashwagandha, is tachycardia not one of the side effects of taking it?

Never heard of that one. A choline deficiency can cause tachycardia though.

Can you find references or anecdotal reports ?

http://www.ncbi.nlm..../pubmed/9811169 only indirectly via raising t3 and eventually t4, perhaps if used for 6 months or more. Sorry, I was actually thinking about Rhodiola. I always get both confused. :-( But that study might theoretically hold true, although I am uncertain of the implications of administering it via a catheter versus simple oral.

[Soma]

Relation of Resting Heart Rate to Risk for All-Cause Mortality by Gender After considering Exercise Capacity (the Henry Ford Exercise Testing Project)

Whether resting heart rate (RHR) predicts mortality independent of fitness is not well established, particularly among women. We analyzed data from 56,634 subjects (49% women) without known coronary artery disease or atrial fibrillation who underwent a clinically indicated exercise stress test. Baseline RHR was divided into 5 groups with <60 beats/min as reference. The Social Security Death Index was used to ascertain vital status. Cox hazard models were performed to determine the association of RHR with all-cause mortality, major adverse cardiovascular events, myocardial infarction, or revascularization after sequential adjustment for demographics, cardiovascular disease risk factors, medications, and fitness (metabolic equivalents). The mean age was 53 ± 12 years and mean RHR was 73 ± 12 beats/min. More than half of the participants were referred for chest pain; 81% completed an adequate stress test and mean metabolic equivalents achieved was 9.2 ± 3. There were 6,255 deaths over 11.0-year mean follow-up. There was an increased risk of all-cause mortality with increasing RHR (p trend <0.001). Compared with the lowest RHR group, participants with an RHR ≥90 beats/min had a significantly increased risk of mortality even after adjustment for fitness (hazard ratio 1.22, 95% confidence interval 1.10 to 1.35). This relationship remained significant for men, but not significant for women after adjustment for fitness (p interaction <0.001). No significant associations were seen for men or women with major adverse cardiovascular events, myocardial infarction, or revascularization after accounting for fitness. In conclusion, after adjustment for fitness, elevated RHR was an independent risk factor for all-cause mortality in men but not women, suggesting gender differences in the utility of RHR for risk stratification.

http://www.ajconline...1778-0/abstract

Edited by Soma, 03 February 2015 - 03:24 PM.