Quoted message said:MD/PhD said:Quoted message said:I am a Type 2 diabetic on diet and exercise. My BG's are in the non
diabetic territory. A couple weeks ago my GP recently put me on
Altace 5 mg for kidney protection and Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The problem is I am seeing a high pulse rate. I measure my BP at
least twice daily. Since about the first of the year my systolic and
diastolic are on a somewhat of a decline. The pulse was also on a
rough decline. When a person looks at a graph the systolic decline is
quite obvious. The diastolic and pulse are almost flat. That is
until about the middle of August. The pulse went from about 80 range
to now bouncing in the 90's. My GP put me on Altace on the end of
August.
I saw the GP couple weeks ago when I first observed the pulse bouncing
in the low 80's. He said that was no big deal. I'm a tad concerned.
Here is my BP stats for the past 30 days
Systolic
122 high
105.8 Avg
90 low
Diastolic
76 high
65.9 avg
53 low
Pulse
96 high
82.4 avg
73 low
My question is
Why isn't Altace keeping the pulse rate down?
It is not supposed to.
Quoted message said:
What is causing this increase in pulse rate?
Lowered blood pressure can do it.
Could you elaborate on this?
Baroreceptors in the carotid sinus sense the decreased pressure and sends
signals that lower vagal tone. Less vagal tone increases heart rate.
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
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Should I ignore my GP and see a cardiologist?
You should inform your GP about the above.
I saw my GP a couple weeks ago, and showed him a graph of the rising
pulse rate. He said don't worry about it, said pulse of 80's and 90's
are normal. A 60 day graph shows systolic in a somewhat decline,
diastolic in a erratic flat to decline pattern, and pulse in a rapid
increase. Quite scary since one would expect all three to decline.
Not if you understand physiology and the pharmacology behind the medications
you are taking.
Quoted message said:
As you can guess, on DM diagnosis, I also had hypertension.
Having diabetes does not automatically mean you have or will have
hypertension.
Quoted message said:Cozaar
really knocked it down. I no longer take cozaar, but have some left.
Could I add cozaar to the altace?
Don't see a reason to since your blood pressure is well controlled according
to the information you give.
Quoted message said:
Thank you. The pulse worry's me.
If you are losing weight, it may be time for your doctor to back off on some
of the blood pressure medications. Folks generally need less as they get
lighter.
Are you visiting from ASD?
--
Dr. Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD
Board-Certified Cardiologist
http://www.heartmdphd.com/
