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.
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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
heartmdphd.comheartmdphd.comOpen ↗
