Any other anxiety sufferers here with a low heart rate and low BP?

[tailspin]

I feel like an anomaly because I have bad Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Health Anxiety, yet my heart rate and blood pressure are low. I worry how low my heart rate is. When I lie in bed it goes down to about 46 beats per minute and sometimes it feels really weird and uncomfortable and I have to sit up or stand up. When I'm just sitting around my resting heart rate is about 54 beats per minute. When I'm standing up it goes up. And, obviously, when I exercise it goes up. When I'm having a panic attack, my heart rate is all over the place.

Anyhow, it just seems really odd to me that someone as anxious as I am has a low heart rate. My blood pressure is also low (though I've never measured my blood pressure during a panic attack). I've talked to my doctor about this and had an EKG and wore that 24 hour halter monitor thing (my average heart rate over a 24 hour period was 56 beats per minute). The doctor didn't seem worried, but she asked if I take Ativan because that lowers your heart rate. I don't take Ativan but I do have a stash of it to take in an absolute emergency. Now I'm worried that if I did take an Ativan it would lower my heart so much that it would stop. So I don't even have that safety net anymore, which makes me even more anxious (plus, obviously, I worry that there is something wrong with my heart because my heart rate is so low).

FFS, I can't even have a normal anxiety disorder! Can anyone else relate, or does everyone else have the opposite problem (elevated heart rate and high blood pressure)?

[Dan Medz]

My HR gets as low as 42 in the mornings yet sits at around 80-100 throughout the day. I have high blood pressure. During a panic attack of course it's all over the dial. I worry sometimes it's too low as well but doc didn't seem concerned.

[tailspin]

Thanks for the feedback, Dan. When your HR goes down to 42 do you feel strange? Weak and weird and anxious and super aware of your heart?

[Dan Medz]

Yeah usually weak in the arms and legs until I walk around a bit and calm down. I'll be VERY aware of my heart and sometimes I'll hear it beating or spot my pulse moving in my wrist like a twitch. Classic anxiety. Don't check it too much. It'll drive ya around the block :)

[u4ea]

Tailspin, you have the heart of a professional athlete! ; )

I unfortunately, have the opposite - if I'm anxious both HR/BP are elevated. My resting HR is usually in the upper 60's - low 70's, but that's anxiety free. The crazy part is - I can almost instantly raise my HR depending on my thought at that very moment; I can be totally calm - check heart rate and be well within the "normal" range; purposefully think of something bad and check my HR and get a reading in the upper 90's.

When my anxiety was the worst, and I ended up going to the hospital AND I have a hospital phobia - at my worst, my HR never really went above 108 bpm.

Also, another way to easily check your heart and pulmonary function is....

Through moderate walking and/or exercise, elevate your HR to ~120 - 130 bpm. Take you're heart rate reading - (from what I've read), if your heart rate drops to the normal range within *5 minutes* - that is a very good indicator of heart health.

[chasingdogma]

I wish mine was that low! My resting HR is between 80-90 bpm, which is unhealthy! I have to take beta-blockers to keep it down to 60-70. Of course with the high heart rate comes high blood pressure...which I now have under control, thank god!

[faultandfracture]

******************NOT A DOCTOR********************

I'm a clinician, not a doctor, so I can't diagnose but those readings are typical with larger (taller) individuals and athletes. Tachycardia are beats above 100/min while bradycardia can be below 60bpm or 50bpm - depending on which medical professional you consult.

1.) Do you exercise?
2.) How big/tall are you?
3.) Do you take ANY medications or supplements (herbal or otherwise)?
4.) Do you have a family history of congenital low BP or pulse rate?
5.) What is your diet?

I'm 6'3" and exercise almost everyday, sometimes running as much as 4-5 miles. I also eat right, but I have congenital high BP. I'm able to maintain it by these two things.

[tailspin]

Tailspin, you have the heart of a professional athlete! ; )

LOL!! And if I was an athlete in my 20's or even my 30's, I would be rather proud of that number!! But, as it is, it worries me!! I do exercise regularly and I have done my whole life, but still.....an athlete, I ain't!! And so I worry that I have a heart problem.




Also, another way to easily check your heart and pulmonary function is....

Through moderate walking and/or exercise, elevate your HR to ~120 - 130 bpm. Take you're heart rate reading - (from what I've read), if your heart rate drops to the normal range within *5 minutes* - that is a very good indicator of heart health.

Thank you, I will check this!!

[tailspin]

******************NOT A DOCTOR********************

I'm a clinician, not a doctor, so I can't diagnose but those readings are typical with larger (taller) individuals and athletes. Tachycardia are beats above 100/min while bradycardia can be below 60bpm or 50bpm - depending on which medical professional you consult.

1.) Do you exercise?
2.) How big/tall are you?
3.) Do you take ANY medications or supplements (herbal or otherwise)?
4.) Do you have a family history of congenital low BP or pulse rate?
5.) What is your diet?

I'm 6'3" and exercise almost everyday, sometimes running as much as 4-5 miles. I also eat right, but I have congenital high BP. I'm able to maintain it by these two things.

Thanks for this, faultandfracture. Cool that you run 4-5 miles each day and that you're able to manage your congenital high BP with that and diet.

Yes, I do exercise regularly. I used to run, but age has caught up with me and I have achilles and knee problems now if I run. So I hike daily with my dogs and we hike hills so I definitely get my heart rate up and get a sweat going. But I'm a 49 year old woman, not a 20 something athlete, so the low heart rate is worrying me.

No one else in my family has a low heart rate to my knowlege. I'm 5'8", normal weight, and my diet is good. I don't take any meds that could lower my heart rate, but I do take a lot of supplements (mainly magnesium, Vitamin D, and a huge dose of B2, and also Feverfew supplements, because this was recommended to me by a neurologist for my migraines).

Well, now you know all about me!!!! :o

PS: Another fear now is that if I were to take an Ativan, it would be dangerous, since Ativan lowers heart rate. I haven't taken an Ativan in about 2 years, but I have a stash and I like to tell myself that I could take one if I had to. But now I don't know if that would be advisable. Although, obviously, while I'm having a panic attack, my heart rate goes up. So perhaps it's ok to take an Ativan in that situation??

[tailspin]

I wish mine was that low! My resting HR is between 80-90 bpm, which is unhealthy! I have to take beta-blockers to keep it down to 60-70. Of course with the high heart rate comes high blood pressure...which I now have under control, thank god!

It's good to hear you have your high BP under control! Well done!