edema and heart rate

My husband had his pacemaker procedure on Sept 3. He was taking meds for afib and his heart was only beating in the high 30s..the first 2 weeks every thing was great..then the edema came back..We have been back and forth to drs. and his lasix was increased to 40 mg. twice daily..then 5 mg of lisinapril was added..now on yesterday he fainted and when I checked his vitals he had a low blood pressure..not dangerously low but lower than normal..but his pulse was 116..he had been consistantly at 70....later it was at 78 and I thought we were reegulating...however at bedtime it was back up to 113...I want to take him to the er he says wait til Monday and go to the Dr..I have had no sleep as I am afraid to close my eyes..he of course is in there zzzzzing away...I know I am right about er, but would it be safe to wait another 24hrs..he is pretty stubborn..

5 Comments

pulse and bp

by Tracey_E - 2009-10-25 08:10:34

When in doubt, call your doctor. The bp changes are the meds, probably not the pm. 116 is high for him but not dangerously high so in itself I wouldn't worry about it, but the fainting is definitely something that needs to be looked in to.

Bad Anglish

by SMITTY - 2009-10-25 09:10:12

Dang, my secret is out. "---the Lasix needs fluids to work most best." I guess that shows I didn't graduate magna cum-laude in anglish.

We do need editing capability here sometimes. Or, maybe I'm the only one that finds their errors after the message has been posted.

Heart Rate & Edema

by SMITTY - 2009-10-25 09:10:16


I certainly agree with Tracey about his need to see a doctor if the passing out or dizziness continues. Whether you should insist that your husband go to the ER or wait until Monday is a tough question to answer. Now I'm not trying to be cruel, but think of it this way. If he is no worse or has recovered to some degree, then it was alright to wait, but if he is worse, or---, never mind with that one, then it was not alright.

He is taking some meds that can cause low blood pressure, As for the high heart rate, I looked and found a list of 825 (I'm not kidding)reasons for high heart rate. Some listed were low blood pressure, high blood pressure and dehydration.

The dehydration caught my eye since he is taking Lasix (as I am). So be sure he is drinking plenty of fluids each day. Contrary to what many of us may think, reducing fluid intake may not reduce edema, When the body thinks it is being deprived of enough fluids it will go into a self preservation mode and retain even more fluids. Also, crazy as it sounds, the Lasix needs fluids to work most best.

Good luck,

Smitty

edema and heart rate

by rayfield - 2009-10-28 02:10:16

I didn't wait for anyones replies..I took him to er and the technician adjusted his pacemaker..he as afib and I think it was racing along it or something like that..anyway it works fine now..I am checking it everyday..

However the edema...They kept him over nite and gave him more lasix thru the iv...he is a big and tall man..his weight the first morning home was 220 this morning 222 he had a lot of edema in his ankles both nites..

He doesn have followup with his dr...however I am at my wits in with the edema...one dr..says 80 mgs of lasix is a lot..the other says its not much...I know leafy green vegetables are good for edema..however he is on warfarin and is supposed to avoid them..

help

food

by Tracey_E - 2009-10-28 07:10:52

this article has a list of foods that may help
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/edema-000055.htm

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