Low Pulse - Freaking Out - Help

[kmbrlycool 214]

Hello,

So, here's the story.

I had the sleeve 4-24-12, and I've lost 118.4 (gotta include the .4), in the five months since.

The only complication was my gallbladder - which I had removed 6 days ago. Besides the normal pain from the procedure, no other complaints.

So, it just so happened that I had to get a "physical" for my new job that I started yesterday. They did the drug test, blood pressure, and pulse.

My pulse was 52 on the machine. So the nurse did it with her fingers, and it was the same.

I checked it a few times throughout the day myself, and it was high 50's low 60's...

My blood pressure was excellent.

So today, I checked my pulse, and it was 63, blood pressure was still fine.

Any ideas?

Yesterday and today I have been feeling "lousy". Headaches, fatigue, but not like crazy exhaustion or anything.

I do suffer from anxiety - and knowing that I may have an issue kinda freaks me out.

I am going to see my primary care doctor on Thursday evening, but I was wondering if anyone had anything similiar

do you think it's from the weight loss surgery

do you think it's from the gall bladder surgery

do you think it's from the stress of leaving an old job and startin a new one?

i mean, geeze, i lost 118.4 pounds - i shouldn't be having heart problems, right??

today, i felt a little better - barely a headache (but didn't take anything for it), and tired, but not that tired.

please, any ideas, thanks!

[kmbrlycool 214]

oh, and before surgery i did all of the necessary testing - stress test, cardiac cath, and i was never alerted of a problem. i saw my cardiologist for general check up about 2 weeks ago, and nothing....was fine

[gokiwi68 4]

mine was also low and my Doc said its dehydration....u need to drink more water....64oz a day

[kmbrlycool 214]

Did you fix your problem by drinking more?

[VanishingAct 4]

Kmbrlycool,

A lower resting heart rate is a good thing! It means your heart is contracting more efficiently and can in turn work at a slower rate. It's quite common to have a lower resting heart rate post weight loss and even more common if you've been conditioning your heart with cardiovascular exercise like walking or jogging.

My resting heart rate pre-op was usually around 86 and now it's usually around 54 (my surgery of 5/24/12).

Sure the average resting heart rate is 60-100 but as long as your pulse is (easily palpable) and the capillary refill in your fingers and toes are brisk then it's safe to say that your heart is efficient at that rate.

That said it is imperitive that you keep yourself well hydrated. If I'm not well hydrated then I get dizzy when standing up from a sitting position (orthostatic hypotension)

One last thought, if you're on any cardiac medications then it's a good time to review with your doctor whether or not you still require cardiac medication.

Hope this helps

[VanishingAct 4]

mine was also low and my Doc said its dehydration....u need to drink more Water....64oz a day

Technically your heart would beat faster if the cause was solely due to dehydration. If your vascular volume is low (ie dehydration) then the heart can't pump as hard (ie blood pressure) so it compensates by beating faster in the presence of dehydration.

That said keeping hydrated will play an important part in warding off dizziness and headaches but it's not the cause of the lower heart rate. Again a lower resting heart rate is usual a good thing and represents the heart working more efficiently