Suggest Treatment For Low Heart Rate And High Fever

Posted on Tue, 11 Oct 2016

Question: Hello,
My husbands heart rate is 47 this morning, blood pressure is very good. He has been in hospital 2 times in 5 weeks for pneumonia...went to family doctor Friday and said he no longer has pneumonia, just fluid on lungs and if he starts running fever to get him back. He is not running fever, he is on 240 mg Cardizem 2 times a day and has Afib and is on Xaretlo. I am jus t scared this heart rate is too low. when he went to hospital first time it was 135, then 98, then 56, then 35. What should I do, just monitor today. Just gave him 240 mg Cardizem about 40 minutes ago

Answered by Dr. Kathy Robinson (29 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
does he have symptoms?

Detailed Answer:
Hello and thank you for the question.
Cardizem is known to slow the heart rate and he is on a high dose. If he is having any symptoms like light headedness, weakness or feeling like he will pass out, then you either need to talk to the doctor that is on call for his regular doctor's practice or take him to emergency.
If he is not having symptoms then just tell him that he needs to let you know if he feels bad in any way.
If he does not feel bad then just contact his doctor's office tomorrow and let them know what is going on. They may want to change his medications around.
Regards,
Dr. Robinson

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Kathy Robinson (1 hour later)

When his heart rate was high (135) that's when they said the dosage was too high and put him down to 120 mg that's when the heart rate dropped to 35, so I guess I am confused cause I thought the Cardizem kept his heart rate at a good rate.

So should I for today, just give him the 120 that they had put him down to in the first place? His heart doctor put his Cardizem back to the 240 twice a day, is that because they got the heart rate down?

Answered by Dr. Kathy Robinson (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
cardizem lower heart rate

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Cardizem is a calcium channel blocker and it lowers heart rate. Heart rate can become elevated with atrial fibrillation and Cardizem is used to get it back down to normal.
Yes if you cannot get to his doctor's on call physician to discuss this with them, then give him the 120 mg until you can discuss this with them tomorrow.
I cannot explain why they lowered the dose of cardizem when his pulse was high and raised it when it was low.
Regards,
Dr. Robinson

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar