What Causes Low Heart Rate And High Blood Pressure In An Elderly Woman?

Posted on Mon, 29 Aug 2016

Question: I recently had an ekg come back abnormal. I have experienced in the last couple of months the feeling of faintness that last only a short period of time. My doctor had me on 50 mg of metropolol and 50 mg of losartan. My blood pressure lately has been great, but I felt that my heart rate was dropping so low that when I would stand up especially after sitting for a long period of time, I would feel faint and almost not able to breath. She took me off the metropolol and it has not happened since. My Ekg did come back with a possible MI. My heart rate was in the low 50 and now between 66 and 72. My blood pressure is about 120 over 70 average. I am a 69 female non smoker. I have had a stress test about 2 years ago and it was fine.
should I be overly concerned about this ekg?

Answered by Dr. Benard Shehu (23 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Following advice

Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you for asking!
I read your query and understood your concerns.

My opinion is that you should worry about your heart and schedule for a complete cardiac evaluation within next 10 days. If you were my patient I would recommend to do the following examinations:
- Blood work
- Cardiac echo
- Holter monitoring
- Stress test

Although you have done this exams two years ago you should repeat them because a lot of time has passed since then.

Hope this will be of help!
Wish you health!
Dr. Shehu

Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.

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