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What Causes Increased Heart Rate With Normal BP In An Elderly Person?
Question: Hi Doctor.
My grandmother is 75 years old.
she is otherwise normal ,we went to the doctor 2 weeks ago and she was diagnosed with diabetes the blood test showed 7.5 level the doctor said that's a good control diabetes and no treatment is required at the moment, he suggest to avoid any sugar containing food, and start a good diet.
she also has hypertension she used to take atenolol once daily but the doctor we went to lately changed it to exforge 20mg/160mg one tablet daily .
he performed ECG for her which turned out to be normal and the auscultation test also seemed normal as he said
she lately complains about light headedness, diziness and some kind of tiredness
she also has some anxiety about dying etc.
i checked her blood pressure just now and it showed normal result of 130/74 but her heart rate was quite high 102bpm.
she doesn't complain about anything else except for light headedness and diziness at some times otherwise she is normal and talks normally .
she is also not active, mostly sitting down or lying on her bed she doesn't go out and walk due to some pain she feels on her knees
1.what's the cause of the increased heart rate with normal blood pressure ?
i thought it could be due to arrhythmias but the ECG showed normal
2.is it normal ? what do you suggest we should do ?
My grandmother is 75 years old.
she is otherwise normal ,we went to the doctor 2 weeks ago and she was diagnosed with diabetes the blood test showed 7.5 level the doctor said that's a good control diabetes and no treatment is required at the moment, he suggest to avoid any sugar containing food, and start a good diet.
she also has hypertension she used to take atenolol once daily but the doctor we went to lately changed it to exforge 20mg/160mg one tablet daily .
he performed ECG for her which turned out to be normal and the auscultation test also seemed normal as he said
she lately complains about light headedness, diziness and some kind of tiredness
she also has some anxiety about dying etc.
i checked her blood pressure just now and it showed normal result of 130/74 but her heart rate was quite high 102bpm.
she doesn't complain about anything else except for light headedness and diziness at some times otherwise she is normal and talks normally .
she is also not active, mostly sitting down or lying on her bed she doesn't go out and walk due to some pain she feels on her knees
1.what's the cause of the increased heart rate with normal blood pressure ?
i thought it could be due to arrhythmias but the ECG showed normal
2.is it normal ? what do you suggest we should do ?
Brief Answer:
Following answer to your query.
Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you for asking!
I read your query and understood your concerns.
First of all your grandmother heart rate is normal (although it's in the upper limits). This finding may be related to stopping atenolol use.
As long as the ECG os normal this HR isn't related to arrhythmia and you shouldn't worry about.
Secondly my opinion is that as long as she didn't feel anything she shouldn't take any treatment to lower her HR.
Only if she will experience palpitations and dyspnoea she may use 25 mg of atenolol.
Hope this will be of help!
Wish you health!
Dr. Shehu
Following answer to your query.
Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you for asking!
I read your query and understood your concerns.
First of all your grandmother heart rate is normal (although it's in the upper limits). This finding may be related to stopping atenolol use.
As long as the ECG os normal this HR isn't related to arrhythmia and you shouldn't worry about.
Secondly my opinion is that as long as she didn't feel anything she shouldn't take any treatment to lower her HR.
Only if she will experience palpitations and dyspnoea she may use 25 mg of atenolol.
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
Answered by
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