My Cardiologist Stopped My Maintenance

For years, I was made to take Atenelol and Lanoxin in small dosages (I forget now how much) which I felt I didn't need. I didn't have high blood pressure or chest pain. My heart was fine but for this occasional SVT palpitations, which wasn't really a heart disease, says a lot of medical heart doctors. But because my doc prescribed it, I took them. It was like that a long time. You need to follow doctor's orders. So get a really good medical heart specialist.

When I did have heart palpitations my BP went up a bit higher, but not that high. About 130/80  or 90. Even my present cardiac electrophysiologist doctor said so--that my heart rate during palps wasn't that alarming (he's the most efficient heart doctor I've had so far for years though he was the one who gave me the meds aforementioned). On rare occasions, it went up to 150 over 80, sometimes 140 over 80.

Photo by Usman Yousaf on Unsplash.

All Normal 

But the moment the palpitations stopped, my BP went back promptly to normal. I could go back immediately to my usual routine. All systems were normal, even according to ECG results and even ultrasound. Often, doctors were puzzled about it. One moment and while palps were happening, my BP and heart rate were going a bit wild. The next moment when palps stopped, everything immediately went back to normal. I even had to convince them I was okay. Didn't they tackle about this in Med school?

Without palpitation, my BP was a regular 110 over 70, sometimes 100 over 70. (Well, as of this editing, dated Aug. 20, 2024, my normal now is 120 plus over 80, which is normal for my age). For a while, it went without posing any problems. Each time I had a checkup my doc would say I had good heart health. I did my regular workouts, my weight was well managed and my blood chem results were normal. Then after some time, after a checkup, my doc decided to stop my lanoxin. It was good news to me. At least, it showed I was improving.

Stop!

But then, a few months, I started having dizziness and slow heart rate. I had a really bad time. My doc decided Atenelol was making my BP a bit too low and my heart rate a bit too slow. So he decided to stop my Atenelol, too. I was right--I didn't need my medications any longer. He tried to replace it with some other drug but I felt the dizziness worsened. So in the end, he decided to just stop it altogether. "Let's see what happens," he said. If palpitation happened again, I just needed to call him up. Well, thank God it didn't happened. I didn't need my maintenance anymore.

Why would I take those medicines when my heart and BP were perfectly normal, even before?

During the experimental no maintenance trial period, I had one or two short attacks, perhaps three, but they subsided immediately without medical treatment. I just applied my usual home remedies, and it did the trick. Sometimes, I just needed to type on my PC and the typing action somewhat corrected my heartbeat (can you believe that? More on this in my e-book. It happened a lot of times before this trial period. I discovered a lot of home remedies for my palpitations that really worked).

As-Needed Med

But one day, I had palpitations on our way home from Nueva Ecija. It started a little after lunch and went on till 5 pm. I had already texted my doc about it but he was out of the country. "Is there anything I can take for it?" I asked. Sometimes, he seemed to ignore my texts. But thank God he replied at once this time. He told me to take Flecainide (Tambocor) 100 as needed. I didn't have to take it as maintenance. But I could only take 2 per day, in case I needed another one. (But later he said it was okay for me to take one every 4 hours if the palpitations didn't stop. Thank GOD that never happened. And thank God I don't need Tambocor anymore today). 

I researched about Flecanaide, and I learned it blocked extra electrical impulses to the heart. And that's what triggered my palpitations, according to my doc. Extra pathway for electrical impulse that made the impulse go back and double the heart beat. The medicine blocked that tendency. At least, there was no indication on the description that it lowered blood pressure or anything like that.

Since then, I was happy with Flecainide, but when the palpitations stopped altogether, everything changed. No more Flecainide or any maintenance medicine. Thanks GOD. (Update on my planned ablation. I never had it to this day, August 20, 2024. NO MORE HEART PALPITATION! All thanks to the LORD JESUS! The palps just disappeared by itself. A miracle from GOD!)  But don't take this drug unless your heart doctor says so. Consult with him or her. And after having this condition for some 33 years (off and on), I have learned a lot about it and even found ways to sometimes control heart palpitations. Get my e-book to learn about them. 

My upcoming e-book. Watch for it.

Healthy Lifestyle

Bottomline is, living a healthy lifestyle helps a lot to improve heart health and lessen palpitation attacks. It can even help with reducing medication if not stopping it as in my case. I eat right, workout enough, and live a healthy lifestyle. Above all else, I pray and believe for total healing in Jesus. It's not man's religion, it's pure faith taught in the bible. Radical belief is vital and I will write an article about medical findings on how faith really helps.

Today, my workout routine includes, 50 pushups in several sets, weight training, squats, bending bars, brisk walks and jogs. This is aside from my Filipino martial arts training. It is important to start workouts gradually. I recommend starting with leisurely walking. I started there. 

Here are some quick tips for starting your exercise routine:

1. Start with leisurely walking. I did. Make sure you enjoy it, not be pressured or stressed by it.
2. Climb up stairs. As long as you can endure, climb up and down your stairs. Do it slowly, no need to hurry. No stairs in you house? Climb up and down on a low stool repeatedly. That will do. Hold on to something for balance.
3. Jog in place. This is safe for you to do inside your house. No need to go out. 
4. Walk back and forth in the street where you live. 
5. Walk around the block as many times as you can.

But get your heart doctor's approval first before you do anything. It is important to enjoy what you're doing. Do it at your pace. You're not training for the Olympics or some tournament. You're doing it to appreciate life and your environs and get enough healthy workout.

I hope readers similarly affected---folks with palpitation problems---would find help as I share my story here on Heartoholic.