Racing heart after stopping Propranolol
Posted , 3 users are following.
Hello all,
About 9 months ago I was having a strong pulse sensation right above my sternum and i was prescribed 60mg of Propranolol (looking back i wish i never would have taken it / don't think i needed to take it as that was my only symptom) I just recently weaned off of this medication over the course of 12 days (as instructed by my dr.) and have been off of it for 17 days now. Ever since stopping, my heart rate has gone up to where it stays in the high 90's - over 100 for most of the day unless i am lying down. I contacted my cardiologist and they said that typically that would not occur for that long. My primary doctor said the same thing. However, I can't think of what else could be causing it and it just so happened to start after getting off of the Propranolol. I have been tracking my heart rate with my fitbit and my resting heart rate has gradually gone up since stopping. I also want to mention that i never had a problem with racing heart before starting the Propranolol in the first place.
I have had all the heart tests done (EKG, stress test, echocardiogram, 2-week holter monitor) all of which came back normal. My cardiologist just prescribed me Diltiazem 30mg immediate release to take as needed. I really don't want to be on another medication, especially because i think the reason i am having these symptoms is from stopping the Propranolol. I am unsure what i should do. Should i wait it out and see if my heart rate goes back down to a normal rate on its own or should I take the Diltiazem. Does anyone have experience taking this medication? I am only considering taking it because I don't know what racing heart (almost constantly) can do to my heart and if it can cause any damage longterm. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you
0 likes, 7 replies
sab45
Posted
Also, if this is happening as a result of stopping the Propranolol, how long before my heart rate will slow down and return back to normal?
jx41870 sab45
Posted
There is a home/nutritional remedy to try - dark chocolate!
Get the darkest you can find, 90% is great, you can even find 100% if you look, but even 70% is good enough. Have an ounce or two, once a day. Natural beta blockers!
For me works as well as official pills, tastes better - but does add calories!
And doesn't seem to cause medical effects when you stop.
sab45 jx41870
Posted
really? I have never heard that i will have to give it a try! so the caffeine doesn’t have any affect?
did you try that for fast heart rate as well??
jx41870 sab45
Posted
Yes, I've tried it, for fast pulse, also for arrhythmias, and found it effective. 50 grams of dark chocolate should be plenty.
There's a little caffeine, much less than in a cup of coffee. Let's see, a small coffee (8 oz) says 95mg caffeine, dark chocolate (100g) somewhere between 12mg and 43mg. A small cup of tea (8oz) is listed at 26mg.
Caffeine in coffee will sometimes bother me, but I can drink huge glasses of iced tea at lunch with no real effects, nor have I ever noticed anything from chocolate - in reasonable quantities!
So the caffeine in 50g of dark chocolate should be at most like about 2oz of black coffee or a small cup of tea.
sab45 jx41870
Posted
Is there a particular brand you like? Also, how long did it take to take effect??
jx41870 sab45
Posted
Brand doesn't matter, but I think the best chocolate for the money I can get here in the US are the Lindt bars!
Starts taking effect in 10 to 30 minutes, probably max in a couple of hours, lasts at least as long as atenolol, somewhere between twelve to twenty-four hours.
They say milk chocolate doesn't work for two reasons: too little chocolate, and milk solids may block the effects. I think that it may work after all but the milk solids slow it down - and you have to eat much more of it!
White chocolate I gather should not work at all.
joshuapryce1987 sab45
Posted
Try breathing exercises.