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Posted 11/27/2010 3:58 AM (GMT 0)
I am currently on prednisone and I am a little worried. I am sitting on the couch and it feels like a fluttering in my stomach, I took my pulse and my resting heart rate is at approx 100 bpm. I was wondering if this is normal or should I be concerned?
Posted 11/27/2010 4:22 AM (GMT 0)
I don't know if that is a known side effect of pred or not. It should be mentioned to your doctor as it could also be a heart arrhythmia unrelated to the pred. Arrhythmias can be totally benign even w/chest pain and arrhytmias can also be lethal w/o chest pain. They are simple enough to check for w/a holter or event monitor.
Posted 11/27/2010 4:25 AM (GMT 0)
I have had a holter monitor twice in the past but they take weeks to get usually and by that time the symptoms are gone
Posted 11/27/2010 4:39 AM (GMT 0)
Anytime my husband takes steroids, his heart rate is faster than normal, and he also says every heart peat is like a pounding in his chest. He can't sleep on his left side, because he feels every heartbeat when he's on the steroids (if he can get to sleep at all with the steroids).

However, his resting heart rate doesn't normally go to 100 even with steroids, if he's healthy. When he was in a major flare, his resting heart rate got to 150. He was dehydrated. I took him to the ER, got him a couple of bags of IV, and they did an EKG to listen to his heart. Once he was hydrated, his resting heartrate dropped to about 100. The docs said that just being in pain, can cause the heartrate to go up. It took him about 6 months of recovery to get back to a resting heart rate of 70.

Is it possible you are slightly dehydrated? If you've been having diarrhea, you should try to rehydrate. If it worsens or doesn't improve, it maybe time to go the ER, and get some a bag of IV fluids.

PV
Posted 11/27/2010 4:58 AM (GMT 0)
I don't think I am dehydrated, the d hasn't been too bad today and I have drank at least a litre of fluids today and my veins look good which is usually my first sign of dehydration
Posted 11/27/2010 5:07 AM (GMT 0)
I think I am even more worried right now because I am home alone. I am 26 years old and live with my brother but he is out of town. Just me and my dog here so if something does go wrong there is no one to help me.
Posted 11/27/2010 5:12 AM (GMT 0)
I also had a fast heart rate and high blood pressure while on pred. If you feel worse, call a doctor or nurses line or go to a clinic. Also, your heart rate is going to go faster when you feel anxious. I had moments on prednisone where I felt anxious and my bp went up and my heart raced. You may want to try some relaxation meditation - if you check out this website you can listen on your computer or download to your mp3 player for free:
https://members.kaiserpermanente.org/redirects/listen/

I hope you feel better soon!
Posted 11/27/2010 5:15 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks, I just emailed my best friends mom who has been a nurse for 30 years but I am not sure if she will get my email
Posted 11/27/2010 5:50 AM (GMT 0)
It's good to talk to a doctor at that rate, but I can say that mine is frequently high and gets higher on steroids. Mine is 95 now... When I was in ER it was closer to 115-120. Dehydration is a cause for a higher pulse. They can also tell something about the level of hydration by your heart-rate laying then sitting/standing (i forget the details).

It's good to check in on it, but I wouldn't get too anxious... Just make a call to your doctor on call and see what they say. Until then, just rest yourself and try to hydrate.
Posted 11/27/2010 6:46 PM (GMT 0)
mine is higher with the steroids- every day around the same time of day I get fluttering in my chest, get breathless, and my heart rate goes up. it goes away after awhile. like a poster above, i often can't sleep on left side due to heart rate and fluttering annoying me- always feels like my heart is gonna come out of my chest, even when heart rate is normal. check with dr or nurse if u feel worried but i can tell you it is normal part of my life with predisone. don't get too worried, it makes the heart rate worse... hope u feel a little better soon

B
Posted 11/27/2010 8:38 PM (GMT 0)
My heart rate goes fast when I am anemic...it's how I know to ask for blood work
Posted 11/27/2010 9:19 PM (GMT 0)
I always have a fast heart rate 100/120 even when resting and not on steroids. I have a very low B/P to go along
with it. It's almost as though I'm going into shock all the time. I'm just worried I'm gonna use all my allotted heat
beats up, before I'm ready:)
Posted 11/28/2010 1:51 AM (GMT 0)
chelsea_doll, you might have steroid induced tachycardia (fast heart rate). You should contact your doc and let him know what is going on.

Vicky, if your heart rate is always 100+, then you need to get a 2d or 3d echo to check it out.
Any motor that has to work hard all the time is proned to being overworked. This was happening to me and I went on a beta blocker and now my heart is healthy and strong and has a nice slow and normal bpm.

Also, fast heart rate can be indicative of being low on a mineral or vitamin. Very common in ppl with CD.

Best wishes.
Posted 11/28/2010 2:10 PM (GMT 0)
Calcium, magnesium, potassium. Water, water, water.
Posted 11/28/2010 3:44 PM (GMT 0)
roni, I've several echo's done, also had 24hr halter monitor. Everything seems to check out, but when I go for any kind of
procedure, the nurses always ask if I'm nervous or stressing. It is very noticeable, but no-one wants to go further with
testing my heart. Maybe I'll treat it like it's getting it's workout, without a workout:)
Posted 11/28/2010 5:14 PM (GMT 0)
A 2D or 3D echo is an ultrasound of your heart, not the echocardiogram. Did you have an ultrasound?
This is the best way to see your heart working. They need to check the strength of the muscle and the working mechanism to make sure the tachycardia doesn't induce a heart disease (which can happen).

If your heart is always over 100 (like mine was for years), talk about going on a beta blocker. I take a small dose of metoprolol 3x daily to control my tachycardia.

I went years with fast heart rate and docs didn't find anything wrong until they did a heart ultrasound, and saw I had developed a mild cardiomyopathy, and finally reversed it with meds and nutrition (and a lot of prayer ;-). I found out another woman with CD was low on selenium and she developed cardiomyopathy too.

Chronic inflammation, malnutrition, chronic pain also puts us at risk for heart issues, hopefully more mild, but still should be treated so it won't get serious.
Posted 11/28/2010 8:52 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Roni, I'll talk to primary doc about it..
Posted 11/28/2010 9:24 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, Thanks Roni... I'll keep a better watch on mine too. I've had on irregular EKG, but the ones since have been normal. I was on steroids for the one with the irregular heartbeat. I feel the PVCs each time on steroids. Again, thanks for pointing this out to us!
Posted 12/1/2010 6:13 PM (GMT 0)
Has your blood been tested for anemia? This happened to my husband and they thought it was anxiety causing a rapid heart rate when it was a symptom of anemia
Posted 12/1/2010 6:54 PM (GMT 0)
My resting heart rate was about 120, if I remember correctly, back when my Crohn's was in the worst flare ever.  They sent me for tests and it got up to 200 on the treadmill (just walking for a few minutes).  They said everything looked good with my heart and they thought it was from stress (I don't know if they meant physical from the flare or emotional, or both).  Anyway, as my Crohn's came out of the flare and went into remission, my heart rate came down.  It's still faster than some people's, but my resting is normally 80-90 now.   

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