Two Things: Tachycardia and Insurance

So, it's been a long time since I've been on the forum.

I just had my annual follow-up with my GI on Monday. To preface, I have not had a flare or major symptom of UC since the first year of my diagnosis when I was 11. I was hospitalized twice (a week in Sept 2001 and a week in June of 2002) and a mini-flare around Aug 2002, which I was given an infusion of Remicade, which I think stopped the mini-flare. Nothing since then. My meds are listed in my signature. Anyway, this visit, my GI told me that my resting heart rate has been high for every visit I've had with her and from my records with my pediatric GI. On Monday, my BPM was 122. Normal is 60-100. My blood pressure was fine. They use the wrist cuff. I do get "nervous/anxious" when going to the doctor. Oddly enough, I get anxious about having high blood pressure because my mom has a history of high blood pressure (which she was diagnosed with when I was diagnosed with UC). My GI said it could just be that I happen to have a higher resting heart rate, but she wants me to see an Internist. She said they may put me on a low dose beta blocker.

My question is if anyone else has dealt with tachycardia because of UC?



Thanks

Post Edited (UChick) : 9/11/2017 12:28:53 AM (GMT-6)

Tachycardia (rapid heartbeat) is most often attributed to uc patients when they are flaring badly, are anemic (low iron), and it can be caused by uc medications (most notoriously prednisone). In rare cases, Tachycardia can be caused by mesalamine (the active ingredient in asacol hd) and also by azathiopurine both of which are your maintenance medications for uc.

"Cardiac involvement is a rare extraintestinal manifestation of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). When it occurs, the most frequent presentation is acute pericarditis, followed by myocarditis, myopericarditis, pericardial and pleural effusion, conduction defects, and cardiac tamponade.1-8 All these clinical situations can arise as a true extraintestinal manifestation2 or as a secondary effect of drugs containing mainly mesalamine, or azathioprine. Myocarditis could also be manifested in patients with Ulcerative Colitis (UC) or Crohn’s disease (CD) children with IBD included."
www.annalsgastro.gr/index.php/annalsgastro/article/download/722/534

I was started on a beta blocker in Jan of this year after being an inpatient for a flare. I was quite hypertensive in the hospital (because of prednisone) so they started me on a calcium channel blocker and ultimately sent me home on it. I've never been hypertensive so bought a blood pressure machine for home. I think I was on norvasc and it wasn't doing much for my blood pressure and my resting heart rate was in the 130-140s. Simply taking a shower wiped me out so I asked my pcp to switch me to a beta blocker. It's been great and I feel so much better on it. I'm now normotensive and my heart rate is around 60 (my previous normal). I do agree with your GI that some people have a higher resting heart rate but I was absolutely miserable. I could feel every heart beat on the tip of my nose and had no activity tolerance.