Are lower SpO2 and fast heart rate asthma symptoms?

@ling You are probably correct, and it sounds like you have one of the few “humble” pulmonologists. Humility is a neglected virtue these days. My husband was treated for asthma for years. Prior to going China in 2002, he had to have a chest X-ray. No asthma!!! He had sarcoid causing his symptoms. X-rays and CT scans may not show asthma , but they will pick up other visitors. His PCP had treated him for asthma for years! Now he sees a pulmonologist and his sarcoid is under control. My tachycardia started after my lungs became hyperinflated, my bronchiectasis had worsened, and I had RSV. I don’t like having tachycardia because it happens at weird times - like waking me up at night!! . I’m wearing a monitor right now and had a scan this morning- echo in a few weeks. Does your fast heartbeat annoy you?? I don’t like it one bit. Irene5

Thank you Irene for sharing your and your husband's experience. As patients we give ourselves over to the medical staff. We hope we are lucky to have a good, innate, hardworking, and intelligent doctor who cares! It is tough. Sometimes my heart beat is so fast it makes me uncomfortable. It is the second time it has happened to me, I hope I will get to the bottom of it.

Take care!
Ling

Here's my heart rate update since yesterday. The dr. said take doxycycline 100 mg 2 x a day and 20 mg prednisone for a few days. I started yesterday evening with the doxy and at 7 am with the prednisone.. By 1 or 2 pm my heart rate was way back down to almost normal range for me and I was breathing a little better. My HR dropped from 90s to mid 70s when sitting around. I think the cause is the prednisone which will lower heart rate. It's a bit soon for the antibiotics to have kicked in I'm guessing. I hope this lasts! I haven't used rescue inhaler today. (Because of my autoimmune disease I normally take prednisone daily but only a small dose of 5mg and have been for years and I am still alive!)

Thanks again. I am glad that you have it under control.

Best!
Ling

I was under the impression that you could do a histamine provocation test for asthma...which I did at one point. It was positive for me although symbicort didn't seem to help.

I now follow Lung Matters protocol with airways clearance 2xdaily. Seems to work best for me.

Thank you Narelled for sharing your experience.

@narelled23 What about your spirometry results? My NP told me that asthma on PFTs has a distinctive shape. Did you have spirometry? I never heard about the histamine provocation test so thanks for mentioning it.

I have had spirometry tests over the last 20 years. To be honest I don't understand the results. Below my notes from 2009:

"2009 Tested POSITIVE to histamine provocation for asthma, peak flow variations between 20 - 25% of peak flow, small airways obstruction and increased relative gas transfer, allergic to house dust Mite and cat, cold air and rapid air flow (talking/laughing/exertion), post nasal drainage, Lung nodules < 5mm, THOMPSON"

@wangling Well that is interesting about the prednisone and the doxy. I was on that cocktail for RSV only with 30 mg of prednisone. I didn’t realize prednisone lowers heart rate. I apologize for not getting back to you. That is so not my MO. I had a CT scan and have been on a heart monitor and still have to have the echo, but I did get some answers, albeit not good ones. I had a car accident on 11/23/22 where a newly licensed teen crossed over and hit me head on. My sternum broke and has healed but has healed curved inward (pectus excavatum) which is usually a birth defect , but not the case with me. In certain positions it presses on my heart which is giving me symptoms. That coupled with my lungs being right full bilaterally with “ something new and delightful”right now are causing my symptoms of rapid heartbeat and difficulty breathing. The good news is I have some answers and have a great team of doctors. One day at a time! Although I still say this growing up thing is highly overrated! Hope you are doing better. Irene

Oh wow. Glad you found out "something". It's better to know causes then you can deal best with the problems. Will positioning your body consciously help? The prednisone routine is variable depending on doctors I think. Allergist/immunologist says 5 days at 40 5 days at 20 5 days at 10 and stop. Pulmonary dr. says 5 days at 40 then stop. There are those dose packs too which have a slightly different regime of I think 6 days but not sure. In any case, they say long weaning regime is not necessary if under a certain number of days or something like that. My resting heart rate continued to fall from (fitbit/garmin definition) from 73 to 65 this a.m. I think but not sure that prednisone lowers the heart rate by reducing inflammation and general sickness and when you are sick your pulse rate rises and then as you recover it falls. Today I decide whether to go with the allergist regime or the pulmonary doctor regime and part of my problem is allergies and asthma so I think I will go with 5 days of 20 and I have a day and a half left of doxy. I am feeling slightly better and less sob. Thanks