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Prednisone and cardiac symptoms

Posted by prestol @prestol, Mar 13, 2024

I was diagnosed six weeks ago and rapidly increased prednisone to 40 mg. Within a day or two my smart watch alerted me to an episode of low resting heart rate lasting 10 minutes. That never happened again, but I do have a low reading of about 40 BPM almost every morning about an hour after getting up, which doesn’t last long. Many days my average BPM has been below 60. Now that I’ve gone down on the prednisone (to 25 mg), this situation is improving. Average BPM (beats per minute) is now 61-63. I also have ankle swelling and a slightly elevated peptide lab test. My primary care provider has referred me for an echocardiogram and a cardiology consult. Has anyone had a similar issue?

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Mike | @dadcue | Sep 8 11:13am
In reply to @happywhenhealthy "@dadcue Had six of these episodes where (last two) heart rate was 175 and 153. This..." + (show)
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@dadcue Had six of these episodes where (last two) heart rate was 175 and 153. This is immediately followed by a fairly intense pain in the back of the throat! All checked out by cardiologist egg,ultrasound and stress test! All checked out o.k. So prednisone must be the culprit. Scary! I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this! New to group!

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@happywhenhealthy

Welcome to the PMR/Prednisone club. Mayo Connect PMR forum is a good place to be.

A resting heart rate of greater than 150 beats per minute warrants a cardiology work-up. If you have never had these cardiac events before and if you are new to taking prednisone then yes ... it is very possible that prednisone might be the culprit. Cardiac arrhythmias, especially atrial fibrillation, are a possible side effect from Prednisone.
https://www.verywellhealth.com/prednisone-heart-rate-5113682

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ndep | @ndep | Sep 11 5:16am

I experienced this also, I had to turn off the alarm on my watch. BPM between 36-40, I could feel my heart pumping in my chest and felt very dizzy…Do you take calcium supplements? I stopped taking them and it got better, don’t know if it has anything to do with it.. I was on 10 mg of prednison, now 3 mg.
Are you still experiencing a low heart rate?

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