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Very low resting heart rate - what could be wrong!

Posted by isadora2021 @isadora2021, 2 days ago

I have at times in my life been an elite athlete. Even then my average resting heart rate was 45. I’m far from elite now after stage 4 abdominal cancer treatment now NED !

I do walk my dogs every day and spend a lot of time gardening. Nothing massive!

Yet suddenly my resting heart rate is averaging 40-42 and my smartwatch has sent me alerts while relaxed watching TV that my heart rate has dipped to 39. It also happens sometimes when I’m asleep too. So fat I haven’t gone below 39.

I have recently had an ECG and an Echocardiogram. I phoned my GP today to find out if the results have come in. The nurse told me there is nothing amiss and my GP has written on them “No further action”.

What could be going on?! I am not on any medication. My blood pressure is normal. My weight is fine. I have naturally lost some through walking.

Just that I feel tired a lot of the time, breathless at strange times (like not when I’m exercising just getting the dogs breakfasted), sometimes dizzy when I stand up from crouching in the garden.

I am still surveilled closely and no signs of cancer in my blood tests or PET-CT scans. I am not anaemic but I am short of Vit D and on supplement.

All in all I am in good nick for a cancer survivor going on 4 years NED other than this recent very low resting heart rate. Strange.

Do I push for answers or just learn to live with whatever is going on?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Heart Rhythm Conditions Support Group.

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Teresa, Volunteer Mentor | @hopeful33250 | 46 minutes ago
In reply to @bgellman "I have had to stop taking vit d supplement as that was slowing my heart rate..." + (show)
Profile picture for bgellman @bgellman

I have had to stop taking vit d supplement as that was slowing my heart rate too much. I do not take vitamins every day my system is very sensitive to everything. I found out by paying attention when I took the vit d. I didn't take anything else. So it was easy for me to figure it out. That is me....
Hope you are able to figure out what is causing it.

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Hello @bgellman and welcome to Mayo Connect. I see that you stopped taking a Vitamin D supplement because of a slow heart rate. Would you share the amount of Vitamin D you were taking each day and the length of time you had been using this dosage? Has your doctor ever tested your Vitamin D levels?

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isadora2021 | @isadora2021 | 42 minutes ago
In reply to @bgellman "I have had to stop taking vit d supplement as that was slowing my heart rate..." + (show)
Profile picture for bgellman @bgellman

I have had to stop taking vit d supplement as that was slowing my heart rate too much. I do not take vitamins every day my system is very sensitive to everything. I found out by paying attention when I took the vit d. I didn't take anything else. So it was easy for me to figure it out. That is me....
Hope you are able to figure out what is causing it.

Jump to this post

@bgellman You’re so right about how it’s a matter of paying attention. It’s only when I started wanting to nap so much and feeling dizzy that I thought maybe my new smartwatch wasn’t wrong. I went back through my smartwatch data and was shocked how low my average RHR had fallen since October. Getting a range of blood tests after that showed I wasn’t anaemic (which I initially thought might be the problem) but that I was low in Vit D. I was surprised as I spend several hours a day walking my dogs or gardening in the sun and I also eat Vit D rich food. It just wasn’t being absorbed. So with me I only started taking the Vit D after the problem started 🤷‍♀️

It would be nice to know what’s going on and be able to address it. I think I’ll re-examine my diet closely next

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