Why is my heartbeat so slow?

Question

No, I'm not very healthy. I have just started some testing with an endocrinologist for adrenal deficiency. I have been fighting h-pylori for five years. My heartbeat usually is around 60 beats per minute but lately it has been in the 50's and as low measured as 43.

Answer 1

The causes of possible Bradycardia (slow heart rate ) are as follows:

Causes of Bradycardia

The chances of developing bradycardia increase as a person ages. Causes include:

* Normal age-related changes
* Damage caused by heart attack
* Other medical conditions

Many people with bradycardia have heart disease. Some people have coronary heart disease (hardening of the arteries). Others have different heart problems, such as:

* Long-term high blood pressure (hypertension)
* Abnormalities of the heart valves (thin tissues that keep blood flowing in one direction through the heart,( about heart valve disease.)
* Pericarditis, which is inflammation of the sac like covering of the heart (pericardium)
* Abnormalities of the heart's pumping function

Some people who have bradycardia don't have underlying heart disease. The cause is often unknown. Possible causes include:

* An overactive thyroid or other metabolic imbalance
* Abnormalities within individual heart cells
* Abnormal electrical properties of groups of heart cells
* Emphysema or other lung diseases

Answer 2

People that are extremely physically fit have low resting heart rates, sometimes as low as the 40's.

Sometimes medication can cause it, like beta blockers (drugs that end in lol....ie: metoprolol) or digoxin, or calcium channel blockers.

Sometimes it's a problem with the electrical conduction pathways in the heart being "blocked"

If you feel sympotomatic.....dizzy, light headed, nauseous, fatigued, flu like feeling....go to the Doc to be checked out. If you feel fine, chances are, you are fine.

Answer 3

How slow? how many beats in a minute? It can be a very good thing: it is called sport bradicardia and it means that your heart works so efficiently that it needs less beats to push blood in your body! Technically your sistolic gittate increases and frequency reduces. What is important is that your cardiac gittate is good!

Cardiac gittate = sistolic gittate x frequency

Answer 4

there is a multitude of answers for this question. you need to be more specific. do you exercise, are you in good health? do you take meds. does your heartbeat so slowly that you have symptoms like dizziness, lightheaded, clammy skin, etc. see a doctor if it worries you.

Answer 5

Your are either a super athlete, or need to be checked for bradycardia.

Answer 6

Details please!
If you're fit and run alot it's not a problem at all, but if you're not, then i have no idea... LOL