Higher pulse - a chemo side effect?

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ender
ender Member Posts: 167
in Breast Cancer #1
Hi everyone,

I have experienced an increased heart rate since my first chemo a week ago. Did anyone else experience this? What did your doctors say about it? Does it go back down in between chemo cycles? Does it go back after chemo is all done?

Eva

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  • jnl
    jnl Member Posts: 3,869 Member
    #2
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    I wish I could answer you
    I wish I could answer you Eva, but, I didn't have chemo. I am sure that some of the pink sisters that had chemo will reply to you.

    Be sure and tell your oncologist about this.


    Hugs, Leeza
  • butterflylvr
    butterflylvr Member Posts: 944
    #3
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    jnl said:

    I wish I could answer you
    I wish I could answer you Eva, but, I didn't have chemo. I am sure that some of the pink sisters that had chemo will reply to you.

    Be sure and tell your oncologist about this.


    Hugs, Leeza

    Hi Eva,
    I guess I hadn't noticed any change in my heart rhythm. I know my blood pressure fluctuated off and on but there seemed to be no concern by my doctor or the nurses. One week post chemo your blood cells are still tying to actively rebound maybe that's the cause. Are you physically pushing yourself beyond what your body is able to provide? If your heart rate has increased enough that you are aware of it, ask your triage nurses for possible causes.

    Have you gone back for your lab work yet to check cell counts? This would be a good time to address this situation.

    You are doing so good Eva, I love your spirit.
    Hugs,
    Lorrie
  • VickiSam
    VickiSam Member Posts: 9,079 Member
    #4
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    butterflylvr said:

    Hi Eva,
    I guess I hadn't noticed any change in my heart rhythm. I know my blood pressure fluctuated off and on but there seemed to be no concern by my doctor or the nurses. One week post chemo your blood cells are still tying to actively rebound maybe that's the cause. Are you physically pushing yourself beyond what your body is able to provide? If your heart rate has increased enough that you are aware of it, ask your triage nurses for possible causes.

    Have you gone back for your lab work yet to check cell counts? This would be a good time to address this situation.

    You are doing so good Eva, I love your spirit.
    Hugs,
    Lorrie

    Yes .. My blood pressure went thru the roof with
    chemo .. I also experience heart and pulse increases thru out chemo - however, they gradually went back to normal 7 to 8 months 'after' chemo. Scary how chemo affects our internal organs.

    I thank God daily for the advances of chemo infusions and the lives that have been saved, however, I worry about the long term efforts chemo does to our bodies.

    Please please please contact your Oncologist .. make sure your chart is noted with this side effort. Symptoms like this should be monitored closely and chemo doses can be adjusted to maybe a more tolerable dose.

    Strength and Courage,

    Vicki Sam
  • grams2jc
    grams2jc Member Posts: 756
    #5
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    Higher pulse
    Hi Eva,

    Yes I experienced an elevated pulse with the Taxol that I received. Mentioned it to my oncologist and she agreed it was the Taxol. Now, 3 1/2 weeks after my last infusion it has returned to normal and I am feeling much better. It would also return to normal just prior to the next treatment - 3 weeks apart.

    Good luck and please don't forget to mention it to your doc, especially if it is bothering you, or just scary.

    Jennifer
  • mrs gadget
    mrs gadget Member Posts: 118
    #6
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    yes, that happened to me too
    I had an elevated heart rate for about 2 months after my last chemo in December. They were a little concerned about it during my surgery; however, everything turned out fine. You will return to a new version of normal in time...
  • jendrey
    jendrey Member Posts: 377
    #7
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    mrs gadget said:

    yes, that happened to me too
    I had an elevated heart rate for about 2 months after my last chemo in December. They were a little concerned about it during my surgery; however, everything turned out fine. You will return to a new version of normal in time...

    ...
    Yep, me too. Still is but not as bad as it was..last chemo was in June or thereabouts.
  • ender
    ender Member Posts: 167
    #8
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    jendrey said:

    ...
    Yep, me too. Still is but not as bad as it was..last chemo was in June or thereabouts.

    Thanks so much for the
    Thanks so much for the replies, guys!

    Yesterday I got my white counts checked again, and fortunately they were going back up so I could stop the Neuprogen shots. I am currently managing the shooting bone pains with vicodin. I did not want to go there, but when I was screaming and twitching every minute or so I gave in. My MO said that younger patients have worse side effects.

    It makes me feel so good to hear that others experienced a higher pulse. Not glad that you had this side effect of course, but glad that it does go back down without apparent long term harm. Actually, I addressed this with my MO the other day. She said it was probably just because I had not been moving much since all my surgeries. So the past couple of days I started exercising. But to be honest, I don't buy her argument. I am 28 years old. I was in perfect health before the cancer. How could my resting heart rate go from 65 to 100 by virtue of me not exercising for a couple of months?

    Eva
  • VickiSam
    VickiSam Member Posts: 9,079 Member
    #9
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    ender said:

    Thanks so much for the
    Thanks so much for the replies, guys!

    Yesterday I got my white counts checked again, and fortunately they were going back up so I could stop the Neuprogen shots. I am currently managing the shooting bone pains with vicodin. I did not want to go there, but when I was screaming and twitching every minute or so I gave in. My MO said that younger patients have worse side effects.

    It makes me feel so good to hear that others experienced a higher pulse. Not glad that you had this side effect of course, but glad that it does go back down without apparent long term harm. Actually, I addressed this with my MO the other day. She said it was probably just because I had not been moving much since all my surgeries. So the past couple of days I started exercising. But to be honest, I don't buy her argument. I am 28 years old. I was in perfect health before the cancer. How could my resting heart rate go from 65 to 100 by virtue of me not exercising for a couple of months?

    Eva

    Eva ...You are 100% correct .. I HATE when our
    so called professional try to down play our side efforts by making a reference about another cancer patient! We are all human, and all different! Please do not allow him/or her to dismiss any side effort during your chemo therapy.!!! Ask your doctor to show you research, results from clinical trials - with regards to side efforts. If he doesn't show you or continues to dismiss your concerns .. RUN to the nearest exit, or switch to another Oncologist within your current group ... Be you own BEST HEALTH ADVOCATE.

    This is your life, your body and you KNOW it BEST! Please start searching around for another Oncologist ..call around --check to see if there are a Breast Cancer Specialist in your area -- which Oncology group and hospital they are affiliated with -- !!

    Eva, dear Sister -- I went to very similar conversations with my Oncologist .. hated the way he made me feel, as tho I was making half my symptoms up. It was only after my 3rd ER room visit that I insisted the ER staff call him at 1:30 a.m. so he could witness me in full break out of hives with blood pressure of 218 over 132... did my doctor start to treat me like Vicki Sam, and not another number or patient.

    Please let us know .. what you decide.

    Vicki Sam
  • ender
    ender Member Posts: 167
    #10
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    VickiSam said:

    Eva ...You are 100% correct .. I HATE when our
    so called professional try to down play our side efforts by making a reference about another cancer patient! We are all human, and all different! Please do not allow him/or her to dismiss any side effort during your chemo therapy.!!! Ask your doctor to show you research, results from clinical trials - with regards to side efforts. If he doesn't show you or continues to dismiss your concerns .. RUN to the nearest exit, or switch to another Oncologist within your current group ... Be you own BEST HEALTH ADVOCATE.

    This is your life, your body and you KNOW it BEST! Please start searching around for another Oncologist ..call around --check to see if there are a Breast Cancer Specialist in your area -- which Oncology group and hospital they are affiliated with -- !!

    Eva, dear Sister -- I went to very similar conversations with my Oncologist .. hated the way he made me feel, as tho I was making half my symptoms up. It was only after my 3rd ER room visit that I insisted the ER staff call him at 1:30 a.m. so he could witness me in full break out of hives with blood pressure of 218 over 132... did my doctor start to treat me like Vicki Sam, and not another number or patient.

    Please let us know .. what you decide.

    Vicki Sam

    Dear Vicki Sam,
    I am so very
    Dear Vicki Sam,

    I am so very sorry to hear about your bad experience, both with your ER room visits and your unresponsive MO. I am generally happy with my MO. She is nice, and her personality fits mine. She has been sensitive to my concerns in general. I think that during this past visit, she was very stressed and perhaps I was "just a number" that day. But overall, she has been great, staying late so that I can ask all my questions. Perhaps she is not worried, because my pulse is around 80-100. That is not dangerous in itself I guess. Its just that it IS high for someone my age and with my overall good health. I will keep monitoring my own heart rate over the course of treatment and I will make sure to address this with my MO again, when I have a "normal" appointment with her.

    Thanks so much for sharing your experience and advice.

    Eva
  • Lynn Smith
    Lynn Smith Member Posts: 1,264 Member
    #11
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    ender said:

    Dear Vicki Sam,
    I am so very
    Dear Vicki Sam,

    I am so very sorry to hear about your bad experience, both with your ER room visits and your unresponsive MO. I am generally happy with my MO. She is nice, and her personality fits mine. She has been sensitive to my concerns in general. I think that during this past visit, she was very stressed and perhaps I was "just a number" that day. But overall, she has been great, staying late so that I can ask all my questions. Perhaps she is not worried, because my pulse is around 80-100. That is not dangerous in itself I guess. Its just that it IS high for someone my age and with my overall good health. I will keep monitoring my own heart rate over the course of treatment and I will make sure to address this with my MO again, when I have a "normal" appointment with her.

    Thanks so much for sharing your experience and advice.

    Eva

    I didn't need chemo
    I didn't need chemo but this would concern me since I have tachycardia and my heart raced once at 160 beats.I was terrified.So far since taking meds I don't have a problem.It is controlled.

    I have no idea what would have happened if I needed it since I already that heart condition.

    My friend(16 year survivor) had problems with her chemo.Her heart raised during the treatment.She said she was nervous and anxious so they sedated her to where she was awake/alert but her heart wouldn't race. She never said she had problems after her chemo treatment.Just during it.

    Sound like others are having the same problem.If my heart went 100 beats I would be stressed to the max.Just the way I am.When I had epsisodes I was always so tired. Our bodies work overtime when the heart races.

    Lynn Smith
  • ender
    ender Member Posts: 167
    #12
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    Lynn Smith said:

    I didn't need chemo
    I didn't need chemo but this would concern me since I have tachycardia and my heart raced once at 160 beats.I was terrified.So far since taking meds I don't have a problem.It is controlled.

    I have no idea what would have happened if I needed it since I already that heart condition.

    My friend(16 year survivor) had problems with her chemo.Her heart raised during the treatment.She said she was nervous and anxious so they sedated her to where she was awake/alert but her heart wouldn't race. She never said she had problems after her chemo treatment.Just during it.

    Sound like others are having the same problem.If my heart went 100 beats I would be stressed to the max.Just the way I am.When I had epsisodes I was always so tired. Our bodies work overtime when the heart races.

    Lynn Smith

    Thanks for sharing, Lynn. Im
    Thanks for sharing, Lynn. Im sorry to hear about your troubles. I will keep monitoring and bring it up again with my MO.

    Eva
  • RozHopkins
    RozHopkins Member Posts: 578 Member
    #13
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    Hi
    Yes, only happened once badly and lasted two days. Felt as if I was going to explode and my heart was in my mouth. Very excited and couldn't sit down or concentrate so much that I didn't dare drive. Called hospital, like you in the middle of chemo and they said to give it a day or so as this was over a weekend and it just faded away before Monday came. I couldn't live that way for long I was highly agitated, I certainly couldn't sleep. My blood pressure was sky high and I have low usually, the on duty oncologist wasn't concerned about blood pressure even when one of the readings was in the 180s. Good luck
  • carkris
    carkris Member Posts: 4,553 Member
    #14
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    RozHopkins said:

    Hi
    Yes, only happened once badly and lasted two days. Felt as if I was going to explode and my heart was in my mouth. Very excited and couldn't sit down or concentrate so much that I didn't dare drive. Called hospital, like you in the middle of chemo and they said to give it a day or so as this was over a weekend and it just faded away before Monday came. I couldn't live that way for long I was highly agitated, I certainly couldn't sleep. My blood pressure was sky high and I have low usually, the on duty oncologist wasn't concerned about blood pressure even when one of the readings was in the 180s. Good luck

    I was very weak and sick on
    I was very weak and sick on chemo. I think I was a lways a bit dehydrated. My docs were not too helpful, as I fell outside their norm. yay for me. anyway my blood pressure was really low and has remained that was top number 88. and my resting heart rate was 131. it gradually came down to the 110s, and normalized the further I got away from chemo.
  • ender
    ender Member Posts: 167
    #15
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    carkris said:

    I was very weak and sick on
    I was very weak and sick on chemo. I think I was a lways a bit dehydrated. My docs were not too helpful, as I fell outside their norm. yay for me. anyway my blood pressure was really low and has remained that was top number 88. and my resting heart rate was 131. it gradually came down to the 110s, and normalized the further I got away from chemo.

    Thanks for your reply!
    Im
    Thanks for your reply!

    Im sorry to hear you had a pulse of 130! Mine was hovering around 100, and I considered that high as my normal resting heart rate is 65. As I am almost 2 weeks from my first round of chemo, its down to around 80. I guess it will go up each time and then come down.

    Eva

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