My father has a very low pulse rate since his heart attack. Should we be concerned?

Question

My father had a heart attack 1 week ago. He is now back home with 5 new heart medications (pressure, cholesterol, anti-coagulant...). Since his return, he feels very tired. He takes his pressure 3 times a day and it is around 98/65 pulse at 48 at rest. He was told that as long as his pressure remained above 90 it was within the norm... Is a drop in pulse rate related to medication? Should we be concerned with such a low pulse? You should know that normally, before his incident, my father had a resting pulse around 50-60. Thank you for your answer. Thank you so much for your response it is tred appreciated and reassuring! :)I passed the information on to my dad.Happy day!

Laurie Hudon Germain · Accepted Answer

Hello ! First of all, you should know that it can be normal to feel more tired after having a heart attack, the body can take a few days to a few weeks to recover from such stress, which may explain the unusual fatigue. To answer your question regarding medications and pulse, some heart medications can indeed decrease the pulse, it is very likely that your father was prescribed one of these following his heart attack. A decreased pulse can also cause unusual fatigue. However, a pulse of 48 beats per minute (BPM) in someone whose baseline was 50 to 60 BPM does not particularly concern me. A "normal" pulse should be between 60 and 100 BPM. However, many people naturally have a lower pulse rate and do not experience any symptoms. Given the very recent infarction, it may be acceptable to wait a while before attempting to adjust the medication. However, if the fatigue continues, you may want to discuss the situation with the doctor to consider adjusting the medication that affects the pulse. Does your father have any other symptoms that might be of concern to you? Does this explanation answer your question? Looking forward to it! Laurie Hudon-Germain, Pharmacist