#87 Lightheaded, dizzy ....... + up, up and away!

I was having some problems a while back with feeling lightheaded, and dizzy.  This especially was happening if I bent over, or had squatted down and then stood up quickly, as I would be while doing work in the yard. My cardiologist told me this was not unusual for heart patients taking certain medications.  He sort of combined the fact of my exercise program and weight loss to lowering my blood pressure, and continuing the same blood pressure medication dosage being the major reason for this occurring sometimes.

Hypotension is the medical term for blood pressure lower than 90/60.  Typically mine is in the range of 115/65.  It has gotten lower and sometimes quite a bit higher.  This morning it was 134/ 67.  I have never taken my blood pressure  immediately after this dizzy lightheaded feeling I told you about.  My bigger concern was my heart rate was getting to low, which I had told you, I thought was good and a positive result of exercise.  I was wrong on both of those thoughts.  A slow heart rate can be very dangerous.  Mine was pretty consistent in the mid 50's-low 60's.  Then it began to drop into the high 40's.  Cindy also records my heart rate, along with my daily blood pressure readings.  When my cardiologist saw those numbers, he became alarmed and quickly changed one of my medications, lowering the dosage.   Here again, exercise, combined with my medication had gotten my heart rate too low.  The threat with a slow heart rate is your heart is not pumping enough blood to reach all parts and meet your body's needs.  This can be especially dangerous for older patients.   Meaning if heart beat becomes too slow, it can just stop.   For most people a heart rate of 60 to 100 beats per minute is considered normal.

This has nothing to do with this blog or health, though I wanted to share the humor I found it to be.  This week I flew to Dallas and back on Southwest Airlines, which I had never flown on before. Southwest is a little bit different than most other U.S. airlines.  They don't have assigned seating for one thing. It is first person boarding, takes his choice of seats and so forth for all passengers.There is only one cabin, no separate first class or business class.   It is a very casual atmosphere by the cabin crew, but very professional service oriented. They don't seem to be uptight, waiting for you to break some rule or say something that they can use as a reason to throw you off the plane, just to show everyone on board who's in charge. Prior to take-off, the cabin crew asked everyone to sit down so they could make a head count. Just then, one of the attendants announced she was a blond and it might take her two or three counts to get it correct, so be patient and stay in your seat. Another announced there was going to be rough weather ahead but we would fly extra fast to get through it quickly. Finally, the one that I would have never ever thought you would hear a pilot say.  As you sit there white knuckled gripping your arm rest and staring intently ahead as you pronounce your last will and testament, normally the pilot will announce a rolling takeoff as "cabin crew prepare for an immediate take-off."  This Southwest pilot announced as he rolled onto the runway and applied take-off power to full thrust "Cabin crew buckle up. This Boeing......is a going."  

Next time more on heart patient recovery.