A woman who lost weight at the cost of her heartbeat.

[DianaCox]

For those of us who have low heartrates after bariatric surgery - good news - it's "normal."

BMJ Case Rep. 2014 Aug 1;2014:bcr-2014-205359. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2014-205359.
A woman who lost weight at the cost of her heartbeat.
Shah R1, Bansal N2, Manocha D2.
Author information

• 1Department of Internal Medicine, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York, USA.
• 2SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York, USA.

Abstract
With increasing prevalence of obesity worldwide, the number of patients undergoing bariatric surgery is also rising. Although the incidence of adverse outcomes associated with bariatric surgery has reduced, the physiological compensatory changes occurring after weight loss can lead to some unavoidable outcomes. One such condition is sinus bradycardia. The pathophysiology behind this is well studied but there is little awareness about this outcome. Sinus bradycardia in this clinical setting is generally asymptomatic and does not require any treatment. Extensive cardiac workup and unnecessary treatment can be avoided by increasing awareness among healthcare providers.

If anyone can get a copy of the paper, that would be great.

 

[Munchkin]

I wonder.... How many of us end up with vagus nerve damage?

 

[DianaCox]

I don't know if it's damage - I think the heartrate is slowed down after all those years of having to work SO hard to pump blood through all those extra miles of fat-feeding and occluded blood vessels, and now it's relatively easy?

 

[Sheanie]

I also wonder about the vagus nerve damage incidence. I know mine was twanged during my DS. It was angry for at least 8 months post op.

The slower heartbeat makes great sense. Perhaps enlargement of the heart is the cause?

 

[Munchkin]

I always thought the low BP/heartrate thing was either vagus nerve damage or just simply because the heart didn't have to work as hard any more because we are so much smaller. Didn't need to perform at the old capacity to do the job. Kind of makes sense.

 

[Sheanie]

@Munchkin , my experience with Vagus Nerve damage started when I met a nursing mother whose baby had what I suspected to be some type of birth trauma. Sure enough, the OB had done some traction at birth and damaged the neck, resulting in tonic bite reflex during breastfeeding. I tried my hardest to get this mom to take her baby girl to a specialist, but her husband ruled the roost. Dictated what and where in every aspect of her life (gag me). In my research, I concluded that this baby girl would grow up to suffer stomach issues later in life. Fast forward 17 years, I bump into them and catch up. Daughter now has "unexplained" stomach issues that have cost them lots of money in failed diagnoses. I again tried to clue her in, but to no avail. I always suspected a pinched nerve or Vagus damage. Pretty sad, but I said some things pointedly to the daughter. I voiced my concern that I initially had at her tonic bite reflex during nursing and repeated (so the daughter would know) that treatment was DENIED her in infancy. I briefly considered turning them in to CPS, but did not. I am mostly angry at the OB and the mom, who both caused her suffering and allowed it to continue.

 

[Georgepds]

For those of us who have low heartrates after bariatric surgery - good news - it's "normal."

BMJ Case Rep. 2014 Aug 1;2014:bcr-2014-205359. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2014-205359.
A woman who lost weight at the cost of her heartbeat.
Shah R1, Bansal N2, Manocha D2.

...
If anyone can get a copy of the paper, that would be great....

Found it here...

Case Report: A woman who lost weight at the cost of her heartbeat

With increasing prevalence of obesity worldwide, the number of patients undergoing bariatric surgery is also rising. Although the incidence of adverse outcomes associated with bariatric surgery has reduced, the physiological compensatory changes occurring ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

ECG showed sinus bradycardia with intermittent pauses. Echocardiogram showed normal ejection fraction and, surprisingly, revealed normalisation of left ventricular hypertrophy, which was reported in a study conducted 6 months prior to surgery. Metabolic profile, thyroid function and cortisol levels were within normal limits. The patient was evaluated by cardiology for bradycardia but the workup was negative. Bariatric services were also consulted and finally it was concluded that her symptoms were due to an increased resting vagal tone and decreased resting metabolic oxygen demand after massive weight loss in the postoperative period. This condition is considered to be benign, has good long-term prognosis and does not require pacemaker placement. She was started on a scopolamine patch with complete resolution of bradycardia and other symptom....

She was started on a scopolamine patch with complete resolution of bradycardia and other symptoms...

After bariatric surgery the concentration of leptin decreases and leads to a decrease in HR.6 The drop in leptin level is proportional to the reduction in BMI,

 

[southernlady]

I spend years tachycardic because of a medication. Post op, mine has normalized.

 

[ShrinkingMyTiara]

I was tachycardic for years, partly due to the weight and deconditioning from the autoimmune disease, but it got MUCH worse after a bad bout of Epstein Barr Virus that put me in bed for almost 6 months. Post-op it has improved significantly, as has the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome I developed from the EBV. I don't really understand why that is, but I'm very grateful for it!