Resolved question:
I have a 78 year old mother with Parkinson's disease who is experiencing an increase heart rate of 130 beats per minute. Her blood pressure is normal....but her heart rate in elevated. She has had these symptoms previously on more than one occasion and it has eventually come back to a normal level. Is this normal and what steps should we take?
Submitted:
4 Days
Category:
Infectious Disease Specialist
Hello,
Thank you for asking your query at DoctorSpring.
I assume the heart rate you have measured - 130/minute is indeed correct. I recommend a re check / getting a nurse or medic to check it since in patients with Parkinson tremors it might be difficult to accurately count the beats.
Assuming the rate indeed is 130/minute - this is not normal. This is called tachycardia. If the heart rate becomes 130 per minute in response to some exertion or exercise that is acceptable. Otherwise if the rate goes up above 90-100 per minute it needs evaluation. This could be a rhythm abnormality of the heart. This could be easily diagnosed by an ECG. If the ECG is normal your Doctor would recommend tests to rule out high Thyroid hormone, low Hemoglobin etc which can cause the heart to beat faster.
In short - recheck the rate - If it still high more than 90/minute, get in touch with your Doctor and get ECG and blood test done.
Hope this helps
Please feel free to ask followup questions.
Thank you