u/Anon-scroller

Hi everyone!

So my cardiologist/POTS doctor has really been pushing ivabradine. I’m currently on propranolol and I was on a higher dose until last year my heart rate went too low and they needed to just put me on 10mg from 20mg 2x daily.

Since I went down to 10mg it’s not cutting it for my palpitations and I feel like I’m getting worse.

My doctors want me to try Ivabradine, but I’m hesitant as a beta blocker feels so minimal and my dream is to one day be off medication again.

Thoughts from anyone who has tried it? Does it really work as well as they say and will I have a better quality of life?

I am so frustrated as I feel my symptoms getting worse. The doctors also think I have MCAS as every food makes my heart rate sky rocket even on propranolol and I get heart palpitations. I have palpitations probably 5-10 times a day. I’ve been getting them since January of 2020, even before I had Covid. But they were about once a month, compared to now which is everyday all day.

Anyway, my friend who is a PA told me my EF test from years ago is too low and I need another echo…. But I know it will be significantly lower now. I feel like I’m in early stage heart failure. The palpitations are picking up, my heart feels unstable majority of the time. My family doesn’t believe me and I feel like no one will help me figure out how to actually treat this condition. My life changed overnight in April of 2024 when it was like a switch flipped in my body and after that there was no standing without medication. But I’m just supposed to deal with it and charge on.

How do you just move on when you can feel your heart giving up on you?