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I'm an 83-year-old male.
About two years ago I began having Atrial Fibrillation attacks. I had been consuming more alcohol than I should have and believed that there was a connection so I cut back to three drinks per day, which did not prove to help or effect the Atrial Fibrillation by my own observation. I was taking Atenolol for the Fib. and Lisinopril, for high blood pressure.
A few months later, while away from home traveling, I awoke with a rather severe attack. This attack included slight jaw and arm pain along with the Fib. I went to an emergency ward where they gave me a shot of Cardizem and a prescription for 15 Cardizem CD 360 mm and advised me to go to a Cardiac Specialist very soon, which I did. The specialist scheduled many tests and advised me to continue taking the Cardizem and discontinue the Atenolol. Due to a misunderstanding she forgot about giving me a new prescription for the Cardizem. As soon as I ran out of the 15 capsules the Fib. came back thus convincing me that it was the answer to my problem.
Everything went smoothly for about one and a half years. During that time, in several steps, I cut back on my intake of alcohol to one once per day. Thinking that I could safely lower my dose of Cardizem from 360 mm to 240 mm I got an approval from my Doctor on this. After that I noticed that my blood pressure was slowly dropping and was 120/60.
My need for sleep was increasing and about two weeks ago my Fib. Came back along with severe fatigue when doing anything. I went back to the Doctor and requested that I go back to the Cardizem 360 mm dosage, but my blood pressure was now around 105/60 and he thought the higher dose would lower it even more. Two days ago it dawned on me that one of my other drugs might be the cause.
One by one I did a Google searchs on:
Tricor low blood pressure Simvastatin low blood pressure Ranitidine low blood pressure Lisinopril low blood pressure
Bingo! Lisinopril's main purpose is to lower blood pressure, so I quit taking it. This was a holdover from when I was drinking too much. In two days my blood pressure is now 119/70.
I've started taking Cardizem 360 mm and my Fib problem is going away.
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