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Can steroids cause heart attack?
- Thread starter scoobs17
- Start date
I don't know if they can "cause" a heart attack but one study concluded "These results suggest a small increased risk of AMI with oral corticosteroid use with a greater risk observed among users of high corticosteroid dose." AMI= acute myocardial infarction= heart attack. Corticosteroid = steroid like prednisolone/ prednisone
http://www.atherosclerosis-journal.com/article/S0021-9150(06)00273-5/abstract
Ask your cardiologist what s/he thinks might have caused/contributed to the heart attack.
I hope you are feeling better and will have a full recovery!
http://www.atherosclerosis-journal.com/article/S0021-9150(06)00273-5/abstract
Ask your cardiologist what s/he thinks might have caused/contributed to the heart attack.
I hope you are feeling better and will have a full recovery!
Hi All,
While cortico-steroids may not actually cause cardiac arrests, but the fact that both Prednisone and Entocort have the potential to create hypertension is perhaps a contributory factor overlying a preexistent undiagnosed heart/vascullar condition. As both medications can reduce potassium levels too, this may also have some bearing.
From personal experience, my BP sky rocketed when prescribed Entocort to the extent that two antihypertensive drugs were added to my daily 'diet' to counteract the problem. Prior to this I had never taken any heart medication.
My prescribing medico never asked me about known cardiac issues before darting into the fray and seemed bemused when I told him of the BP situation!
Even then he did not bother to check my BP! Sometimes, one has to wonder!
While cortico-steroids may not actually cause cardiac arrests, but the fact that both Prednisone and Entocort have the potential to create hypertension is perhaps a contributory factor overlying a preexistent undiagnosed heart/vascullar condition. As both medications can reduce potassium levels too, this may also have some bearing.
From personal experience, my BP sky rocketed when prescribed Entocort to the extent that two antihypertensive drugs were added to my daily 'diet' to counteract the problem. Prior to this I had never taken any heart medication.
My prescribing medico never asked me about known cardiac issues before darting into the fray and seemed bemused when I told him of the BP situation!
Even then he did not bother to check my BP! Sometimes, one has to wonder!
You have a very low BP status AlliRuns . The norm is 12O/80 ,but may vary upwards according to age. Are you deeply into exercise? Or is there a familial history of hypotension. Just curious.
Cheers,
Keep Well and Smiling
Merv
Merv.
My family, both sides, have history of hypertension, not hypo. I'm the freak! I have been very active my whole life though. Last time I had surgery, the nurses in recovery were freaked out by my low BP, somehow in my foggy haze I managed to mumble that it was normal.
My family, both sides, have history of hypertension, not hypo. I'm the freak! I have been very active my whole life though. Last time I had surgery, the nurses in recovery were freaked out by my low BP, somehow in my foggy haze I managed to mumble that it was normal.
I'm on prednisolone and my cholesterol skyrocketed. I'm 25 and have high cholesterol! They are monitoring it and if it doesn't sort itself out, they are putting me on a statin. This has obviously increased my risk of heart disease. My BP so far has been fine on it, although it has only been checked once.
I still get terrible heart palpitations. On higher doses my heart would race for hours on end, now it just occasionally 'skips' a beat then sorts itself out. It certainly does have an effect on my heart.
I still get terrible heart palpitations. On higher doses my heart would race for hours on end, now it just occasionally 'skips' a beat then sorts itself out. It certainly does have an effect on my heart.
Steroid may actually cause heart attack. It's use must be under observance of a medical practitioner.
May I ask what it felt like? Like how did you end up in the ER etc. I feel a lot of weirdness right now in my chest off and on and I have been on entocort since August and am just now tapering off.
I went to the ER so many times out of discomfort and fear and when it didn't turn out to be serious I am now discouraged about going.
Hi, I've not had heart problems from steroids, but I do get palpitations and I'm also on Amitriptyline which causes my heart-rate to increase a lot. The first time I had palpitations, I went to Accident and Emergency and had an ECG which showed everything to be completely fine. I did feel a bit like a hypochondriac, although the doctor that did the ECG didn't do anything to make me feel that way.
But after that, when I had heart palpitations (which I often do), I wouldn't consider going to hospital - it's not like I can turn up at hospital every time just in case this time it's something serious when I get them every couple of weeks or so.
But when I was going through pre-op assessments before surgery, because my heart was beating so fast from taking Amitriptyline and I was having these heart symptoms, they gave me an echocardiogram, which is a very comprehensive test and will pick up a large range of heart problems. The results were all fine. I didn't feel like a hypochondriac that time since it was the doctors who wanted it done, rather than me choosing to go to hospital.
Having the normal echocardiogram was reassuring for me, and has made me feel more confident that my heart symptoms are not indicating anything dangerous.
It may be worth you getting some tests done to give you more knowledge about what is going on with your heart. If something is wrong, it should pick up on it, and if it's all fine then hopefully you'll feel able to avoid unnecessary trips to the ER. Maybe you should see a doctor and ask about this in a regular appointment rather than in the ER?
Thank you so much for sharing
I avoid the ER like the plague now. I consider it more dangerous to pick up germs there, being on Humira and steroids than to go. So unless I am really bad off I wait it out now and just do my best in little ways to manage symptoms. I think a lot of my chest pains and discomfort come from my bowels pushing up air or something. Almost always after I either have to go to the bathroom or pass gas. My heart feels like it flips or skips a beat often. I have in the past had a 24 hour monitor though this was years ago, and quite a few years ago I had an echo cardiogram and it was fine, and recently I had a stress test, because if I go up several flights of stairs sometimes I feel like I'm going to go into cardiac arrest. I just feel so crummy that at 33 I am in such ridiculous shape. I don't exercise formally very often. I have a very physical job already and I'm always on the go with my kids, cooking, housework, and school. I have had some extremely scary Afib situations but they have never caught it on anything. So I don't really know what to do about that.
Also I am just freezing all of the time. UGH. To the bone cold. It's no fun