EKG Results, HR 56. Will This Interfere w/ Tummy Tuck and Lipo Revision?

Thank you for your question. I am happy to hear that you are being evaluated before going through your surgery. While your HR is 56, that is just one part of the picture. Are you a trained athlete? Often very fit patients will have a low HR. Are you on medications that can effect this? You mentioned that you had a low BP. Did you have this before your previous operation? They will take this all into consideration as they want to make you as safe as possible in the OR. Do feel free to ask any questions that you may have.

Jeffrey J. Roth, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

Las Vegas Plastic Surgery

A slow resting heart rate often occurs in very fit people & athletes.  It can also be a side effect of beta-blocker medications for high blood pressure.  It can also happen in people that have issues with the electrical circuitry of their heart, and might one day need a pacemaker.

I would sort this out prior to surgery, in order to understand your situation better.  Certainly, it's not an issue if you are in the first two groups, but I would sure want to know if you were in the third group!

Get a pre-operative appointment with an internal medicine specialist to help you with this, just to be on the safe side.

 

All the best,

Your heart rate and blood pressure alone do not determine your health unless they are abnormally high or abnormally low. While 56 is slower than average, it must be evaluated in light of your overall health and medical history. By itself, it does not necessarily mean anything of significance. If you always had a heart rate of 72 and dropped to 56 without exercise, then there would be greater reason for concern.

If you  re in really good shape, a low heart rate usually is OK along with the bloood pressure.  However, you proably need medical clearance anyway first before moving ahead with surgery.

Your current physiology may be normal or a sign of deeper pathology BUT if you are to have a safe operation under general anesthesia the overriding question is would your body be able to react appropriately to potential stresses of surgery?
Blood perfusion (carrying Oxygen to tissues) depends on the blood pressure and the pulse. If there was a sudden drop in blood pressure, would your heart be able to rev up and increase the pulse rate?
For this reason, an EKG would disclose some anomalies in electrical conduction in the heart (such as right or left bundle branch block etc) but stressing the heart and quantitating the perfusion of the muscle is a good predictor of how the heart would do if it were to be suddenly called upon to increase its rate to keep blood flowing.

Dr. Peter Aldea

Having a heart rate of 56 with a relatively low blood pressure should not increase your risks of having revisional surgery, assuming that you are generally in good health.  In fact, many athletes, especially runners, have heart rates a good bit lower than yours and are in extremely good health.