What Causes Severe Heartburn While Treating Bronchitis?

Posted on Mon, 8 Feb 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 8 Feb 2016 Answered on

Thu, 21 Apr 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : Day 3 pretty severe bronchitus. On Z-pak and Benzonate pearls.(200mg). In addition have Albuterol inhaler that have taken twice in 24 hrs. Brochitus starting to get better although still chest burning, no fever or chills as per previous day. BUT, noticing "racing heart rate" and pulse seems a bit erratic. Pulse monitor (Fitbit) bounces between 96 and 72 resting. No chest pain, no numbing in arms, no weakness.
Wondering if pulse could be drug induced and am eliminating everything thru today. My only routine medications are Crestor for cholestrol and Losartan (50mg) for BP. BP typically ran 140/88 without Losartan and runs 130/75 with it. But pulse fluctuations scare me.
Male, 54 years old, reasonably good health, althetic, 240 pounds, no cardiac issues in my history.

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
albuterol may cause that

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

albuterol may cause a fast heart rate and arrhythmias if taken at a high dosage. Some patients are more susceptible to its side effects than others. The rest of your drugs are not expected to cause such problems.

Kind Regards!

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar