Steroid-Induced Sinus Bradycardia

Steroids are one of the most commonly used drugs and known to be associated with several side effects. There have been case reports about the associated sinus bradycardia with pulse dose corticosteroids administration both IV and oral. We present a case of asymptomatic sinus bradycardia associated with oral prednisone 40 mg. A 69-year-old male was admitted to the ICU for sepsis and subsequently was found to have gastrointestinal (GI) bleed. He developed an acute gout attack during hospitalization and was treated with prednisone 40 mg. Over the next 24 hours, the patient's heart rate dropped to 30s to 40s beats/minute while other vitals have remained stable. He was monitored on telemetry and review of the rhythm strips, as well as a 12-lead electrocardiogram (EKG), that showed sinus bradycardia; no pauses or atrio-ventricular (AV) nodal blocks were identified. The patient was not on any beta blocker or other therapies commonly associated with sinus bradycardia. His steroids were stopped while all other medications were continued. His heart rate slowly started to improve over the next 24 hours. He was not found to have any further episodes of bradycardia. Our case is unusual as we noted transient asymptomatic bradycardia with oral prednisone 40 mg dose. While bradycardia is reversible and may go unnoticed, it is important for the clinician to be aware of this adverse effect and include it in the list of potential differentials for bradycardia.