Dear Marion,

Thank you very, very much for your letter.
It's a big relief to know that you're not on a stretcher
about to be wheeled into the OR for open heart surgery ...
As you're well aware, I like to write about matters I
know nothing about.

1) Ones judgment about ones own respiration is compromised
by consciousness to an extent that, unless one is very much
short of breath, one cannot assess the rate or depth of ones
own breathing. To presume to count ones own respirations,
to assess their depth or shallowness, is like presuming to
scratch ones back. It can't be done. It's not possible to
determine whether your perceived shortness of breath is an
expression of pulmonary hypertension.

2) If I read your letters correctly, the only "evidence" of
"pulmonary hypertension" is from a single echocardiographic
exam performed by an inexperienced technician. I doubt that
an attempt to try to confirm this finding is worth the effort
and expense.  There is no other evidence of heart disease.

3) The "normal" pulse rate is 80. 49 is abnormally slow. The
normal EKG shows that there's no conduction defect. If you're
taking a beta-blocker (such as atenolol) for your hypertension,
the slow pulse (bradycardia) might very possibly be a side
effect of the medication, which could indeed be responsible
for some of your symptoms.  Other anti-hypertensives have other
side effects. What, in fact, are the medications with which
you're trying to control your blood pressure? In addition to
side effects from medications, it's possible that poor
control of the blood pressure, either that it's too high or
too low, makes you feel ill. My advice, if you don't already
own such an instrument, spend $50 for an Omron electronic
blood pressure machine, (buy it on the Internet) such as I've
been using to keep check on Margaret's blood pressure for years.
It's very satisfactory. Measure the pressure two or three times
a day, and keep a record. Keep a record also of the pulse rate
which is read out with the blood pressure.  Relatively frequent
blood pressure readings will make it possible for you to titrate
your medication, with the consequence of better control and
fewer side effects. There may be a surprise in store! 
And while Omron is on your mind, consider spending $24.95 
for their peak flow meter, which will give you a rudimentary 
measurement of pulmonary function with objective information 
about your breathing.

4) I'm reminded of my mother's various complaints which became more
frequent as she grew older, to which I usually replied: "Das habe ich
auch." "Das habe ich auch", became in our family, a humorous expression
of affection, to which I'd like to introduce you at this juncture.
Not infrequently I get dyspneic, climbing a measly 9 foot high flight
of stairs, so when you feel like complaining that you're short of
breath, listen carefully and you'll hear faintly across 1400 miles,
"Das habe ich auch."

Jochen