have you tried squatting when you get an attack? positional changes can stop attacks. lying down or fetal position can help too. drinking enough water and sleeping enough too.
Hi!
Where you ever getting svt during exercise? I never get an episode when I'm resting only during exercise like squatting, jumping, and quick movements. I haven't been doing much excercise lately in fear that it might happen and I feel like it's making my symptoms worse.
Hi, I am 64 yrs old and have been living with SVT since age 10. Back then I was told by many different physicians that it was just anxiety, which was definitely not true. As a child the episodes were short and far between, sometimes once a year, sometimes once every two years, or so. As I've gotten older, the attacks are more frequent and lasting a lot longer. I have been to the ER many times over the years and have had adenisone administered four different times. It is horrible, as you all know. What works best for me is as soon as the attack starts I lie on the floor and my husband lifts both my legs straight up in the air and holds them there as I do some deep breathing and bearing down. It works almost every single time. Try it!! Another thing that works sometimes is submerging my entire face into a sink filled with ice cold water. Make sure it's ice shockingly cold. I will do that a few times and it will stop the SVT. I've traveled the world, have been on flights for 8-9 hours, and I will not let this SVT control my life. I always try to remain calm, even though that is difficult to do. The only time I go to the ER is if the attack lasts longer than 1.5 hours. Most of the time, it won't last that long. Take charge when you have an attack, and tell it that you are the boss of your body. I know it's difficult. I know it's scary! I've been told also by my cardiologist that SVT will not kill you, so I will repeat that in my head over and over while having the attack. Good Luck. You are not alone, but remain strong and enjoy your life. Don't allow the SVT to take over, because if you do, it will!!
Good for you Barbara.
Is there a reason you have not tried having an ablation done?
Hi Lolasmom, I know a few people who have had the ablation more than once without success. I also know another woman who ended up with a pacemaker a few weeks after having the ablation, due to complications. This frightens me. I would rather live with this, then to have them go in to my otherwise healthy heart and end up with a pacemaker or maybe worse damage. I guess that fear is holding me back. I figured if I've lived with it this long, I can continue, at least I'm hoping to anyway.
Gosh Barbara, you are a brave woman to have dealt with this for so very long.
The one thing I will not do is go back on beats blockers. it was a nightmare. the side affect were absolutely awful, and then when i was told to just stop them for the ablation, I had terrible withdrawls.
I would rather deal with SVT than be on Bisoprolol
I, too, have had SVT for over 50 years. I exercise daily, and have never had an attack while exercising. SVT is definitely a huge nuisance, but no ablation and no beta blockers for me, unless the attacks start coming on a daily basis. I try very hard not to let this control my life. So far, so good. I also feel a lot of this is mind over matter. I know that I can actually bring on an attack by being too anxious. It has happened to me before. Yoga is wonderful and helpful. Kudos to you, Vader, love the photo. Keep up the good work.
Hi Barbara82174,
I feel like my story is very similar to yours...I was diagnosed with SVT 18 years ago...I do not want to have an ablation...I've gone to the ER a handful of times...I too have success with the leg lifting technique, however I don't bear down, instead I blow with my nose and mouth closed...my traveling doesn't include long distances, I do get anxious but I don't let it stop me..so nice to know we are not alone.
Hi Paullie, Good for you! Do you pinch your nose closed and blow through your mouth? I will have to try that, also. Thanks! I just returned from a trip to Cape Cod. One stop on our tour was a day trip to Provincetown, at the very northern tip of the cape. Our guide informed us that the closest hospital was over 2 hours away back in Hyannis. That made me very anxious, to say the least, but I wasn't going to let it stop me from going. I prayed a lot, and tried my best to remain calm, but I kept thinking OMG what if I have an attack and it doesn't go away, will I ever make it to the hospital? Even though being anxious doesn't really cause an svt attack, it certainly does add to my skipped beats and racing heart rate, which sometimes leads to an episode. Well, my husband gave me a small pep talk, I made it through the day, and I had the best time in P'town. I was so proud of myself, once again, for not letting this SVT take over, and of course I thanked our good Lord for keeping the SVT at bay. Sometimes, it's simply mind over matter, as we get so caught up in these episodes. I call it 'the monkey on my back'. We must try to live our lives as normally as possible. It is not so easy, at times, but we can all do it.
Hi Barbara, yes you pinch your nose closed and blow thru your mouth. I too would have been anxious that a hospital was 2 hours away😕 But good for you for getting past it! And it helps build your confidence for your next journey that you encounter!
Yes, it does. Thank you.
I don't consider it a harmless nuisance at all! Before my ablation I had attacks while driving and almost passed out a couple of times. I quit driving for awhile because I thought if I had another attack, I would be driving and kill myself or someone else . It exhausted me for several days afterwards. I was becoming paranoid about when it would come on again? It felt awful to have them, so no I do t consider it a nuisance. It can be dangerous as far as I am concerned. I've been told it won't kill me but it will make me feel crappy . My doctor had me cancel a cruise last year because I was having episodes.
How has it been since the ablation, Linda? Are you back to leading a normal life now without worry? I hope so.
Something that gives me hope
Since my ablation , life has been good! It took me awhile to get my confidence back to driving , not thinking when I would have the next episode? I'm driving fine now. When I had the ablation, they found 4other abnormal rhythms. They fixed the SVT. I had atrial tachycardia, atrial flutter, afib, and asymptomatic tachycardia. I had my ablation in October of last year and in December, I had another episode, but this time it was afib( that can cause blood clots and strokes). I was put on fleccanaide and Eluuis(blood thinner). The fleccanaide didn't work very well, so now I'm taking rythmol.this works well for me. I'm very glad I had the ablation. I will always have to be on medication due to the other rhythms , but that's okay. Haven't had any issues in probably 6 months.
I think lucky you but everyone is different .
I have 7 attacks a day with eptopic beats .
It’s not just something I can live with . I hope others that are reading this know that everyone is different . I have my ablation end of November . I can’t wait . My daily life each day brings new challenges. I am a positive person but this gets me down .
Oh my, I really feel for you. Just think, once your ablation is performed you will be a new person. can you explain what eptopics are please. Not sure whether that is what I am having
Mine has been going on since 2011, however, It was only diagnosed a few months ago.
I'm going in for a cardiac ablation this coming Monday
The SVT normally happens when I'm resting, never when active and usually during the evenings/nights.
However, for the past 2/3 weeks it has happened during my work hours, this of course leaves me feeling drained and quite unwell.
At night it's not such a problem because I fall asleep and have the night to get over it.
Yesterday evening it reached 189 bmp and lasted around 15 minutes. It's like running a marathon without moving!
Anyway, I'll be happy to have this defect resolved
I think, and this is my personal view on it, if nothing else works, i.e. medication etc, and it effects your everyday life, having SVT 2/3 times a week, the next step is an ablation.
I totally agree with everything you said Patricia. I probably had mine 5 years before being diagnosed. They could never capture and at the last it got more and more frequent!
It is a miserable feeling, one I would not wish on anyone. Leaves you drained for several days and you have no idea when it will occur again and where you will be and if you will be driving and about to pass out like I did. I stopped driving for awhile, because I was scared I would have an accident and kill someone or kill myself. My husband drove me around for awhile. It's scary too. I am so happy I had the ablation, it was well worth it!!
It must have been pretty frightening for you Linda, especially with it happening whilst driving.
Fortunately, all mine happened when I was doing absolutely nothing, reading a book in the evening, watching tv or just after I go to bed. It's only recently that this has begun happening during the day.
So, thankfully I'm getting it sorted soon