I’m not sure of the age of those of you that wouldn’t risk a cardiac ablation but I have to say it was the best decision I have ever made. With a success rate of over 90% it was a no brainer for me being just 24 and having a toddler.
There are risks with any medical procedure and the longer you take medication the risks of serious effects from that will grow too.
I would have another catheter ablation done tomorrow if it meant me being rid of svt, thankfully I haven’t had an episode since the procedure over a year ago. All you will see online is the horror stories that people upload, you don’t see all the success stories as people just get on with their lives and forget about it. So I want to tell you all my procedure was successful and 100% worth a few hours in hospital.
All the best
I totally agree with everything you have said. Any procedure has risks as medications have risks too. If we didn't take medication or have procedures because of risks, where would we be?
Hi, I admire your attitude and wish I could feel like that. Since I was told about my SVT I cannot move on. its debilitating and happens at the most inappropriate times. I have lost all quality of life and spend most of my time locked away in my house. I used to be so independent and feel like I have lost it all. the feeling of dizziness and lightheadedness has got to be the worse and thinking I am going to collapse. dont know where it will all end.
Hi Joanne, I’m sorry you feel at such a loss. How long have you had SVT for? I felt very much the same before I had an ablation 3 years after my first episode - each episode I had my heart beat was 260-270bpm so extremely high but thankfully never made me pass out, but always had to be stopped in hospital with adenosine and so I became extremely anxious about needing to be able to ring an ambulance and not knowing how closeby hospitals were. It made me avoid certain situations where having an episode might be embarrassing or problematic, but over time I came to accept it as something out of my control and that people were more intrigued by than anything. What is your fear that is preventing you from going out? Is it the fear of collapsing when you feel light headed and dizzy? If so, has it ever caused you to collapse? I was lucky that I didn’t and so part of dealing with the anxiety it caused me was trying really hard to be rational and remember that I never did collapse. I also listed SVT in the medical bit of my phone and made a little card to put in my purse so if I did happen to collapse one day and couldn’t tell anyone why then they’d hopefully find the answer in one of those places. Anyway I hope you start to feel more comfortable and positive soon - it was certainly a journey for me. Take care
Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood:
I have recently, in a most alarming way, found out that I suffer from SVT. This after 50 years of increasingly frequent and increasingly debilitating episodes and countless tests failing to identify the cause of my plight. The immense relief, after all this time, to have identified this condition, I am sure you will appreciate, is profound. It has led me to this forum. This forum has led me to further conclusions regarding SVT!
I think this condition is very misunderstood by patients, and sadly, by some medical practitioners. I see comments on these pages from “fellow-sufferers” who aver to how they “don’t let the ailment rule their lives” and who “just get on with things”. Unfortunately, this illness appears to me to have different effects and differing profundity on the many people who have it. We cannot, it seems to me, all be “John Waynes” in respect of how we must deal with it!
My most recent episode of significance necessitated a visit to my GP and, for the first time, I was in the throes when he examined me. An ambulance took me to hospital where I had my first encounter with Adenosine. I was put on beta blockers which, having persevered with them for two weeks. led me back to hospital with an alarmingly LOW pulse rate. The second cardiologist who spoke to me told me I should not have been prescribed ‘Sotolol’ and took me off ALL medication, telling me that Cardiac medicine / treatment is “an ART form rather than a Science”. I am expected to deal with any future episode (and future episodes are guaranteed!) by employing the recognised manoeuvres which we are told “are sometimes effective”!
I should state here that my last “big” episode lasted two days plus before I could get to see my GP. These episodes latterly bring me to a standstill and, apart from the dreadful discomfort, leave me so weakened that I can hardly climb a flight of stairs.
I do think that perhaps we are not entirely appreciating the fact that this complaint has vastly varying effects and consequences on the (surprisingly) many unfortunates who suffer it.
It would be nice if people, especially fellow sufferers would grasp that “Just get on with your life” is not necessarily helpful to some SVT patients!
Good luck and success in your quest, everyone.
Toorytap.
I worry and I’m about fed up with people telling me it’s just a nuisance. No offense to anyone who feels that way or have found a way to get on with their life. I was pretty lucky over the last 20 years or so with random svt incidents and some arrhythmia here and there. Things got a lot worse over the last 3 or 4 months, and I’m in the best shape of my life! Now it’s palpitations or skipped beats probably 50-60 times a day (that I feel) and svt episodes a couple times a week. I’m agitated about it now because the svt episodes have gotten more severe at times. Normal svt episodes I have become accustomed to and it even used to seem to help my heart gain a decent rhythm again. These episodes lately come with a couple seconds of shear panic because it’s like everything stops working, and it seems like I will pass out. I even start beating on my chest to try and get my heart started again (feels like my heart has stopped). I have had a couple handfuls of these now and they terrify me. Nobody understands (except you all of course) and my wife doesn’t get why it ruins my day/week. It feels about as close to death as I want to feel and it ramps up anxiety over the next week or so. I am awaiting results of a holter I completed about a month ago and it did capture some arrhythmia. I hope to gain some direction or diagnosis once and for all. Kudos to all who are living their best life with these issues but to others who are still struggling with it…I understand. I think the helplessness that comes with it is the most aggravating part. I started exercising regularly about the time things took a turn with me. I thought I was taking control.
I got diagnosed with SVT just last week .beeing suffering with this almost year .My attacks are scary and now happens more often. last week I had 2 in same day and second last 3 hours. run to emergency (I work in hospital)with 1 St attacks that day but while I got ECG on it stop but then I with second one I finaly was lucky and they recorded it on ECG and I was seem by cardiology team and now I have to take metacor 50 mg 4 times a day half tablet. its feel wird I can’t sleep. I also still scared to get next episode.
my worst case is that I’m athlete in jiu jitsu and doctor said I can carry on training but I’m.so scared to go back bcs of thouse scary attacks
Hello toffeecus,
My English is not perfect but I’ll give me best.
I have SVT for a long time now and I was so scared of “another attack” that I would just stay home, If I have to go somewhere I would make sure that ER is close so if something happen I can get help fast. That was no life at all. One day it just “Clicked” to me that this is not the way I wanna live rest of my life, and I was even mad on myself.
I learned Modified Valsalva Manouver , which is super easy and 47% successful in stopping SVT, while regular VM is 17%.
That feeling that you know how to help yourself lower your anxiety and chance of panic attack (trust me 60% of times when we think it’s SVT it’s just panic attack because we are so anxious and stressed of waiting… by the way panic attack can rise heart rate over 200). Then I stop measuring my pulse every time Im taking stairs or walkig faster and I use to intentionally put myself in situation that I would avoid before just to show myself that I have no reason to fear. Trust me after that I use to get SVT attack once a year or even less. And with M. Valsalva Manouver I terminate it on spot.
I know what are you going through and trust me It will be better.
24 here and feel the same way! I just found out I had it earlier this week and my anxiety has been through the roof since my attacks have been so frequent. So thanks for sharing!
I’m 72 years old. I’ve had SVT for about ten years. Most of this time with infrequent episodes that stopped on their own. This year, I’ve had two episodes (160bpm) that required trips to the ER and a adenosine IV procedure that worked without incident. I believe the second episode was triggered by too many “happy hours” on my summer vacation. Alcohol does minimize the effects of Metoprolol. My last two episodes were less severe and I was able to stop them at home with a facial ice bath and vagus nerve massage. I take 100 mg of Metoprolol every morning (time release) that seems to help. My wife and I are “snow birds” who spend our winters far from home. I’m thinking about having an ablation done before we go to prevent unwanted episodes in the future.
Even though SVT is not considered a heart attack, in can cause high anxiety by conjuring up images of sudden and traumatic heart failure. Also, the spectrum of SVT ranges from a few mild episodes, treated at home to many acute tachycardias treated in hospital ER’s and surgical rooms. I appreciate the fact that we can support each other by sharing physical, chemical and surgical ways to deal with this condition.
it has taken over my life and despite trying to avoid an ablation i now have to have it. i get the pre syncope before an attack and i know when my heart is erratic in the morning when i get up to take it easy that day. do you get pressure in your chest? it feels like a fullness in the chest and throat. i,m very active for 74 but this SVT which has got worse has halted me in my tracks.
I’m also thinking seriously about an ablation. Have you scheduled one yet? Why were you trying to avoid it? It seems pretty safe.
i,m very reluctant to have the ablation because i think as we get older its more difficult to recover without other problems arising. From being active i am now experiencing problems with the presyncope and low blood pressure which makes me feel lightheaded a lot. i have had lots of short runs of SVT and was in A and E having the dreaded adenosine which did not work for me, 5 hours in SVT can,t be good for the heart. Eventually it went down with drugs. i take bisoprolol every day,i,m not sure if its that what makes me feel so lethargic and out of sorts.i am on the list, i refused one in October 2020 because the coronavirus was very prevalent here outside London. my cardiologist is pushing for me at the moment.
What have your heard about those of us in their 70’s regarding difficulties and problems with recovering from ablation? I take metoprolol succinate with minimal side effects. I stopped my daily cocktail hour because alcohol was reducing the effect of the medicine. I will be meeting with a cardiologist next week to discuss ablation. I live in rural Michigan but have fond memories of my trip to London. Take care!
i have one friend who has had 3 ablations for Svt,he is now 75! after the first one he had a lot of ectopic beats that the cardiologist said would eventually go away as the heart is healing, that did not happen then the SVT returned. he now has a pacemaker. i have read a few posts on another app called Healthunlocked that deals with many heart problems but this PATIENT app seems to deal with it more. My SVT is bothering me a lot more as i have aged hence the reason why i,m willing to chance the ablation. Quality of life not quantity, i,m an active person and easily get bored and depressed sitting doing nothing.
I’m been told that ablation is more successful on those with SVT than any other abnormal heart arrhythmias. I wish you a successful procedure. Has it been scheduled yet? Yesterday, I started wearing a portable heart monitor for 48-hours to see how the old “ticker” behaves. Can’t bathe for 2 days!
i have a half sister who married an American living in Belleville Michigan. Thankyou but NHS in England takes time, i will talk to my cardiologist on 11th November before that i am due to have my mitral valve checked on 26 th of this month, it has a slight leak. i always wondered if there was a link to SVT because i read on the other forum of many with valve problems. i come from Wales UK. The Coronavirus caused us so many problems regarding our National Health Service, it was very bad outside London and people are still wearing masks still including myself.
Had a episode yesterday (150bpm) that I could not remedy at home. Tried all the tricks: ice water, massaging, bearing down. Nothing worked. Went to our local ER where my pulse returned to normal while stretched out on a bed before IV adenosine was needed. Got to go home without having to spend the night. Our local hospital is overflowing with Covid patients and has no beds for others like me. I live in Alma, MI- a small town in the middle of the lower peninsula. Masking by residents is “hit-and-miss”, depending on where you go. What part of Wales do you reside in?
i come from Brecon South Wales,i came to London in 1965,i,ve been here for 55 years. i had adenosine when i went to hospital with my heartrate 188 beats a minute a couple of months ago, it did not set it back so i had drugs put into my drip and a hour later it suddenly went back,i could feel the pressure draining out of my head and chest. i was 4 hours in SVT, that is when i realised i had to go ahead with an ablation. couple of weeks ago i had a short attack,that time it reverted after 30 minutes. i,ve had a few attacks just after i had gone to sleep at night too which lasted a short time. i have 3 of my family working in the local hospital so i get a lot of information from them about the covid,still prevalent but not too bad.