recently diagnosed with svt... help!

Heart health and blood vessels
1

Hi there

So last week i was diagnosed with SVT after having a pretty gnarly episode at the gym. It was my first day there & I had finished my classes when I felt a lurch in my throat & my heart beating rapidly.

I laid down on the floor with my legs in the air, which didnt seem to make any difference, & waited whilst somebody called an ambulance.

I honestly thought I was going to die. Paramedics arrived after 40 minutes and clocked a pulse exceeding 270 beats per minute. They got me to bear down and blow through a tube which thankfully worked. All in all we waited almost two hours for my heart to get back down to the 90s.

Anyway after a stressful day in hospital, i was released with a diagnosis of SVT, instructions not to drink caffeine or exercise, & a mentioning of cardiac ablation . Im also on 25mg of Beta Blockers which has brought my heart rate down to around 50 beats.

Just wondering about everyone elses experiences? Still really paranoid, its been 6 days since my first episode (&hopefully last!!!) I still feel rubbish, cant walk far or climb stairs without feeling drained. Flutters & palpitations are particularly noticeable today too.

I literally dont know anything about SVT. Please, any advice would be great.

2

Hi there. I was told my lifestyle had nothing to do with having an episode when my husband asked if I needed to change my diet . It's an electrical fault in your heart that you're born with that can be controlled with medicine or ablation . I chose medication but still have bad turns . My last one I stopped by holding my wrists under cold water . The breathing didn't work for me that time . I'm a post person and walk between 10-15 miles a day although was told to leave the duties with lots of stairs to the 'young ones'... I'm 54.....

3

Hi there.

If you browse the threads under Supraventricular Tachycardia on this site you will find quite a lot of experiences and advice.

If you could be a little more specific about the type of things you'd like to know it would help a lot.

As Veejay mentioned, SVT is caused by an electrical abnormaility. Most people that have SVT seem to have otherwise physically healthy hearts.

Its quite normal to feel quite anxious and stressed after your first SVT episode and diagnosis. This will ease with time.

Always remember, SVT will not cause a heart attack.

SVT can be controlled quite well (but rarely completely) with medication. Like many medications, there are sometimes unwanted side-effects.

It can instead be eliminated permanently with an ablation. Not everyone is  suitable for an ablation, but for those that are it is considered to be a low risk procedure with a generally high success rate.

 

4

I guess the main sort of concerns i have are whether its fatal or not. I mean ive read that it isnt, but on my part at least I dont seem to be getting the information from the appropriate people. I spoke to a consultant after waiting 6 hours in a waiting room after my first episode for all of five minutes.

Is it normal to feel exhausted a week after your first episode? I start my masters degree this week and honestly the thought of travelling 3 times a week in busy environments is stressing me out. im very anxious about it all too - its made me very nervous

5

Its comforting to know there are so many people with the same condition. How high does your heart rate go?

6

Sorry to hear you’re having such a rough time.

 

I have no medical qualifications whatsoever, but after having SVT for almost 20 years I’d guess it is no more likely to kill you than the common cold is (i.e. its possible, but extremely unlikely).

 

Unfortunately, not all consultants are gifted when it comes to explaining stuff in layman’s terms. GPs are often better at that.

 

I don’t know what country you’re in or what kind of medical care you’re entitled to. But if such things are possible, I’d recommend you first make a priority of finding a really good GP if you don’t already have one.

 

It’s worth asking family and friends to recommend one. Some college campuses have medical centres, so that might be worth looking into as well.

 

Go and see a good GP as soon as possible and discuss all of this with them. GPs tend to know which specialists are good and which one’s aren’t. Part of the discussion should be about identifying the best cardio specialist available to you. 

 

My guess is that the reason you feel quite ill so long after the SVT episode is probably two-fold.

 

Firstly, you are understandably anxious and stressed. This will make you tired.

 

Secondly, if you’re not used to taking beta blockers then its quite possible that they will make you feel ill. Most people seem to get used to the side-effects in time.

 

You are new to this, so I would definitely do exactly as told by the hospital when you were discharged.

 

But it is possible that in the future you might decide that you would prefer the occasional episode of SVT to the ongoing side-effects of the medication you take to limit its frequency. That is the decision I made.

 

SVT and the medication to control it affect different folk in different ways and degrees of severity. This is why some folk are keen to have an ablation as soon as possible, yet others don’t bother. 

 

Please keep away from all caffeine (even decaff) because that is a very common trigger. The jury seems to be still out on smoking and booze although, within reason, I never found they made any difference.

 

The advice on avoiding exercising is something you might discuss with your GP. Many here say routine exercising does not trigger SVT.

 

Hoping it gets easier for you from here on in…..

7

Youre telling me. The consultant saw me for all of five minutes. I then went to see my gp for further advice & she didnt even know what the cardiac ablation procedure was...

Im from the UK so Im very fortunate in recieving healthcare free of charge.

Half of your message isnt showing up for some reason.

Thank you for your message ! Makes me feel a little easier knowing im not alone

8

Sorry about my comments beind hard to read, I think all the stupid ads on this site crash my browser so I write them outside and then paste them.

9

Its okay if your GP isn't familiar with SVT, but its not okay if she doesn't find out.

You will definitely need a good GP to manage to live normally with SVT, so you must decide whether and how to change her.

10

There are really brilliant and really awful cardio consultants. That's why you need a great GP to match you with the right one.

I live in Ireland where we don't have a system as good as the NHS, but I'm lucky enough to have private health insurance so I get some flexibility and choices.

My life was made too unpredictable and stressful for too long by SVT. It was only when I had chemo for cancer that I had no choice but to have an ablation immediately. Best thing that ever happened to me. Four years later and not a single episode.

The best advice I can give you is to find out as soon as possible whether you are suitable for an ablation. If you are, then go for it.

Wishing you all the best.

11

My last episode it was up to 229.

I also feel exhausted for a few days after . Out of sorts. Then I feel my hearts a bit 'wobbly' . Loads of palpations and flutterings but I've had a good spell of late and feel great ....

You will get to know how you are feeling and if you read everyone's experiences on here you will relate to some of them and can try follow their advice .

12

Welcome to the Heartbreakers Club

Just a little humor to ease the pain of knowing you are in a special hearts group.

The first time for me was when they removed a heart blood clot due to unstable plack......next , still issues........I was taking nito daily....... See a lot of the Tachycardias are due to lack rhythm electrical pulses in the heart.......get a borderline echocardia gram.....stress test..... And if you have to a shock test to check the heart nerves....they didn't find all the issues with me until these test happened. Your Cardiologist will do all of needed. Don't wait until the Tachycardias weakens your heart wall like I did...... I'm very active in the gym but do not lift a lot of free weighs...go to the machines with less weigh. Do impact classes at your pace......watch that heart rate. It could mean a gym lifestyle change. You need to have a discussion with the gym manager... They let you know what you can and can't do. No treadmills unless you monitored by medical staff. You pass out on a treadmill you can break something.....SVT changes a lot......Live And Love Life But Your Heart Comes First.....Without It... There's No Life.

Cardiologist... Test.........Talk With Gym Manager......

13

hi. wow my first one was on a treadmill during a stress test.  i'm perfectly healthy and my heart function is good.  there is a nuclear stress test you can do, not running, but on a chair.  I had it done.  it's the only way to know if you have clogged arteries.  I'm going for the ablation in a week, but in the meantime, i was in the hospital 4 times.  The beta blockers were giving me chest pain and my heart rate would be too low, sometimes in the 40's.  the doctor didn't believe that was the cause of the chest pain, then, he increased.  I was originally on 50mg day, he increased to 100!  I got worse.  changed doctors of course.  i'm scared of the ablation, but i can't live like this.  And, try ice cold water on your face when it's high.  good luck to you.