svt - Heart Disorders Message Board

bambi86 · 03-18-2005, 12:09 PM

are svt's bad? what are they? im having tests at the moment, the longest mine have lasted so far (if thats what they are) is 35minutes. i get dizziness & left chest pain (around my shoulder/collarbone ares).

richdaws1984 · 03-20-2005, 03:39 AM

Hi, i have SVT myself.

There are many different types of SVT (supra ventricular tachycardia). Some of which are worse than others. You will probably find every doctor will tell you something different!

Basically SVT causes your heart to beat very fast. It is related to the electronics of your heart and the signals get confused causing it beat fast. Other common symptoms are dizzyness, chest, back and shoulder pain, strong thumping heart beat, etc...

An attack can last anywhere from a few seconds to many hours. (i know one person whose attack went on for 30 hours)

Your heart can also beat up to 300 times a minute during an attack.

It can be trigger by many things. Caffine, alcohol, chocolate, smoking are common triggers, hot baths, stretching, anxiety, stress are some others.

There is medication to help with the problem and if its gets so bad there is an operation where they zap out a section of the hearts electronics with radio waves. This abut 95% successfull.

Attacks can come dailly or you might only have 2 attacks the whole of your life!

The question "Are They Dangerous?" is one that i have had a different answer to every time.
Some say Yes they are dangerous as your heart shouldnt be beating this fast and advise you go to hospital immediatly. If your heart is beating so fast for long periods, then blood is not flowing to vital organs properly.
Some say that if an attack lasts more than 15 mintues then you should go to hospital.
Some say as soon as the chest pain sets in you should go to hospital.
And some say NO, its not dangerous and can actually be good exercise for the heart as long as it doesnt go on for hours and hours.

I take the safe option and go to hospital. I dont like the fact my heat is beating 3 time faster than it should when im sat down watching TV, not running the marathon!!!

Hope this helps a little. Im not too well up on the technical side of things maybe someone else can help on that.

Try searching on ****** for Supraventricular tachycardia, theres some good sites which explain all abut it.

God Luck - Rich

jenn.e · 03-21-2005, 07:22 PM

Some info I found.

What is a supraventricular tachycardia (SVT)?

* Tachycardia means a fast heart rate.
* Supraventricular means 'coming from above the ventricle'.

* A small area in one of the atria may become more 'excitable' than usual and start to produce electrical impulses.
* A 'short circuit' in the electrical pathways of the heart may develop. One type is an abnormal extra pathway from the AV node through to the ventricles. This can make electrical impulses go round and round this section of the heart.

An episode of SVT usually starts suddenly for no apparent reason. It may last just a few minutes, but can last several hours. It then stops just as suddenly as it started. Rarely, an episode lasts longer than a few hours.

The time between episodes of SVT can vary greatly. In some cases, short bursts of SVT occur several times a day. At the other extreme, an episode of SVT may occur just once or twice a year. In most cases it is somewhere in between, and an episode ('paroxysm') of SVT occurs now and again.

What are the symptoms of a supraventricular tachycardia (SVT)?

Symptoms last as long as the episode of SVT lasts. This may be seconds, minutes, hours or, rarely, longer. Symptoms include the following.

* Your pulse rate becomes 140 - 180 per minute. Sometimes faster.
* Palpitations (feeling your heart beat), dizziness, or 'feeling funny'.
* You may become breathless.
* If you have angina, then an angina pain may be triggered by an episode of SVT.
* You may have no symptoms, or are just 'aware' that your heart is beating fast.
* Sometimes your blood pressure may become low with too fast a heart rate, especially if it persists for several hours. Rarely, this may cause you to faint or collapse. This is more likely if you are older and have other heart or lung problems.

I hope this clears up some questions. I have had svt for 8 years and it has not done anything but annoy me. Now that I am pregnant though I have to go to the ER because the baby doesnt get enough blood/oxygen during my attacks. I have been told by the er docs if you are up around 200 bpm, and cant get it to break on your own, then go to the ER. Be aware that you may get a nasty scary shot if you go there. Its no fun. Good Luck

queenmomma · 08-29-2005, 07:06 PM

I started having ''episodes'' about a year ago. They usually lasted 1-5 minutes then just stopped. In April, after 45 minutes of 190+ heart rate, I went to the hospital and received the ''stop/start the heart'' shot. Scared me silly. Happened again in May and July. I have been to the doctor, who said I should have the abblation to burn out the ''extra'' heartbeat. My question, which no doctor has been able to answer, is what is wrong with my regular heartbeat that makes the svt ''kick in''? Doc said there is a 98-99% sucess rate, with worse-case scenario is death, or next-best is pacemaker. Have any of you received an answer from your doctor that explains why the attacks happen? I did a stress test and passed it, no episode. My doctor said that this is not lethal in and of itself, but it could ''wear out the heart'' with the rapid beating for long periods of time. Hmmm. He also said the medicine actually alters the ion and sodium paths within the heart, and take at least an hour to stop the rapid rate. Well, dang, do I pay the $20,000+ for the ablbation, or $150 month for the medicine. What do you think?

queenmomma · 08-29-2005, 07:08 PM

I don't have dizziness, breathlessness or pains anywhere, just the rapid heartbeat. Doc says my heart is healthy and strong. ??????