Anyone else with exercise-induced PSVT?

Hi all :)  Anyone else have exercise-induced PSVT (paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia) and care to commiserate with me about it?

Mine flared up in March of this year after nearly a decade of remission.  It followed my second pregnancy and led to a diagnosis of borderline peripartum cardiomyopathy (EF 49%) with cardiomegaly.  I've recovered completely now and still have the PSVT, which doesn't appear to be related.

Annoying!  GRR!  Anyone else?

[msgirl1]

I was having Supraventricular Tachycardia when my heart rate was 163. I am a 29 F.  My heart rate just went up b/c I felt like my knees were going to fall out from underneath me ( I think from my disc problem) and I was dizzy. The doctor mentioned me having a heart cath where they going in a "burn" the problem off. (radiofrequency ablation).  The problem is like a short circuit that I was born with that only kicks in once and a while. Here is a link that shows what happens. http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/106/25/e206  My friend has a problem that her heart rate goes up and stays up (especially after excersing). She is 39. The doctors have not put her on any medicine. I hope this helps the diagram shows what happens and it might be worth asking your doctor about.

[miche35]

Hi, I've talked with you on the medforum about your psvt.  I too have svt, and it is exercise induced.  I have not had an episode for two weeks, but have also been on Inderal.  I am going to talk to a Electrophysiologist at some point in the next couple months just for a second opinion from my regular Dr.  I don't want to be on meds forever, however; don't really want to do the ablation if it's not really necessary either.  Not too excited about someone sticking catheters into my main vein while I'm strapped on the table for up to however many hours.  I thought your psvt was doing better, is it acting up again?  Take Care, Michelle

[anacyde]

Have you ever tried bearing down hard, as if to cough but without coughing?  It works for me.  Well, most of the time.  If it fails, cold water to the face does the trick immediately.

My PSVT almost always puts me at 180 and starts off with a PAC.  It doesn't seem to trigger without a PAC happening first, don't know why.

I'm 28/F by the way.

My cardiologist says this isn't uncommon, and since it's not causing symptoms or happening at length, he sees no need to treat it.  Fine by me ;)

[miche35]

Hey there.  For me it's hard to tell, because the last few years I was told they were anxiety attacks, but then finally caught it this year two times on a 24 hr holter.  They were very brief episodes, like only seconds, but at least they caught them. I know when I'm having them I am having the pac's or it feels like a bunch of pac's.  The worst one lasted 25 minutes, but see, I didn't know how to break them at the time, because I didn't know it WASN'T an anxiety attack.  Since I've been told, they have only lasted maybe 5 minutes, but I'm on Inderal right now, and haven't had any since taken it.  It has been two weeks now.  Also I'm taking Xanax for my anxiety, because these come from exercise or stress, oh yeah, and being really hot.  I think I've been having them for about 6 years now, when I started getting my pac's and pvc's but because they were so infrequent and so short acting, they never caught them.  This summer they became very frequent, like 3-4 times a week, lasting up to that 20 minutes. I had some very stressful things happen this summer, including my husband moving out of state for work, then we had to move out of the house we were in to another one and I had to do the entire move in a month without him, and raising my sisters teenagers because she is an alcoholic and they are really really bad, especially without him here to help me.  And because they started happening so frequently, I became super scared and anxious all the time, which of course has raised my heart rate up to over 100 all the time.  So, that is the reason for both the Inderal and Xanax. My GP called the cardiologist when she got the holter to refer me to him, the cardio looked over my history of holters and ekgs and echo and blood work, and then this holter that showed them, and told my gp to just start me on a beta blocker and work on the anxiety before referring me to an electrophysiologist.  I'm a little nervous being treated for my svt by a GP, that is why I myself called the electrophysiologist yesterday and am thinking of sending all my paperwork to him for a second opinion.  I'm sure he will probably say to do the same thing, but I'm just nervous about the whole deal.  I also want her to do a current echo and chest x-ray, a thyroid test, an adrenal test and microelements.  She has done only a TSH test that was normal and she did a electrolyte test and it was normal, but told me the others that I want are not necessary.   So I called today and demanded that she do these tests. If I'm paying for them, then what does she care?  And of course, I now get to start going to a psychologist tomorrow to get my anxiety of my heart out of my head.  It's all I think about.  It really has consummed me the last two weeks, all these years being told it was in my head and now it's not. I'm just frustrated and nervous.  I haven't started exercising again, for one, nervous to try, but two, still trying to get back some energy from the beta blocker.   Any words of advice?  Did you do any of the tests when you found out?  How severe or how long were yours when they were bad?  I'm sorry to hear your having them again, but doesn't sound like your cardiologist is concerned.  What is the difference between the psvt or svt?  Take Care, Michelle.  If you want to talk more, my email is ***@****

[anacyde]

Yep.  It was all but gone, then one day I had five episodes of it within 40 minutes.  They only last seconds and I can break them, but still, it's frustrating.

How long do yours last and what have you been told about it thus far?

[anacyde]

I e-mailed ya ;)

[Bromley]

I used to have exercise induced PSVT lasting about 6 minutes at any stretch.  From what I understand, that isn't that long, but it proved long enough for a fairly successful ablation.

[anacyde]

Fairly successful ablation?

My episodes are lasting a few seconds (up to 30) but are getting more difficult to break with vagal maneuvers.  Also getting lots of scattered PACs.  I don't know at what point they treat it...or more importantly at what point it becomes dangerous.  Do you have any ideas?  Thanks for the reply.

[emilycaitlin]

Hi anacyde, I don't know if you'd actually call this exercise induced, but I have gotten svt attacks from things like running around in the yard with my dogs for a few minutes, lifting and moving things like furniture and what not, standing over a hot stove cooking, but then I can get on a cross trainer for 20 mins and it not bother me at all. It's frustrating b/c I never know when they will happen. Do these type things bring yours on? Hope you are doing well, em

[youngathrt]

Hi. I'm 36 and had my first SVT about 6 years ago not during exercise but during a moment when I was startled. The SVT was unresponsive to vagal maneuvers.  It spontaneously resolved after what seemed like an eternity but was probably only 30 mins. The second one happened a few months later while jogging.  I was symptom free for a while although I think I just wasn't fully aware of my SVTs since when I run I am out of breath within 5-10 mins.  I finally went to a cardiologist about 3 months ago because I was having palpitations more frequently and only during exercise.  I had an EKG, ECHO, and stress test done.  According to the cardiologist my heart rate went to 300.  I never feel dizzy during the SVTs but do feel palpitations and shortness of breath. I don't always feel palpitations, sometimes I only feel shortness of breath. I was then referred to an electrophysiologist who performed EP studies with cardiac ablation.  It's been almost 2 months since the ablation and I'm still having SVTs with exercise or strenuous activity.  I called the Dr. and he wants me to have an event recorder placed until my follow-up appointment.

[anacyde]

Wow.  Let me know how that turns out?

[nikgirl28]

SVT symptoms sound quite similar to POTS...does anyone know the difference?

[youngathrt]

Had a follow up done. Weeks before the follow up I bought my own heart rate monitor and went bicycling, kayaking, and jogging (though not in the same day). I also monitored normal activity. I told the doc exactly what was happening but I got the impression that he didn't believe me.  Ablation has about a 90% success rate.  I happen to fall in the 10% that is unsuccessful.  The doc wants another stress test done.  I've asked another cardiologist what he thinks and he doesn't understand why I need another stress test but did say that my doc is pretty much the best around here. I think the doc doesn't know what to do at this point so maybe it's just to buy him some time so he can research and think about what my treatment is gonna be which is either another ablation or beta blockers.

[gillamc]

any idea what normal max heart rate should be for someone with PSVT.  30 year old female, 5'8" 145 lb.  avearge HR with running 190 beats per minute.  but this is with a 13 min mile I kid you not.  can't seem to slow it down.  PSVT heart rates have been as high as 300 in past.  I want so badly to exercise but seems that the ol' HR is getting in the way..not sure what safe is.

[jeepgirls]

Does anyone know how psvt with effect a person in the military?
My husband had a syncope episode and was in a car accident, roll over....they did not find a problem until they applied a 24 hour holter monitor.  they found arial tachycardia and did ablation, 3 weeks later he had a tachycardia episode over 200 bpm and sent him to hosp, they monitor him and found he had psvt, they have started him on 2 different anti arrythmic meds and his heart rate is between 60 and 110 at any given time during any given activity.  they have since done another 24 holter monitor and are consulting for another ablation.
we are worried about how this is going to effect him in the military, he is still not cleared to drive.  he is unable to perform job duties.
Does this condition warrarant a medical discharge?

[ireneo]

I would think if it affects his ability to work (he has to stop doing whatever because of the tachy) or causes him to be a danger to himself or others due to fainting, then he may end up with a medical discharge. A lot depends on what duties he has. If he has an office type job like accounting or computer support, I think he'd be fine. But not pilot or combat. This is something he'd have to talk over with his commanding officer.

Perhaps another ablation would clean up any tachy problems he has.