PSVT

Hi Everyone... I too suffer from PSVT.. I have had it for the last 10 years.. I'm 27 F. I was only officially diagonsed receintly after it was recorded on an ECG. For years I was told it was anxiety or due to drinking caffenated beverages... although I rearly consume them. I was given adenosine to stop the attack.. and it was a terrifying experience.

My question is this- why does PSVT just emerge at a point in an individuals life? I was 17 when I had my first eposide which I vivdly recall as I had never experienced anything like that in my life!  It seems like alot of PSVT suffers also have anxiety... is the anxiety that triggers the PSVT or vice versa? I was never anxious until this started happening to me.

I have periods where I instantously feel dizzy, start to shake, sweet and my heart pounds.. (not PSVT) I feel like I am going to die when this happens... could this be cardic related? My doctor says it is anxiety.. but I don't know... it happens when I am not at all stressed... out of the blue!  

Best of luck to all those with PSVT... we need it! lol

[ireneo]

I don't know why arrhythmias just appear. Some are due to heart damage from a heart attack, some seem to lie dormant for awhile and then are triggered by hormones (like pregnancy) and others just show up. I've had mine for as long as I can remember.

The dizziness, sweating, etc. you mentioned does sound like an anxiety attack. Many people have them but claim they don't feel "anxious." Those seem to occur randomly too. I don't have them so don't know much about them.

You didn't mention how often your PSVT occurs, how fast the heart rate. Did your doctor mention medications or having an ablation to possibly fix it?

[JRChine]

Yes my doctor did mention ablation.. they first have to wait to find out the results from my ECHO to determine if everything with my heart is normal, and if they can pin point the location which is triggering the PSVT. My heart rate will be around 200 beats/min. None of the maneuvers ever work.. it just stops on it's own at random. I could go a month without having one, or I could have one everyday. The frequency is not consistant at all. I am on no meds currently, noone really believed me that something was wrong until 10 years later they caught it on the ECG. My heart feels like it's flip floping and irregular at times. Hopefully I will find something out this week......

[ireneo]

200 bpm is pretty darn fast and most likely makes you light-headed. I hope you get some good news soon. An ablation may just be the answer.

[msmith24]

I developed PSVT when I was 16.  I clearly remember my first episode when I was in high school.  I am now 33.  Luckily my episodes generally occur a few times a year.  During and after an episode, I feel light headed, anxious and shaky.  All of this is normal because the events can be traumatic.  I also developed anxiety once my episodes started.  The hardest part is that it can effect you mentally because you are fearful of next episode.  Good luck!

[marlo76]

I am 34 and was just diagnosed 2 weeks ago with PSVT, I had 2 days of episodes that would make me sweat, my heart would be beating way to fast, i was gonna pass out and had shortness of breath. I finally went to the E.R. I was telling them to take my BP now and they would not do it till I had checked in to be seen, so that was one of the worst episodes in the whole word to me! I wore a heart monitor for 24 hours and had mild episodes, the highest BPM were 118 and the lowest BPM were 48, There were readings of extra heart beats in the middle of the night and missing heart beats throught the 24 hours. Going back in my head I have had episodes in previous years like feeling the extra beats, or having my heart beat out of my chest but I was young and didnt really pay much attention to asking why my heart did that, so anyway, I just dont understand why now, I smoked I drank caffine all my life since I was 13 and bang it hit, I guess I answerd my own question lol. That probibly triggered it. but along with alot of these i have read... When i have an episode I panic I think, The doctor says 50 % is panic 50 % is a episode, they mimic eachother. The beta blockers are supposed to help control the anxiety but I just dont see any control when you HEART is not being normal! They keep telling me people live with every day its not dangerous, go to your high stress job, go drive your kid in the car with these episodes, go run the cub scout den you wont die you will just have these symptoms. Then I say no I want to try the meds... well the beta blockers calm me down but make me lathargic. they sustain my BPM at 60 my episodes have lessened but still happen, I get the rush of cold and hot throughout my body and then my head timgles, sometimes chestpain, always shortness of breath. I just dont get what I am supposed to do next.... live with the episodes, or be a downered lathargic mess, either way I cant drive , work , or really do anything productively.