SO....what does SVT feel like?

[fearfactor]

I have PACs.   Sometimes (very rarely, maybe once or twice a year only, thankfully), I have what feels like a bunch of PACs in a row.  Usually, it is about 3 (which is a bunch for me).  My doctor tells me this is likely SVT, though it has never been captured on an monitor or EKG.  I know lots of folks here get SVT, and I thought it would feel like a really fast heartbeat, but this just feels like a normal PAC (the roller-coaster up and down feeling) but just a bunch of them in a row.  It really just feels like a "bubbling" sensation in my chest, and not a fast heartbeat or tachycardia at all (I do have sinus tach from time to time).  Can this be possible that it's SVT?  If it is, then why wouldn't it feel fast to me?  Thanks!

[iAmEllen]

My SVT feels like a run of PVCs.  The first time I was put on an EKG during an SVT episode I was shocked when they told me it was racing in a regular rhythm.  It doesn't feel like it at all.

[fearfactor]

I think it is a run of PACs, too - it is definitely NOT fast like what you described.  You said you have PAC runs, too - do you fear atrial fib?  That is what I'm afraid of - I could live with the occasional (mercifully only 1 to 2 times a year) runs but I'm scared it will turn into A-fib.

[anacyde]

I get SVT and also runs of PACs, including bigeminy (where every other beat is a PAC).

For me, SVT feels like a very rapid regular heart rate and is usually about 150-180 beats per minute.  It is triggered by a hard PAC and terminates with one as well.  What you describe sounds like a simple run of PACs, which I suppose would be SVT (or PSVT).  I meant actually to ask what the difference is between SVT and a run of PACs, I just keep forgetting.  My guess is it's probably a quantity issue (i.e. two in a row is a couplet and more would be SVT?  I'm totally just guessing).