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SVT at 23
I have just seen a doctor and He is thinking that I am suffering from SVT. I type this as I am wearing a Heart Monitor. I wont lie at 23 years old I am a little scared. I know nothing about SVT. I have been having "attacks" for 4 weeks now. It started as a strong double beat and when it would hit hard I would have shortness of breath. The attack lasted for about 2 hours. I thought at first it was a panic attack, which I have a history of, but this felt different. After that I would just have flutters. For some reason it doesnt like when I do the dishes either. Me and my husband are a little worried. I have a history of high cholesterol, though it has dropped this year. I just want to know if I have anything to be concerned about. From what I read on the internet its not life threatening. But what I feel cant be normal. We would like to have childern in the near future but is this possible. And how will this affect my life. I will be thankful for any answers you can provide. Thank You.
After reading Beautiful's response about blowing into a needle, it occurred to me that none of us has mentioned the Valsalva maneuver. I've used it for years to correct my tachy times. It almost always works to put my rhythm back into normal. The key is to do it sooner rather than later. If I wait 15 minutes before trying it, then it's much harder to get my heart rate down.
What I do is take a breath, hold it and bear down as if having a BM. I don't bear down real hard and turn purple LOL. Just bear down for about 10 seconds and then slowly release your breath. I've found if I just let it whoosh out, my heart will pop back into tachy again.
It feels kind of uncomfortable while bearing down because the heart will thump a bit and protest but when you release your breath, the rhythm will be nice and normal. If it doesn't help the first time, try again. It's been a huge help to me over the years.
What I do is take a breath, hold it and bear down as if having a BM. I don't bear down real hard and turn purple LOL. Just bear down for about 10 seconds and then slowly release your breath. I've found if I just let it whoosh out, my heart will pop back into tachy again.
It feels kind of uncomfortable while bearing down because the heart will thump a bit and protest but when you release your breath, the rhythm will be nice and normal. If it doesn't help the first time, try again. It's been a huge help to me over the years.
Well I will be seeing a Electrophysiologist as soon as he comes back from vacation. I'm hoping they can find a medicine that works. Im on Crestor as well so hopefully its something that wont effect that and will be safe to take. Now the doctors are saying that my heart rate didnt get over 148 so I'm not sure. I call it an attack because it happens one after the other and sometimes it hits hard and takes my breath away for a second. I do know I need to lay off the caffine and change my diet AGAIN. We would like to eventually have children as we have none but I dont know if this something that could be possible. Either its SVT, PAC, or PVT it scares the hell out of me. Not only that my husband works shutdowns so he's gone for 3 to 9 weeks at a time and I worry that I will have one of these "attacks" while he's gone. Is there really that much difference between the three? I've done some research on it but sometimes its like speaking Greek to me. I have no family history of ANY types of heart problems that we know of.
Oh love I am 24 had my first SVT about 6 weeks ago my Heart rate was like 220bPm ended up at emergency was tipped upside down legs in the air and blew into a empty needle lol it worked haha reset my ticker I thought I was Gunna die its scary as :/ but just relax If u think u had a SVT or just want peice of mind ask for a referl to a cardiologist :)
Hi there,
I have read your posts and hope that the info will help you make a decision:
My history (very short version): I had SVT attacks during 2007 - in my sleep, sitting and watching TV, whatever and my heart rate was 180+ and I would stress it into 200+ and to the point that I had to go to the ER and was admitted to Cardio ICU a few times, until one day, while I was in the ICU and on the monitor, I had an attack! then I was transferred to a Heart Hospital and an ELECTROPHYSIOLOGIST did some tests, I was taken to theater, cardiac mapping and Ablation was done.
I have never had SVT attacks since then! I still have PAC's and PVC's and were on beta blockers at some stage but it made me hypotensive and I had a heart-defect and eventually went into heart failure because of that, but since my heart has been fixed (4 years ago) I just live with the heart hickups. No worries.
But: you still plan to have children and can not be on Beta blockers during pregnancy and you may have difficulty during labour, etc.
As soon as you go into one of the episodes: drive to the nearest ER and get an ECG done! if it is SVT or any other dysrythmia, they will pick it up and can refer you to a ELECTROPHYSIOLOGIST. And the reason why I stress the word ELECTRO-DOC is that he is the ONLY Heart Doc that should be working on the Electrical pathway of your heart. DO NOT go to a normal Cardiologist as you may just walk out with a Pacemaker.
SVT is not dangerous, but can be treated with Ablation and possibly cured. I had an extra AV node and that is what caused the SVT.
Did you get your Thyroid tested? Overactive thyroid will also give you palpitations and fast racing heart.
Let me know how you are doing, please :)
I have read your posts and hope that the info will help you make a decision:
My history (very short version): I had SVT attacks during 2007 - in my sleep, sitting and watching TV, whatever and my heart rate was 180+ and I would stress it into 200+ and to the point that I had to go to the ER and was admitted to Cardio ICU a few times, until one day, while I was in the ICU and on the monitor, I had an attack! then I was transferred to a Heart Hospital and an ELECTROPHYSIOLOGIST did some tests, I was taken to theater, cardiac mapping and Ablation was done.
I have never had SVT attacks since then! I still have PAC's and PVC's and were on beta blockers at some stage but it made me hypotensive and I had a heart-defect and eventually went into heart failure because of that, but since my heart has been fixed (4 years ago) I just live with the heart hickups. No worries.
But: you still plan to have children and can not be on Beta blockers during pregnancy and you may have difficulty during labour, etc.
As soon as you go into one of the episodes: drive to the nearest ER and get an ECG done! if it is SVT or any other dysrythmia, they will pick it up and can refer you to a ELECTROPHYSIOLOGIST. And the reason why I stress the word ELECTRO-DOC is that he is the ONLY Heart Doc that should be working on the Electrical pathway of your heart. DO NOT go to a normal Cardiologist as you may just walk out with a Pacemaker.
SVT is not dangerous, but can be treated with Ablation and possibly cured. I had an extra AV node and that is what caused the SVT.
Did you get your Thyroid tested? Overactive thyroid will also give you palpitations and fast racing heart.
Let me know how you are doing, please :)
That's the problem with heart meds. There are so many which is good so we have choices. But it also means that what works for one person may not work for another.Doctors tend to start with the most commonly used medications first. It's kind of a drug roulette. But they eventually find the one that helps the most.
Verapamil is a very common med for arrhythmias. A cardiologist tried that on me and I ended up in ER after a few days. I had incredible fatigue, shortness of breath, was foggy like you described, had pain down both legs and chest pain. I tried to tough it out but couldn't. Eventually they gave me Diltiazem, also a calcium channel blocker like Verapamil and except for a couple weeks of headaches while my body adjusted, it's been great.
I'm glad you didn't try to tough it out with the Toprol and will get another doctor to work with you on this.
Verapamil is a very common med for arrhythmias. A cardiologist tried that on me and I ended up in ER after a few days. I had incredible fatigue, shortness of breath, was foggy like you described, had pain down both legs and chest pain. I tried to tough it out but couldn't. Eventually they gave me Diltiazem, also a calcium channel blocker like Verapamil and except for a couple weeks of headaches while my body adjusted, it's been great.
I'm glad you didn't try to tough it out with the Toprol and will get another doctor to work with you on this.
So I took the Toprol XL 25 mg saturday night. It was horrible. I woke up feeling fine then I guess about 11:30, I was getting ready and broke into a sweat. Thought my sugar had dropped so I ate something. Still didnt help and I just kept getting worse. I felt lost and just out of it. I became a zombie. I couldnt think, all I wanted to do was sleep. Then my words started to slur and I would keep having these sweats. My husband said my eyes were glassy and I looked pale. I couldnt feel my heart beat or get a good pulse. So I called my aunt who is a head nurse and she said to stop the meds. Said that the doctor I used doesnt specialize in electrical heart functions and that he shouldnt have given me the meds because my heart rate wasnt high enough. She thinks that my heart rate was so low that it made my blood pressure shoot way down and was shocked I didnt pass out. So she is calling a doctor that actually knows about this. So hopefully he can figure out whats wrong. It was scary and I'm glad thats over with.
Yes, it is hard to juggle so many things at once. And it's tiring which will trigger some arrhythmias. I don't know if you can explain to your husband that this isn't just some kind of anxiety but an actual electrical short circuit, if you will, in the heart. People with heart attacks have "plumbing" problems, clogged arteries. Those of us with arrhythmias have extra or missing electrical signals in the heart which make it beat funny. It's not always our fault.
They do. Like last night I was trying to get dinner ready and it just hit me. Enough to where I had to sit down. They do it everyday but seem to happen more when I'm standing up or driving for some strange reason.
Thank you for all your help. Its nice to talk to someone who gets the same feeling. My husband is having a hard time understanding cause its not happening to him so he says I need to be Stress Free. Its just hard when your a working wife and then have to come home and run a household. LoL
Thank you for all your help. Its nice to talk to someone who gets the same feeling. My husband is having a hard time understanding cause its not happening to him so he says I need to be Stress Free. Its just hard when your a working wife and then have to come home and run a household. LoL
Knowing what's going on is always helpful. I know what happens in my heart so it's easier to ignore. I'm confident after all these years that my dancing heart isn't going to kill me, just annoy me now and then. :-)
Another thing you can look up is cannon A wave (I think that's what it's called). Depending on when the premature signal hits in the cycle, you may not feel any irregularity at all or it may give you a big thump. It's a matter of timing.
Yes, be careful with caffeine, stress, fatigue. They seem to trigger more premature beats.
Another thing you can look up is cannon A wave (I think that's what it's called). Depending on when the premature signal hits in the cycle, you may not feel any irregularity at all or it may give you a big thump. It's a matter of timing.
Yes, be careful with caffeine, stress, fatigue. They seem to trigger more premature beats.
Ok I just pulled up PACs online and that would make since. Starting to feel a little better. I didnt hear him mention something about that. He's from India I think and kind of hard to understand. But I get it now. Thank you
I guess you could call it an attack. They were happening back to back. They would feel like flutters at first but then I would get some that would hit so hard I would catch my breath. I mean it flutters all day and it might be premature beats. I know when I first started having them my doctor thought I was having an aniexty attack. I have problems with that. But it just felt different. Then I talked to my aunt who is a nurse and she thought it was PVC and said I needed to lay off the caffine. My doctor is going to go over the results of the monitor on my next visit. My mother has a history of heart problems and I guess I'm just scared that I will have the same thing.
Do you know much about Toprol?
Do you know much about Toprol?
When you were wearing the monitor, did you have any of those "attacks?" Unless it happens while you're wearing the monitor the doctor won't get to see on paper what's happening.
120 bpm isn't very fast. You could get that from rushing around or climbing some stairs. The way you described the events (double beats that hit hard) sounds a lot like some kind of premature beats. Sometimes they come singly or every 3rd beat or every other which might feel like a double beat. Think of it as a drummer that isn't playing with the rest of the band. :-) He should be doing thump, thump, thump. Instead he's doing thump, thump, ba-dump-bump. It's going to be noticeable.
If you had episodes while wearing the monitor, then the doctor will have seen it and know what was happening. The Toprol may help ease the sensation of the arrhythmia. All you can do is try. Be sure to ask the doc if the monitor actually recorded anything out of the ordinary.
By the way, random premature beats in general are completely harmless too as long as your heart is not damaged in any way. I have them all day, some more days than others, and I just think of them as my heart hiccups.
120 bpm isn't very fast. You could get that from rushing around or climbing some stairs. The way you described the events (double beats that hit hard) sounds a lot like some kind of premature beats. Sometimes they come singly or every 3rd beat or every other which might feel like a double beat. Think of it as a drummer that isn't playing with the rest of the band. :-) He should be doing thump, thump, thump. Instead he's doing thump, thump, ba-dump-bump. It's going to be noticeable.
If you had episodes while wearing the monitor, then the doctor will have seen it and know what was happening. The Toprol may help ease the sensation of the arrhythmia. All you can do is try. Be sure to ask the doc if the monitor actually recorded anything out of the ordinary.
By the way, random premature beats in general are completely harmless too as long as your heart is not damaged in any way. I have them all day, some more days than others, and I just think of them as my heart hiccups.
Ok so the doctor called me today and he is saying that he doesnt think its SVT. But he's not sure what it is. He wants me to take a low dose of Toprol XL for a month then come back and see him. Said my heart rate was only 85 bpm and that there was a time within 30 minutes that it was 120 bpm. I dont understand why he wouldn't know what it is. I have read that some doctors dont believe the patient when they say that they think they may have SVT. But if it isnt SVT then what else could it be. It's aggrevating becasue I know its not normal for my heart to be doing this all day.
Thank you for sharing this with me. It gives me hope that I can live a normal life while having this. I guess its like I told my husband last night, this might be one of those things that isnt life threatening but is hard for the person who goes thru it. And its great to talk to people that have the same problem and know what you're dealing with. So thank you again.
I'm sorry this has hit you so suddenly. I know it's scary. Each person is different and your SVT will be managed according to what works for you.
Briefly this is my experience: I've had SVT for as long as I can remember. First recollection is when I was about 7 in school and my heart would speed up and pound. I didn't know what it was but I didn't want my friends to see my chest pounding. It seemed normal to me. When I was in my 20's a doctor told me it was SVT, not life threatening so he did nothing really to help. I went on with my life, had 3 children, raised them. Then in my late 40's my new doctor sent me to a cardiologist who explained in greater detail what it was and that it could possibly be fixed with an ablation. Well, here I am now, almost 60, had 3 ablations and although I still get episodes of SVT, they last less than a minute and I'm doing great. No damaged heart. I've done work with wildlife for over 20 years, raised my 3 kids and have grandkids now and my husband and I go on hikes regularly.
I hope this is encouraging for you. The ablations didn't completely get rid of the SVT because I have several other minor arrhythmias going on but I don't get those long episodes like you mentioned. It's great and I'm very happy.
Good luck with your appointment. They may be able to bring yours under control with a simple medication. Don't give up hope. I'm old with SVT and life is good.
Briefly this is my experience: I've had SVT for as long as I can remember. First recollection is when I was about 7 in school and my heart would speed up and pound. I didn't know what it was but I didn't want my friends to see my chest pounding. It seemed normal to me. When I was in my 20's a doctor told me it was SVT, not life threatening so he did nothing really to help. I went on with my life, had 3 children, raised them. Then in my late 40's my new doctor sent me to a cardiologist who explained in greater detail what it was and that it could possibly be fixed with an ablation. Well, here I am now, almost 60, had 3 ablations and although I still get episodes of SVT, they last less than a minute and I'm doing great. No damaged heart. I've done work with wildlife for over 20 years, raised my 3 kids and have grandkids now and my husband and I go on hikes regularly.
I hope this is encouraging for you. The ablations didn't completely get rid of the SVT because I have several other minor arrhythmias going on but I don't get those long episodes like you mentioned. It's great and I'm very happy.
Good luck with your appointment. They may be able to bring yours under control with a simple medication. Don't give up hope. I'm old with SVT and life is good.
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