Triggers and Causes of My Ventricular Tachycardia

[pwalke]

Early this summer I had a sustained VT for about an hour which required emergency cardioversion. My heart rate was 240 bpm or higher. There was a short period in which I passed out as well. I am now taking amiodarone and have had an AICD implanted as well. My VT is "easily inducible" as determined through an electrophysiology exam but it has also been characterized as "idiopathic" since there was no evidence or heart damage or blockages. I continue to ponder the cause of this disease since I am a 38 year old male, I was fairly active, very seldom drank alcohol and I ate a fairly good diet.

Can any of the following cause inducible VT and not show evident heart damage:
Artificial sweeteners?
Exposure to organic solvents?
Chronic cutaneous exposure to solutions containing lidocaine and epinephrine?

Which of the following can be triggers and should be avoided?
Caffeine
Monosodium Glutamate
Higher impact exercise like running, swimming
Artificial sweeteners
Hot, spicy food
High stress situations

[sarab1303]

A related discussion, what can you do when bearing down doesnt work was started.

[karie]

At Urgent care for pvc's in the hundreds and dizzy with discomfort. I too am in my 30's and healthy lifestyle and thin, yearly ck ups for mvp. Increase in pvc's and turned in the holter monitor. I wanted to know if there is a connection with the stomach. If you eat a small meal and then suffer with the most pvc's what could this mean , further tests ?
I always would exercise knowing stress, or sugar could be a factor , But eating ?

[Vtach]

Hi All,

I was reading about the Vtach and i just wanted to mention ARVD.  I also like some of you have VT.  I was DX with ARVD after 4 ablations failed and 2 MRI'show fatty infiltration.  
I have a Pos signal average ECG, my EKG shows inverted T-waves,
I have tons of PVC's and lots of runs of VT.  It took 2 yrs for the docs to figure it out and they were calling it idio because i have a healthy heart.  Well after 4 ablations and lots of passing out and hospitals stays ARVD is the answer.  I know of a few dieases that cause VT, ARVD, Brugada, Long QT, Rvot Tachycardia and i am sure there are many more.  When you see your docs mention it they can do some simple tests like Holter moniter and EKG.  There is also the ARVD site to learn of some of the criteria.  Good luck to all of you.
FL&H

[Sue G.]

Im 47 years old and recently had a ablation to my avnrt. This was after 7 years or so with boughts of tacacardia 160 or so that would some times end up in A fib. Finally about 2 years ago I ended up in the doctors office, he gave me ryhthmol and sent me home and told me that if my heart didn't convert by the morning they would cardiovert me. Thank Heaven it went back to a normal ryhthm once again. So up until April I took 1 cardizem a day and rhythmol 3 times a day. The on April 19 I exerienced symptoms like I have once again, and had very little before. They almost seem worse now. They think they are pvc or pacs. Im wwaiting for the halter monitor to come to use to diagnose what they are. Im only on 1 asprin a day since the ablation. Im scared almost more than before because my doctor has now told me that when they did the ep study and ablation they found that I also had foso or atrial tac, which they think is a phenomenom of the surgery, and of a fib which they could only keep stimulated for 60 seconds or so. Im so scared, worried that something is going to happen again. Anyone's imput would be appreciated.

[np22wv]

My 16 year old daughter began having symptoms of SPVT's after becoming dehydrated. Holter monitor has shown 2-3 episodes daily of 140-175 bpm. She is currently on 60mg of Inderal LA, but it makes her tired. Our family doctor says that as long as her symptoms don't re-occur, she can wean off of the Inderal. Are SPVT's considered benign as long as there are no symptoms? She only had symptoms while she was dehydrated, not while wearing the monitor. So why put her on Inderal to begin with? Any help will be appreciated.

[gemart]

I'm 35/Female/3 kids/not obese/told my heart looks great

I was diagnosed with VT 1.5 years ago, I don't know what the other terms are that you all speak about (SVT, etc) and am curious.  

I went to the hospital because I was having what I called palpitations that wouldn't stop one morning (after a night of too much wine) and finally I almost passed out.  The attacks continued in the hospital, they gave me lidocaine (SP?) and it didn't work, but it did freak me out (the feeling).  My heart rate got up to 350bpm but only for a few seconds at a time, just enough to scare me and make me feel like i was about to pass out.  

I now take Toprol XL 100mg a day and I have a defibrillator/pacemaker implanted.  Most of the time I'm fine, but I just had a fast rhythm that lasted a little long for me since I have been on medication (couple seconds but I almost lose it).  I coughed, which usually makes it stop, but had to cough a second time.  Can't remember what that is called, Valsava maneuver I think.

Concerning the things that could induce VT posted by pwalke, I believe nutrasweet, Caffeine, and Monosodium Glutamate are basically bad things and should be avoided.  I read several articles recently about NutraSweet in particular that say it causes a whole list (92) of symptoms.

[pwalke]

All of these possibilities were explored during my 17 day hospital visit. All of my numerous electrocardiograms were and continue to be normal. My hospital is the leading heart centre in the largest city in Canada. Being a skeptical person by nature, I remain satisfied with the competence of the specialists who treated me with the occasional exception.

[pwalke]

As I said earlier, I had an EP. During the EP they were prepared to perform an ablation but testing proved that the arhythmia originated from a part of the heart where an ablation could not be done.

[howlinwolf]

I am a 43-year-old woman who was diagnosed with svt this summer. I've had chronic pvcs since I was 12 years old, so fortunately I've already gone through all the trauma and fear of having an irregular heartbeat. A holter monitor discovered the svt, and I ended up in intensive care for three days. A cardiac catheter showed no heart problems, and I, too, was told it was idiopathic. An ep in the cardiology group I was seeing at first thought I was a good candidate for an ablation, but later decided against it because I was not having any symptoms and I had a healthy heart. He also said it was benign, so long as my heart remains healthy. I take 25 mg of Lopressor every day, and that seems to control it. I have yet to resume my active lifestyle, since svt was like the kiss of death before I had the cardiac cath. It is still scary. I was told that svt is very rare in people with healthy hearts (the literature says it is sometimes seen in long distance runners or olympic athletes). Since then, I've been amazed at how much conflicting information there is about idiopathic svt. My own cardiologist (my ep's partner) urged me to get an ablation, while the ep said afterwards that the svt was benign and it wasn't necessary. I'm going to listen to the ep for now, since I don't have any symptoms and he seems to be the expert in this field. My suggestion is to get a second opinion before you agree to any procedure. And then do some research of your own. The bottom line is it's your health. Getting info from the docs, health professionals, and medical literature will help you make the best informed decision. Good luck!

[Linda123]

Dear Pwalke
Re: Ablation
A neighbour of mine had svt for years, the attacks would go on for hours at a time, she was in danger of going into heart failure.  In the end she had an ablation, well 2 actually (she had 2 areas) and now she is totally cured and living life to the full.
Just thought I would pass on this story to you.  If the doctors think they could cure you with ablation I think I'd grab that opportunity with both hands.
Regards.

[Smeltzy]

Hi, I also have Ventricular Tachycardia.  I was diagnosed with it waking up from back surgery back in July of 99.  I remember them yelling for the crash cart.  I was in sustained v-tach. Back then the docs (cardiologists and ep's) wanted to do an ablation on me.  But Ive refused.  Now I go to a major teaching medical hospital in the state where I live.  I've had lots and lots of tests done to see why I have v-tach.  I've also been kept in for 24 hours of watching a few times when Ive gone to the ER with my vtach.  Im still refusing an ablation as of this point.  Ive been on beta-blockers since 99,, the first kind I was on I was having what the docs called breakthrough symptoms (lightheadness and dizzy).  The docs I see now put me on Toprol XL,, 2x a day, been on this for over a year now and not much in symptoms,, but I do have them but not as often.  My EP doc said when I start getting symptoms to call him and they will put me in the hospital and put me on antiarryhthmia drugs, then next step will be the ablation.  "This is my choice not to have the ablation." I want to do what I can first before having that done.   Like you I also have been told that from all the tests that I have a healthy heart,, with one exception,  My heart seems to stay in a bigemny rythm constanty,,(so I have nonstop pvc's) and that is what is making my heart go into vtach.  Lord only knows how long my heart has been beating like this, and how much longer it can beat like this.  They have no answers. I am a 40 year old woman.  I have been told not to get a job like a bus driver for example.  I am going in for surgery within the next few months,, not related to my heart, I worry about the vtach,, my surgeon is still waiting to hear from my heart docs, for special precautions and such.  Maybe one day I will have the ablation.  I wanted to let you know that you are not alone.  There are others out there like us.  Good luck to you,,, if you would like to email me,, ***@**** take care Amy

[pwalke]

I certainly know my condition is far more serious than PVCs. Would you know how rare my condition is? Idiopathic sustained VT sounds rare to me because I would think sustained VT usually involves significant and detectable heart damage. The doctors at my hospital all seemed to be quite fascinated by my case.

[RTFLY]

The MD from the Cleveland Clinic that hosts this site will be a great resource for the answers you are looking for. I am a medical professioanl with a strong background in respiratory/cardiac problems and may be able to offer my opinion. I just want to clarify that we are not talking about PVC's as your problem. PVC's are mostly benign arrhythmia's that are usually asymtomatic(no accompanying symptoms like low BP or pain or shortness of breath). Sustained runs of v-tach, like you have described, are obviously very serious. Caffeine, stress, smoking and diet can all be contributors to cardiac arrhythmias. Amiodarone is a good drug to help with the control of these arrhythmias as well as having the AICD. Since your VT is desciribed as idiopathic and easil induced, I too would ponder the cause! As I stated before, the Cleveland Clinic MD will have a better insight into this. The cutaneous lidocaine and epi are attention getters. I would be more inclined to believe that exposure to the epinephrine may have an impact on your VT. Lidocaine is actually a drug we use to treat arrhythmias, so I doubt that would be a problem. I will keep up with this as I am curious to see what the MD has to say. Take care...
                                             JCI RRT RCP

[CCF-M.D.-RCJ]

pwalke,

Sorry to read of your troubles.  I am not aware of any relation between VT and artificial sweeteners or organic solvents.  A review of the literature from Medline likewise provided no association.  Lidocaine and epinephrine when administered by iv can both acutely precipitate VT, but not on a long term basis and not from cutaneous exposure.

Your triggers will have to be determined by you.  Any of the 6 things you mentioned might precipitate VT in one person but not another.

The natural history of normal heart VT is usually quite benign except for in patients with the Brugada syndrome or in familial long QT syndrome.  I would seek an expert opinion from a major medical center to see if more cannot be done (for example, an ablation procedure) or if the correct diagnosis has been made.

Good luck.

[AmosDoyle]

If you want a forum that discusses PVCs you might want to try http://groups.yahoo.com/group/People withPVCs

[CLM]

Hi there -- at 36 I, too, have been diagnosed with idiopathic NSVT and will be very interested in what the Dr.'s reply may be.  If you are interested I can be contacted at ***@****.  It would be great to share pointers, etc.

[DianeC]

I have had problems with PVC's off and on since my mid-twenties, I'm now 49 and had a bad period with them three years ago when I went to see my doctor. He checked my heart and put me on a drug that relaxed me so I could sleep, but didn't find anything wrong with me other than I was stressed out about my irregular heartbeats.  I found this forum a year later and I come here when I have problems like this past week.  Irregular heartbeats that leave me weak for hours.  I lack energy to do a lot of things and some depression follows.  Last night I woke up at 4 am with the feeling that my heart was fluttering out of control.  My pulse rate was 70 bpm which is good, I know.  I logged onto this website and looked through everyone elses problems and after an hour or so I was more relaxed and felt better and was able to sleep.  Has anyone ever found a chat site that people like myself can go to and talk about these problems?  I think it would be great since there are thousands of people who suffer from this health problem if we could find some website or net to talk on, perhaps even become friends, i.e. commiserate, suggest methods of relaxation, offer all kinds of suggestions.  I chat on the net some during the day and know that it's very helpful when you're going through problems that sympathetic ears can really ease your problems.  It's just a suggestion. anyone know of such a site or want to help start one?  I'd like to post this suggestion in the open forum but as we all know that's next to impossible, unfortunately, here.

[Mel22]

To Diane,

I'd be interested in something like that.