When SVT Feels Longer Than It Is

[anacyde]

I'm sure SVT sufferers can relate; doesn't it seem like 5 seconds is 5 minutes where SVT attacks are concerned?

I did the dumb thing today and exercised even though I had a lot of atrial ectopy last night.  Stupider still, I didn't give up at 30 minutes (in the vein of "I'll show YOU stupid PACs!") and at 35 minutes - predictably, SVT.  This one was a bugger too, the valsalva maneuver did nothing and it took two icy splashes of water to the face for it to give up.  All in all, this entire drama lasted 30 seconds, but it felt as if minutes were ticking by.  Always does.

Do any of you have a time limit?  For me, it seems like if I do anything intense for more than 30 minutes, it opens the SVT window.  Now, when I'm not mid cycle or something, I can get away with much more with no SVT at all...sometimes no PACs even.

Haha, so much for putting my palps in their place ;)

Hope everyone's doing well.

[centrex]

For me the ones that only last 30 sec. are the worst this means I am going to have more.  Usually mine are more sustained 30-40 min.  But without any symptoms.  The short ones though, that is another story my blood preasure drops when my heart rate returns to normal and all the blood rushes from my head, and my chest burns.  I read somewhere that some episodes last for as long as 2 days.  I cannot imagine letting this go that long.  think of the risk of stroke these cases can carry. My longest has been 2 hours, then I had to be shocked into normal rhythm.

[anacyde]

They cardiovert you for two hours of SVT?

[CollegeGirl143]

when i first walked into the er with svt, i had a nurse wanting to cardiovert me after being on the monitor for literally, MAYBE 20 seconds... My svt had nothing to do with my activity level, i got it everytime i ate, (every single blessed time), and when i was really upset.. I could run at the gym for hours and not get an SVT attack, and the gym really helped, but when i did get the svt, it would last usually around a couple hours, at a rate of 220-250..This few hours felt like days, literally..When it was over, ide sleep for 12+ hours It was no fun, as im sure many can relate to..when i first started having the svt, ide faint sometimes, but after i started exersizing, the svt became easier to tolerate.

[anacyde]

Hey :)

I used to only get this once in a great while. All of a sudden I get it much more often.  It happened at the same time my enlarged heart was found.  They tell me it isn't related but what a coincidence.

Anyhow, my worry is how they've gone from being a once in a blue moon thing to a fact of life for me.  I asked my cardiologist when I saw him last week and he said, "Anything lasting more than seconds?"  I said no.  He said, "You let me know if that happens."  I'm hoping it won't.

How did yours go?  How do you manage and treat it?

I typically find it annoying.  Today was actually kind of scary though.  My heart rate stayed around 90-95 just sitting at my PC working for a good 30 minutes after that.  Axniety?  Who knows.  It was sinus, to the best of my knowledge, because when I breathed deep my rate increased, and it decreased as I breathed out.  That's how I can tell if I'm in SVT - the breathing does nothing to change the rate and the beats feel lighter and faster, almost always exactly 180 bpm.

Sorry for the ramble ;)

[sb786]

Did you ever figure out why you were having SVTs when eating. I have that problem too. When i'm eating it feels like the food gets stuck in the food pipe and then the SVT kicks in. I am now too afraid to eat. I go for days without eating and when i do i only manage a little soup. I have always been thin but now i look dangerously thin. I now have heaps of indigestion beacause i don't eat properly and i believe this has increased the PVCs.

[kitcurious]

I read somewhere that when people with SVT have treatment almost 90% lose the anxiety problem. Has your doctor ruled out a CC or beta blocker ?

[CollegeGirl143]

i lived without my svt for 19 years, and then BAM one night it started, and ide have multiples a day until i had the ablation.I was never a good candidate for meds because i also have really low blood pressure (normally 80/50) so those werent a great option for me, i had to the get the ablation to get the svt under control..

its typical with svt to get worse over time though, cant say for sure thats whats happening with you, but if the pattern continues, ide definatly try and do something about it.. Have you ever considered ablation??

[anacyde]

I'm nowhere near a candidate for ablation as of yet.  Right now my SVT is considered paroxysmal and benign since it is hormonally induced (and stress, occasionally) and the episodes typically last 5-30 seconds and break with a vagal maneuver or on their own.  If this starts lasting minutes, my cardiologist will be getting a phone call the day it happens, and I'll be amenable to those beta blockers!

I find kitcurious's comment about the treatment of SVT eliminating anxiety for some.  I wonder if that has to do with the beta blockers that are commonly used as a first line of treatment?  Because BBs block beta receptors, this cuts the anxiety response.

[CollegeGirl143]

that very well may something to do with it! but i think alot of it is a mental effect. I find that the people who have the biggest problems with anxiety are the people who need to feel in control, the beta blockers lets them feel in control again.. Also, just not having to deal with the svt, and feeling less palps is probably very soothing.. I cant say personally, because ive never been on medication, but i know my anxiety level dropped significantly after my ablation.

[OnTheRox]

I've seen several people post on here that their SVT's last for 30 mins to an hour or more. How do you let it go on that long?? I get so scared. I've had 3 attacks in the last month - heart rates 230, 215, and 164 - and I feel like I'm gonna pass out every time so I call 911. It's getting ridiculous but I don't know what else to do because I can't convert myself.

Also - I've seen on here that several people have been told that SVT's aren't life threatening but I don't see how. The medics and my doc have told me that when your heart rate is that fast you can't pump blood properly and if untreated it could kill you. Is tht not true??

[jlf09]

after 20 some years of wondering what was going on, i finally got to where i could get to the doctor/hospital while one of the attacks was happening.  SVT-  they shot me twice with something to knock me back into rhythm and that wasnt fun! Im on a low dose of beta blockers but i've been breaking through a lot lately.  I'm tentative about the ablation, but thinking that might be the way to go.  As for length,,, could be a few seconds, a few minutes... the one that prompted me to go to the hospital was about 3 hours of 190's heart rate before i went.  As we speak, I'm having another that just wont stop, but stubborn me wants to wait. They DO take a lot out of you