Could SVT be causing my chronic fatigue?

[xxEmmaxx]

I am 16 and was diagnised with SVT about 6 months ago. i have been experiencing extreme tiredness and headaches everyday for the past 8 months despite being otherwise healthy which is really disrupting my life. i am having to sleep a lot of the time. i have been put on beta blockers at the time the SVT was diagnosed and am having an ablation procedure in two days. could the svt cause this chronic fatigue or is it something else? i also wanted to know if anyone felt more energised after having an ablation procedure to cure SVT?

[tom_h]

Having had SVT for 54 years, a near lifetime of it from 6 to 60, and speaking from my own experience, I never experienced chronic fatigue, extended periods of sleepiness, or the inability to sleep.  It was quite the contrary for me as I was always on the go, and competing in various sports.  If your daughter is medicated, I'd look there as the cause.  If she is un-medicated, then I'd look somewhere else other than SVT as the cause.  Most people who have SVT also have perfectly normal EKG's and heart structures.  SVT only reveals itself when an episode occurs.

[alc0536]

I'm so glad to hear this my 16 year old daughter was just diagnosed with SVT were heading to the hospital today for our first visit after catching her SVT on her event monitor. Shes been very tired and is now having some trouble sleeping, not sure if its the rhythm or knowing that there definitely is something wrong....her father was diagnosed earlier this year and had ablation surgery done, so far seems successful. I 'm not looking to do that for my daughter talking medications hopefully, just makes me nervous, but keeping an open mind her appointment is at 2 pm after a 1 pm Doppler echo.

[Jamie_Mar]

Yes, chronic fatigue is not unheard of with SVT along with brain fog. I hope you have recovered, and hopefully gotten to the bottom of your symptoms. I struggled with debilitating fatigue for almost two decades and doctors just assumed it was because I was young, and stressed out. After my ablation I'm feeling more energetic and clear headed than I have since childhood. Listen to your body and find a doctor who listens to you.  

[MichelleP_3811]

I am glad to hear things a going a bit better.  Please do give yourself a good 3 months before making any decisions about doing anything else.  Your heart has been through a lot and needs time to rest and heal.  This also means you could still get your strength back.   That is what I am hoping for you.  But please do get back to us in a month and let us know how it is going.  Hang in there.

[xxEmmaxx]

I am a week post ablation and the palpitations have settled a great deal since having the procedure. I am still getting chronic fatigue which must not be related to the heart problem and they are doing further tests to look into this. I am still finding i get quite a few palpitations and the chest heaviness i feel before an svt attack is there quite i lot. i get quite a few flutters when bending over, if i suddenly go from standing to laying flat on my bed and showers are pretty bad. it also doesn't cope well under stress or if i'm in a bit of a rush it goes faster than it should although not as bad as before the ablation. i think i probably will need a second ablation but the doctor has said because he knows it will be more complicated he will be prepared for this and hopefully be more successful. i have recovered a lot quicker than i thought. the bruises on my groin were painful a few days after but aren't bad now and i have resumed to most of my usual activities. thank you for the advice on exercise and i will try to build up on this as i believe it will help. i have refrained from taking the calcium channel blockers for now as i seem to be managing ok without them although i may need to start taking them especially when i start college because my heart cannot seem to cope with stress and will probably repeatedly go into svt. as i do not want to embarass myself by sitting on the floor doing breathing techniques on my first day i will probably give in and take them. i'll post back in about a month when i see how much exercise and stress my heart can tolerate and see if i can actually trigger a proper svt attack like the one before to see if i do need another ablation.

[demps321]

Sorry to hear it was not such a good experience for you. Just put your feet up and rest for a few weeks. I hope you start to notice that things settle down soon and you soon feel much better. Fingers crossed for you!

[MichelleP_3811]

Oh Emma, I am so sorry to hear things didn't go well.  I know younger hearts can be a bit tricky to fix.  You are still developing so it makes a cure rather tough sometimes.  I really don't know why it was so painful for you.  I didn't have any pain unless they were actually doing the burning and then it was kind of a deep burning pain but not all out discomfort where I didn't think I could take it.  Your extra pathways must be in a very touchy spot.  It almost sounds like you may have a couple of spots.  This is not unheard of.  Well take some time to heal but be prepared for it to take a number of months.  The heart takes a while to heal but it will continue to get better with time.  Once you are healed I would really consider taking up some sort of a cardiovascular regime.  I run on the elliptical pretty much every day.  I had avnrt and before I started to work out I would not tolerate my svt episodes very well.  I had to lay down but once I started to work out and got my heart in better shape I was almost able to function normally while in tachycardia.  I couldn't stand for long but I had a 12 hour episode that didn't affect me much (not that I recommend letting a 12 hour episode go that long, I should have went to the er) but the point is exercise will help build your heart strength.  It will likely help you feel less fatigued and may even help you tolerate a second ablation sometime down the line if you choose to try again if you are still having issues.  In any event discuss with your doctor if this would be safe for you to do and if they give you the go ahead I really highly recommend it though obviously stop what you are doing if you ever fall into a tachycardia episode.  But for now take some time to baby yourself and heal.   We are here if you need to talk.  Take care and feel better soon.  Big hugs to you.

[xxEmmaxx]

Hi just thought i'd let you know how i went on. i had my ablation yesterday and i know in most cases this will not happen... the ablation itself took four hours and during this time i was given a lot of morphine and valium but i was still in quite a great deal of pain and discomfort throughout which they said was quite uncommon. they ablated about 6-8 times i lost count and when i came out about an hour or so after the ablation i was repeatedly sick, shaking, very dizzy and had strange dreams everytime i closed my eyes which they said was a reaction to the drugs. unfortunately the surgeon said despite the fact he could easily bring on my svts it was more complex than he thought and he said he only managed to ablate part of the connection and was still able to bring on the svt although he said it lasted for a shorter period of time. he said he has no idea of the success rate and i will just have to see how i go. however he has said that it is most likely going to return which i will probably need another ablation for although i have told them i will not have it done unless i am put under general anaesthetic as it was too painful and he said that they can do it that way although he is worried he may not be able to bring on the svt. he said if he does do it again he will try the transseptal puncture as he believes that there may be some beats originating from the other side of my heart. he is not sure of the diagnosis although he said it is either atypical avnrt or wolff parkinson white syndrome but he said my symptoms were very similar to both types of svt although he said they are both treated in the same way. he said for now i have to wait a week or so to see how i go. i stayed in hospital overnight and once i got home this morning i have had terrible palpitations though they said this was fairly normal.i have probably experienced nearly 1000 today which is very frequent and scary although i am feeling better than yesterday. these are mostly triggered when i try to get up or move. hopefully this will decrease in a few days. the doctor said if it doesn't then i should try the calcium channel blockers he has prescribed instead of the beta blockers as these hopefully won't give me as many side effects as i'm not sure if the beta blockers were responsible for the tiredness. i am not really wanting to take the calcium channel blockers those as reading the leaflet there seem to be even more severe side effects than the beta blockers. i will post back in a week or so to let you know if my palpitations have settled.

[demps321]

has your Dr said if it is WPW? i have been diagnosed with WPW and even though i don't have many episodes of SVT, i do feel tired on the odd day when i have palpitations. Hopefully after your ablation you will feel alot more energetic.

[littlegreenman1]

I third the opinions above.
SVT shouldn't make you tired.

[grendslori]

Having had SVT for over 40 years, I'd have to agree that it should not wear you out. During an ACTUAL attack of SVT, yes, it might zap your energy, but the rest of the time, you should feel fine. I would tend to say with you being 16, your hormones are zapping your energy and that if you are like most teens, you do not get anywhere near enough sleep with only compounds the issue. Beta Blockers can cause fatigue as well and that could be the reason you feel the way you do. WPW is chronic in nature (I have it as well as my daughters, one of them went through an open-heart surgery to ablate it; she also has had several ablations after that surgery) but that does not mean that you are always in an SVT mode. Good luck with the ablation. My strong advice to you would be to not let this run your life! At 16 my daughter was dying from heart disease, you are fortunate to have a problem that can be treated; get it taken care of and go and enjoy your life as a teen-ager!  

[MichelleP_3811]

I have had an svt, avnrt all my life but I only had episodes once in a blue moon.  As I entered my 40s I started to have them more frequently but the only times they really affected my strength was once after having an episode during surgery for something else and one other time when I let an episode go for 8 hours.  At that time I was not very active.  Once I got active and built up my hearts overall strength I no longer had episodes that stressed out my system.  I even had a 12 hour episode without much affect.  That said, do you know what type of svt you possibly have?  From what I understand wpw syndrome can be chronic so if you are in a permanent svt state as opposed to having an occasional episodes then I can see how it might be a bit taxing on your heart or if you have episodes that last hours before you get them resolved while also not being very athletic.  But in general, if well managed, svt is not necessarily a threat to the health of a person's heart.  But why chance it if an ablation can possibly correct the issue for good.  So good luck with your ablation and let us know how it went.  And hopefully when all is said and done and your heart has had a chance to recover I have no doubt you will get your energy back.  Take care.

[tom_h]

I'd say "No".  Of course everyone is different, but I had 54 years of SVT but competed at a very high level in several sports; ice and inline speed skating, and track cycling.  At your age, I was also on an east coast Pro-Am surfing circuit during my summers.  Perhaps it could be affected by the beta blockers, but the dosage would have to be very high.  Good luck with the ablation.

[xxEmmaxx]

Hi thanks for the reply. yes i was experiencing the same tiredness before the beta blockers. i will definitely let you know how i go on. this is my first ablation and i hope its a success.

[demps321]

hey. i'm 26 and recently been diagnosed with SVT too and am also due for an ablation. I also have felt really tired to the point where i have to just have a power nap. So i can presume it is due to the SVT. I've not been put on any meds, so i can't say whether your tiredness is due to the beta blockers but i have heard they can effect people in this way. Were you feeling tired before you had the meds?
Best of luck with your ablation and let us all no how you get on. Any tips would be grateful.