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How do your significant others/family deal with your SVT?
A few days ago I had to go into the ER for a SVT episode. Normally I only have an episode maybe once or twice a year, tops, along with palpitations here and there. However, this particular episode was pretty nasty for me. HR was between 160-170 and pounding. Resting I could only get it down to maybe 155, and then walking around to go to the car or whatever it was over 170. I tried my normal maneuvers to get it to come back down (drink giant glass of ice water and bend forward sitting on a chair) and nothing worked. When I went into ER they of course hooked me up to a ton of things and gave me that drug that stopped my heart for a few seconds and felt like doom. The whole thing was very scary. My kids are only 4 and 6 so we had to call a neighbor to watch them as I couldn't deal with additional stress in the ER. Then of course my husband was totally shook up seeing me like that. So on top of all my anxiety over the whole situation, I sat and worried about what the whole thing was doing to my husband. He admitted later that night he was scared of what might happen if I die... kids go back to their dads and he loses them, kids get all messed up from my crazy ex...I'm just like OMG we are having a conversation about me dying :(. I have been depressed for days and nervous about every teensy little flutter in my heart. I've been recovering from a cold and I think that is aggrivating things.
Anyway, how do your spouses/significant others deal with things? I just feel extra bad that now my husband is scared. We just got married 6 months ago and he was aware that sometimes I have these episodes, but I've always been able to bring them down on my own, other than 1 attack that I had in my teens. I am now 32. The er docs referred me to a cardiologist and I'm sure more tests will be ran. Ablation was mentioned. I guess that is a big thing now but of course I am scared of heart surgery. We are just not sure how to deal with all of this and of course my panic level runs really high after an episode :(.
Anyway, how do your spouses/significant others deal with things? I just feel extra bad that now my husband is scared. We just got married 6 months ago and he was aware that sometimes I have these episodes, but I've always been able to bring them down on my own, other than 1 attack that I had in my teens. I am now 32. The er docs referred me to a cardiologist and I'm sure more tests will be ran. Ablation was mentioned. I guess that is a big thing now but of course I am scared of heart surgery. We are just not sure how to deal with all of this and of course my panic level runs really high after an episode :(.
I haven't taken cold meds since I was a teenager. I'm weird about meds in general because so many make me feel weird. The only effects I was having from the cold at the time was a bit of a loose cough. So no meds, no caffiene, I was in bed at the time and it happened when I flipped over to look at something in my tablet. Not even sex beforehand lol. Only thing of note was that the room was really hot and stuffy (it gets that way in the winter because we got better windows and have a lot of radiator pipe for the square footage in that room). So just heat, a bit of excitement about showing my husband something on the tablet, position change, and possibly some dehydration as I hadn't eaten or drank anything yet.
"... I've been recovering from a cold and I think that is aggrivating things."
I went to the ER for the first time after recovering from a cold. It's not the COLD that aggrivated me... it was the DRUGS. (Drugs are bad, mmmm-kay? Even heart meds...) Non-drowsy cold medicine == speed. Read the box if you were taking any cold meds. :-)
I went to the ER for the first time after recovering from a cold. It's not the COLD that aggrivated me... it was the DRUGS. (Drugs are bad, mmmm-kay? Even heart meds...) Non-drowsy cold medicine == speed. Read the box if you were taking any cold meds. :-)
If your cardiologist recommends it and gives a good chance of success. Go get ablated. You don't want to be on drugs that might maybe possibly work for the rest of your life. Might as well be a functioning alcoholic if you want a lifetime chemical dependency problem. ;-)
Note on ablation - it's expensive. If you're USA know what your "Maximum Out of Pocket" expenses are and be prepared to pay that.
Be done with this... and then promise to stay physically fit and active. No sense in squandering a good heart to fat and arteriosclerosis.
Note on ablation - it's expensive. If you're USA know what your "Maximum Out of Pocket" expenses are and be prepared to pay that.
Be done with this... and then promise to stay physically fit and active. No sense in squandering a good heart to fat and arteriosclerosis.
I do have some palpitations here and there, nothing major. Yesterday I had 1 and today I had 1. I've had them since teens so by now I just don't think much of them... just get the sensation and move on. The only thing is if I get more than 1 in a row it gets scary because that usually means an oncoming SVT. Those usually involve more of a fluttery sensation at first, whereas the regular palpitations just feel like kind of a thump or a roll. I used to get them all the time when I had a sinus infection I just couldn't seem to kick until having surgery, and a few summers ago I had palpitations every night when going to bed from stress (it was just pre-divorce). Seems these things come in waves for me and then subside for long periods of time.
I do want to report that my husband has settled down a bit about it as he can see I immediately resumed normal activities. I have been sad about not being able to have my morning coffee and hubby thinks I'll only be able to go a couple of months without that... lol. Seriously... I drank coffee for 2 years straight with like no episodes due to the coffee, not even palps. The only other relatively recent event I had was while I was grocery shopping, the kids were stressing me out, I was roasting hot, and in a hurry to go home. Now that I think about it, both recent events occurred when I was roasting hot and edgy. Actually stopped the prior episode by going to the bathroom and bearing down.
I do want to report that my husband has settled down a bit about it as he can see I immediately resumed normal activities. I have been sad about not being able to have my morning coffee and hubby thinks I'll only be able to go a couple of months without that... lol. Seriously... I drank coffee for 2 years straight with like no episodes due to the coffee, not even palps. The only other relatively recent event I had was while I was grocery shopping, the kids were stressing me out, I was roasting hot, and in a hurry to go home. Now that I think about it, both recent events occurred when I was roasting hot and edgy. Actually stopped the prior episode by going to the bathroom and bearing down.
The weird feelings could be a bit of sinus tachycardia simply from your heart being a little overworked by the svt episode or you could have some ectopic beats. They are generally a big trigger for someone to fall into svt though it usually depends on where in the beat it happens or maybe how often they happen whether or not an svt episode will be triggered. I will make a point though that if you do opt for an ablation at some point to correct the svt you will likely continue to experience ectopic beats. They are a whole other condition even less of a threat then the svt is so basically totally harmless but they do not get corrected in the process of correcting the ablation. They do generally calm down and or sometimes go away for some but I wasn't aware of them before my ablation so they did take me a bit by surprise so I say this only as a way to keep you informed. A doctor would have to verify if you actually have them or not but sometimes those odd feelings are just simple ectopic beats. Take care.
I am not sure what type of SVT I have, all I know is the ER docs said to just make sure if I ever wind up in the ER again, make sure to tell them I have SVT. I am guessing maybe this is so they don't write it off as a panic attack or give me any drugs that could cause racing? I am scheduled to see the cardiologist in a couple of weeks. Since that episode I haven't had any weird events, other than there are times when I feel weird feelings in my throat chest and I get a little panicky about it, but then feel my pulse and nothing is going on that is weird. So right now I'm still just dealing with some anxiety issues and trying to be a bit more careful so that if anything did happen to my heart, it has time to heal. When I left the ER I was still a bit nervy, even with the anti anxiety meds they gave me, and my heart rate was starting to go back up to 140 even while I was laying down. Of course I had to pee really bad and was just begging for them to unhook me so I could go. After that, I walked back into the room and they didn't even hook me back up, they just discharged me. I didn't feel weird anymore so I was just glad to leave and go home and relax.
If you haven't been diagnosed with Afib which they could tell that in the er then you likely have nothing to worry about with your svt. They are generally more of a nusaince than anything else. Do you know if you have wpw or some other form of svt? WPW can also be diagnosed sometimes just from your resting ekg. I have had avnrt my whole life and I was told in general it is really very harmless but that you will likely experience more epsiodes as you get older. Not sure why but I had very few growing up but once I hit my 40s they really started to disrupt my life. I had an ablation for it a little over a year ago and haven't had any episodes since though you may continue to feel odd beats after the ablation an ablation is generally a very safe and effective way to correct accessory pathway svts. If you want to read about my ablation you can click on my name and read my journal entry. It really isn't heart surgery. It is called a procedure and the only thing they do is enter through a few arteries so no real cutting. It is really quite a breeze for the patient except maybe when they burn the extra pathway then that hurts a bit but I had 2 full on surgeries and the ablation was nothing in comparison. The biggest issue going in is to be active and you may not be active enough to get the svt going so I can understand your hesitation. The EP really needs to be able to get you into tachycardia to know where to ablate though experienced EPS do kind of know the most typical spots so even people with rare epsiodes as yourself do still have a chance at a cure so it is still something to consider but not anything you need to rush into but do tell your husband the odds of you dieing from this are extremely rare. So long as you manage your epsiodes when they occur there should be no undue damage done to your heart because of the episodes. That said, medicine does very little to stop the epsiodes though it can lower the rate when you have an epsiode. But in general there is not much that will stop accessory pathway svts except an ablation so at some point you may want to consider it but if you haven't been diagnosed with a type that is a risk to your health then you likely have nothing to be concerned about even in the long run. That said, you may find there comes a point where it starts to disrupt your life and you may want to consider an ablation at that point but to put your mind at easy most svts are pretty harmless to the patient with the exception of Afib. Just keep doing what you are doing and you should be fine. But if you ever decide to do the ablation and want some advice please come back and we will be glad to help.
Seeing a cardiologist and finding out what your options are seems like a good plan. My husband sat with me for 5 hours waiting for a cardioversion and was pretty much emotionally shut down. It was a long day and after I was converted and we were on our way home, he was better, but it was difficult for him. I would bring your husband along to the cardiologist and let him hear first hand it is not life threatening and maybe that will help. It may take a little time for him to get his mind around this -- you've lived with it for a long time. If you normally have only a couple episodes a year, it might not be a problem. If it happens more often, you might want to consider other options. Good luck.
It was actually a good thing that the ER captured and documented the event, because now there's hard evidence of SVT, and a treatment can possibly be started. The way I see it, you have two choices. You can live with it, or get it fixed. I chose the former and lived with it for 54 years. I found a very effective way of converting it, and did so for hundreds of episodes never once going to the hospital.
My wife of 40 years is a very compassionate person, and supported and "coached" me thru many SVT events. However, I don't believe she duly understood the physiology of SVT. She likened my fast heart rate to what she felt when having a panic attack. Of course the two are very different. My rates were extremely fast, anywhere from 200 to 250 depending on what I was doing.
If you chose to do nothing about it, I'd find an effective way of slowing it to keep you out of the the ER. 100 mg. of metoprolol made conversion easier for me. My SVT was cured two years ago at age 59 by catheter ablation.
My wife of 40 years is a very compassionate person, and supported and "coached" me thru many SVT events. However, I don't believe she duly understood the physiology of SVT. She likened my fast heart rate to what she felt when having a panic attack. Of course the two are very different. My rates were extremely fast, anywhere from 200 to 250 depending on what I was doing.
If you chose to do nothing about it, I'd find an effective way of slowing it to keep you out of the the ER. 100 mg. of metoprolol made conversion easier for me. My SVT was cured two years ago at age 59 by catheter ablation.
COMMUNITY LEADER
I take a generic beta blocker, Metoprolol 50 mg a day to control my HR driven by my atrial fibrillation problem. My blood pressure had always been normal and the BB did in fact cause some dizziness but my blood pressure is now mostly normal to low normal and dizziness is a problem only if I make a quick change form a period of sitting to standing and moving. I am much older than you, a male, and I have AFib, not SVT - still my experience with BB may suggest a line of questions for your doctor.
BB side effect which include the above mentioned problems are different for different people, we do not all react the same. Still a BB will low HR and BP, that is almost for sure.
BB side effect which include the above mentioned problems are different for different people, we do not all react the same. Still a BB will low HR and BP, that is almost for sure.
I would much rather go pill form but is it ok to take when my blood pressure is normally low? When I first went to the ER for this almost 20 years ago, they gave me a prescription for tenormin (spelling?) and my doctor said no way, dont' take that, because my normal BP is something like 100/60-110/70. She said that I couldn't take pills like that because once it goes slow it can go too slow. So, I've never actually taken anything for it. If there was something that I could just take and get it to slow the heck down on an as needed basis, I would be sooo much more comfortable with doing that rather than have anything poking and prodding at my heart. I hear the stories of having erratic beats after ablation and some people saying they actually have more flutters and weirdness at first and that kind of scares me.
I know the feeling of having your heart race along and it doesn't want to behave. When mine did that for long periods of time, it could get up close to 200. There's not much you can when when it's zipping along that quickly.
An ablation is an option. Since your HR is fairly fast and it lasts long enough to incapacitate you (you're not exactly up for driving or hauling groceries into the house when you feel that way), the ablation might be the best way to control those events.
Another option which you can ask the cardiologist is a medication you can use when your heart goes wonky. It's often referred to as "pill in the pocket." You aren't tied to taking a heart med every day but have a medication that will convert your HR back to normal when it spins out of control. I use Diltiazem for mine. My situation is a bit different because my heart is moderately under control now after my ablations. I only use the medication when I'm having chest pain due to erratic heart beats. My tachy is pretty much down to nothing now.
There are options for you but the cardiologist will have to recommend what's best for your case. And an ablation is not technically a heart surgery. It's considered a procedure. They usually give you a little happy medicine, go into the heart with tiny catheters and then ablate the problem areas causing the fast heart beat. No slice and dice.
I hope you can find some treatment that will give you all peace of mind.
An ablation is an option. Since your HR is fairly fast and it lasts long enough to incapacitate you (you're not exactly up for driving or hauling groceries into the house when you feel that way), the ablation might be the best way to control those events.
Another option which you can ask the cardiologist is a medication you can use when your heart goes wonky. It's often referred to as "pill in the pocket." You aren't tied to taking a heart med every day but have a medication that will convert your HR back to normal when it spins out of control. I use Diltiazem for mine. My situation is a bit different because my heart is moderately under control now after my ablations. I only use the medication when I'm having chest pain due to erratic heart beats. My tachy is pretty much down to nothing now.
There are options for you but the cardiologist will have to recommend what's best for your case. And an ablation is not technically a heart surgery. It's considered a procedure. They usually give you a little happy medicine, go into the heart with tiny catheters and then ablate the problem areas causing the fast heart beat. No slice and dice.
I hope you can find some treatment that will give you all peace of mind.
Thank you so much for the kind words. At this point, unless a cardiologist STRONGLY suggests it, I really don't think I want to have it done quite yet. I tend to not have as many episodes when I am physically fit, and I have not been exercising or eating well lately. I have even been drinking coffee every day for a couple of years now with this being the only major episode, and I hadn't even had my morning coffee yet. I was actually just laying in bed and I flipped over because I was going to show my husband something on my tablet and it kicked the heart palpitations into gear and then the SVT. I was just kind of like "F!" at the time, told him I was having one of my "heart things" and that I needed to go relax and try to get it to go back down. When it didn't go back down in a half hour, I asked him to take me to the ER and he seemed ok only because I was acting uncomfortable but reassuring him that I wasn't going to die. Then when he saw them hooking all those wires on me and actually watched my heart rate on the screen, and then the lovely "doom" medicine, I could tell he was getting kind of shaken. My ex husband had seen the episodes before, but he quite frankly didn't give a crap, even one time when I was at the beach and 45 min. away from the ER and he didn't want to bother with leaving the beach.... **hmph** Needless to say thats just one of many reasons he's an ex.
Of course now that I have a husband who is actually sympathetic to things, he is nervous and just like "you need to have them fix it and get better." Me, of course I've been living with it for 20 years so I know it is not something that happens frequently enough for me to want to get the ablation quite yet. My mom is a huge worrywart and was pushing for it. I'm like geez I have only been to the ER once for it and normally can get it to go back on my own within a few minutes. It is somewhat disruptive, and I do get the palpitations I notice when I'm bouncing around in the waves at the lake, so it is definitely an up/down positional type thing, usually occurring when I'm stressed or excited. Now that I think about it, it actually happens more when I'm happy and excited, rather than stressed.
Anyway I guess I will just keep reassuring him that although this is scary, the ER docs have medicine to fix it if it goes on for too long. I've been told every time I've been to a doctor or cardiologist that the condition of my heart is good and all of my levels on everything are always perfect, so I'm healthy in general. I've made some lifestyle modifications, such as being aware every time I bend down quickly or jump up and down, I take a deep breath in slowly while I'm doing those things and it seems to keep palpitations at bay. I guess I have just learned to adapt enough that the bigger episodes dont' come frequently. Since these episodes started when I was maybe 14ish, I have had maybe 5 or 6 episodes total that have lasted more than a half hour, and maybe 10-20 more that are just a few minutes. Scary every time, yes, but I'd say I've been quite lucky compared to many. Honestly I've had more chronic problems with my sinuses and allergies and had surgery for that, and that alleviated quite a bit of the problems with heart palpitations that I used to have (got them all the time when I had a raging sinus infection that wouldn't go away... and of course no sudafed for me).
But yes, I will keep reassuring my husband that I won't die. Its what the doctors keep telling me and since they're the ones that have run all the tests on me and have seen the EKGs while I'm having an attack, I'm going to trust their opinion!
Of course now that I have a husband who is actually sympathetic to things, he is nervous and just like "you need to have them fix it and get better." Me, of course I've been living with it for 20 years so I know it is not something that happens frequently enough for me to want to get the ablation quite yet. My mom is a huge worrywart and was pushing for it. I'm like geez I have only been to the ER once for it and normally can get it to go back on my own within a few minutes. It is somewhat disruptive, and I do get the palpitations I notice when I'm bouncing around in the waves at the lake, so it is definitely an up/down positional type thing, usually occurring when I'm stressed or excited. Now that I think about it, it actually happens more when I'm happy and excited, rather than stressed.
Anyway I guess I will just keep reassuring him that although this is scary, the ER docs have medicine to fix it if it goes on for too long. I've been told every time I've been to a doctor or cardiologist that the condition of my heart is good and all of my levels on everything are always perfect, so I'm healthy in general. I've made some lifestyle modifications, such as being aware every time I bend down quickly or jump up and down, I take a deep breath in slowly while I'm doing those things and it seems to keep palpitations at bay. I guess I have just learned to adapt enough that the bigger episodes dont' come frequently. Since these episodes started when I was maybe 14ish, I have had maybe 5 or 6 episodes total that have lasted more than a half hour, and maybe 10-20 more that are just a few minutes. Scary every time, yes, but I'd say I've been quite lucky compared to many. Honestly I've had more chronic problems with my sinuses and allergies and had surgery for that, and that alleviated quite a bit of the problems with heart palpitations that I used to have (got them all the time when I had a raging sinus infection that wouldn't go away... and of course no sudafed for me).
But yes, I will keep reassuring my husband that I won't die. Its what the doctors keep telling me and since they're the ones that have run all the tests on me and have seen the EKGs while I'm having an attack, I'm going to trust their opinion!
COMMUNITY LEADER
Sorry to read it is going so hard for you.
While you are the one who needs and deserves support I can understand you "new" husband being scared. He took on a big responsibility with two children and only 6 months as father. So the best I can suggest is go the extra mile and assure your husband you will not die from your current heart problems.
As far as ablation is concerned, one has to consider the risk/benefit. So, if your symptoms retreat to rarely the benefit is small, may be best not to go for an ablation. If the symptoms are bad and getting worse, the the potential benefit is high and ablation should be given every consideration. An EP doctor should be able to give you the "odds" of success. Unfortunately some ablations do not accomplish their intended goal. It isn't like getting a tooth filled, where you have almost 100% chance of success.
There are many in this Community who have experience with your condition and may have some helpful inputs on that.
Again, you are not going to die, that is what I believe and you have to carry that forward with yourself and your family.
Good luck, and a Happy New Year
While you are the one who needs and deserves support I can understand you "new" husband being scared. He took on a big responsibility with two children and only 6 months as father. So the best I can suggest is go the extra mile and assure your husband you will not die from your current heart problems.
As far as ablation is concerned, one has to consider the risk/benefit. So, if your symptoms retreat to rarely the benefit is small, may be best not to go for an ablation. If the symptoms are bad and getting worse, the the potential benefit is high and ablation should be given every consideration. An EP doctor should be able to give you the "odds" of success. Unfortunately some ablations do not accomplish their intended goal. It isn't like getting a tooth filled, where you have almost 100% chance of success.
There are many in this Community who have experience with your condition and may have some helpful inputs on that.
Again, you are not going to die, that is what I believe and you have to carry that forward with yourself and your family.
Good luck, and a Happy New Year
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