Question: How has SVT adversely affected your life?

[Jannie411]

I'm curious - how has SVT adversely affected your life?  What have you had to give up and how have you had to modify your life because of SVT?

Last night, I was pondering the many ways SVT has changed the way I live over the last 25+ years.  So many favorite foods and beverages I've had to give up, so many activities I no longer take part in.  I've posted a short list of things below.  

Foods, beverages, and OTC medications........No more.....
-  Alcoholic beverages
-  Caffeinated beverages - soda, coffee, tea.   And have stopped decaf beverages as well.
-  Soda, diet soda, and any other beverages containing aspartame or artificial sweeteners
-  Cough and cold medicines - anything with Pseudoephedrine
-  Allergy medications
-  Chocolate - fortunately only have to give this up temporarily until after ablation.

Outdoor & Indoor Activities and other things that will trigger an SVT event.
-  Hiking.....which I absolutely loved.  My heart can't handle uphill climbing.  For whatever reason, walking downhill isn't a problem, only uphill.
-  Climbing stairs - barely able to climb a flight or two of stairs without having to stop.  This has been one of my biggest triggers for SVT.
-  Roller coasters and amusement parks in general.  (And I love roller coasters, the bigger the better!)
-  Exercise - no more walking on the treadmill till my cardiologist gives the OK after ablation.
-  Volleyball - another activity I loved, had to give this up 25 years ago
-  Aerobics - had a really bad SVT event in the middle of an aerobics class - very embarrassing, that was the end of the aerobics.
-  Swimming in the ocean - cold water guaranteed to set off an SVT event
-  Work functions - I used to take a vacation or sick day anytime the company had an employee activity, like going to a waterpark, beach, party, participating in presentations, holiday parties, etc.  Did not want to take the chance of having an attack in a crowd of people.  This gained me the reputation of being "antisocial".  Only my boss and HR knew about the SVT and kept it in confidence.
-  Working out in the yard.  I feel bad that I can't help my husband with the yardwork and gardening.
-  Snow shoveling ...... ok, this was something I didn't enjoy, but nevertheless it's another thing on the "do not do" list.
-  Climbing stairs - guaranteed to set off an SVT event
-  Taking hot showers - guaranteed to set off an SVT event
-  Stooping, kneeling, or squatting - fair chance of setting off an SVT event when I got up.
-  And one of the worst things - being startled by the phone ringing in the middle of the night.  It always set off an SVT event.  (Unfortunately, we're not able to turn off the phone as I have an elderly parent who isn't in the best of health.)

[ireneo]

Actually if you look up PSVT in any dictionary it will show paroxysmal supra ventricular tachycardia. Paroxysmal means it's a sudden outburst of tachy. PSVT tends to start in the space of a heart beat and will stop the same way. Supra ventricular refers to "above the ventricles."  I can't find the word "paradoximal".  If the rhythm is kicked off in the ventricles I think they refer to it as some kind of ventricular tachy then.

[Elli126]

Lisa, the doc in the ER told me when I was being converted with the Adenosine the first time that the P in PSVT was paradoximal , meaning the SVT was triggered in the lower chambers of the heart rather than the upper. I think that is the only difference and it is the type I get. Self converting only worked for  me once and Adenosine has had to be used every other time!

[ireneo]

Mine has been life long so I've grown up avoiding certain things and that's my life.

I don't drink alcohol,coffee or tea; I don't eat too much chocolate; I avoid high sodium foods which trigger fluid retention and more palpitations and tachy bursts. I never run and can only go uphill slowly and carefully expecting to rest as I deal with tachy times. And this is my new and improved heart after the 3 ablations.

Good news is my heart doesn't pop into tachy every time I move and it doesn't last very long. As I sit here answering emails and such, my heart will do little tachy bursts of 5-10 seconds and then settle down again. That's a big improvement and easy to ignore. No worse than yawning or a couple of hiccups.

[Mom2four85]

thanks Tom; I wonder why some dr's call it different things? Maybe mine put PSVT because I already had VT and S-VT episodes...

I'm going to ask for another holter when I go back in May because on top of my NSVT runs I'm getting what seems like PSVT runs frequently - what I think of pac type arrhythmia but in my throat more and a fast HR

has anyone ever had all types of arrhythmia's daily? ugh this is so frustrating

btw...I know what it's like to be driving and faint..ugh that is a horrible experience - so please be careful driving =)

[tom_h]

Lisa, the terms SVT and PSVT are as you found out are interchangable..  However, SVT is not chaotic, but rather a super rapid, but relatively normal  heartbeat. You might be thinking of (sustained) ventricular tachycardia which happens to carry the same initials, but is a totally different condition.  The regular albeit rapid heartbeat is why SVT (or PSVT) is usually not life threatening.  There can be a problem in some people with a rate so fast, that the lower chambers cannot fill fast enough, or with an older persons heart not being able to cope with the high heart rates usually in excess of 200 bpm.  But I've heard of folks who've been in SVT for hours at a time without problems.  I'd often find myself on the interstate driving to or from work when one would hit, and I'd sometimes drive to my destination before I'd attempt to convert it.  If not, I'd convert it on the side of the road.  This is something you don't want to do while driving!  Forcefully holding one's breath can lead to passing out, although this never happened to me; dizzy, yes, but never unconsciousness.

[Mom2four85]

Thanks for the responses; I'm still confused but I'm trying to understand this.

running backwards, I wouldn't doubt my heart does that lol it's funky I've found and does all kinds of weird stuff

This article says PSVT - (Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia) means the same thing as SVT which is Supra Ventricular Tachycardia...which is an occasional rapid heart rate that's chaotic or doesn't contract in a coordinated manner with the ventricles...

What I find weird is I didn't get any of this before ablation, only after...but my SA node wasn't ablated.  I have a Pacemaker/ICD and it shows I have NSVT runs about every other day..

I ride a HR roller coaster from 60 (lowest it can go right now) to 200 in a blink and no provocation; dizziness, fainting, shortness of breath - don't even ask me to bend to pick something up or blow dry my hair - that sets off the HR and bp tanking.  

My atria activity went from <1% to 11% in one quarter, so I'm questioning what's going on after reading this thread; sounds like part of what I'm going through too.