SVT QUESTION NEED ADVICE PLEASE

Hi

As some of you know i have svt. The episodes are very infrequent but usually last for 20+ mins. My heart rate is usually about 200 bpm.
On a few occassions now i have felt a weird fast and erratic but regular heart beat that has lasted a few seconds. I'm not sure if it is svt or something else.
My question is to other svt sufferers. I know some of you have talked about getting short bursts of svt could you please describe what it feels like?

[SillyHeart]

What do you mean by "erratic but regular"?  To me, erratic means irregular.

My short SVT bursts feel irregular and bizarre.  Like a bunch of skipped beats or flip-flops tumbling all over each other.

[jkfrench]

so do mine.  As a matter of fact, my svt (at 200 beats/min) has pvc's thrown in it for good measure.  So my heart feels completely eratic.  I just sit there and can't believe I'm not dead!!  But, I'm able to get up and walk around.  I just feel wierd, spaced out or a little weak when it goes on longer than a minute or so.  My longest has been about 15 minutes.  I get short ones for a few seconds too.

[maggiemag]

I have had loooooooong SVT episodes in the past, as you might remember.  But my short ones feel just the same as the long ones, just short!  In fact, I have had 3 today long enough to notice, and they were very regular but the rate was about 180-200 and only lasted about about 30 sec., so too short to even bother trying to count!  I wouldn't give them a second thought if I were you.

[ireneo]

I get "wacky tachy" as I call it. Seems to be a jumbled mess of atrial tachy, premature beats and some normal beats all together in no particular pattern. It passes away, I don't.

[finetilthree]

I get the same mess.  That was hysterical...it passes away, I don't.  Good one.

[nikgirl28]

i feel that too...it's best described as all over the place...like a mess of weird beats....

does anyone know tricks on how to stop it?  Have they worked?

[anacyde]

sb786, you know, I'm also an SVT sufferer and I get exactly what you're talking about...and I ask myself the same question.  I assume it's a couple of PACs or a brief SVT (like 3-4 beats).  Sometimes I'll get that all day long, every few minutes to hours.  Sometimes just once out of the blue for no apparent reason.  The critical difference is that the long SVT runs happen when triggered by a PAC, during exercise or when I'm really screaming mad.  These "little runs" as I call them always happen at rest.

I've even considered that it might be a PAC that triggers a "would be" SVT that terminates itself.  And the funny thing is I can feel my body "putting on the brakes".  It's like I will get that, and I'll feel a heaviness after, where my heart slows down.  When I get full SVT, I don't feel the brakes.  If that makes sense.

[anacyde]

For SVT, some people can terminate it with:

*Bearing down as if you're lifting something heavy or using the toilet

*Leaning forward and coughing hard

*Splashing very cold water on the face

[sb786]

I just want to say a big thank you to ALL of you that replied to my post! I don't know what i would do without people like you to talk to xxx
Everytime i get a new symptom the anxiety and stress gets the better of me. I had a failed ablation attempt in june because the ep was unable to trigger the svt has anyone else experienced anything similar?

[pvcqueen]

also a glass of ice water can help SVT......drink it fast.

[allheart]

I have svt for 20 years... started with my first pregnancy in 1982.  In 2002 I found a doctor in knoxville, tn, named Dr. Jeffrey Baerman at the Knoxville Heart Group, who did a lazer cartiac ablation at fort sanders west hospital and stopped my svt.  I havent had any episodes since!  Here's an article on the web about it  http://www.covenanthealth.com/healthy/hwDetail.cfm?Post_ID=8021.  

[allheart]

by the way, my insurance did pay for the whole thing.

[irenek]

Take deep breath for 4 hold for 7 and release for 8.  Do it a couple of times a day to get used to  it so if you ever do get an attack your first response is this breathing technique.  Very relaxing and has helped me where the other techniques have not.
Try to look at what ingredients your eating, msg, pesticides sugar and too much salt and of course alchol and coffee seem to aggrivate it for me.  Anemia and not enough sleep and of course STRESS.
So, i needed to change my whole life.  I now thank God for SVT because I feel so much better overall with this change of lifestyle.

[anacyde]

Another SVT-post-pregnancy!  I wonder how common this is and...why?

Glad to hear you're SVT-free, it gives others hope.

[kellebelle4]

Hello,

I had an ep study this tuesday and yup......wouldn't you know it they couldn't ablate either. With the least amount of meds or whatever they were using they could get my heart to zip away but could not get it to sunstain the fast beat where they could find the culprit of my svt.

I was abit diappointed but glad to find out I have a very healthy heart. I know that I have many triggers as mentioned above. When I woke up this morning  with a short run I tried the technique of blocking one nostril breathing in slowly and releasing on the breath out this seemed to calm it down right away. I just laid there and thought "oh there you are"  I had not had an run since my attempted ablation. I know this sounds like a crazy question but do any of you feel like you are the only one in the world who is going through this, I know this to not be true with all the people who are here in the forum. Its just something that can really bug the **** out of you.......make you worry, etc. SB and others what meds are you currently taking. My ep took me off cardizem and we are going to treat with time released toprol. Also what supplements do you all use, vitamins. Please share.

Happy TGIF...............Ireno your comment put a smile on my face......lol..........humor is the best medicine........ ;-)