SVT

I have been having episodes of SVT reguarlly, I have tried brta blockers but they make me very tired taking them everyday so just take them when I have an episode when it won't go away with using manovers. I am seeing a cardio in a few weeks cos I'm thing of having the op to get rid of it. Really missing drinking a cup of tea in the morning, if I do it goes to 180bpm for only like 15mins but really takes the energy out of me. well anyway I know they will put me on a holter monitor for 24hrs but I'm worried that in that 24hrs I won't have an episode, is it ok to drink a red bull to get my heart racing, the only problem with this is that it will be over 200bpm and wont stop until i have a beta blocker but i know this is the best way to catch it. Any advice would be much appriciated x

[is_something_wrong]

Hi,

I think you should ask this question to a doctor on the expert forum.

As you know is SVT (or atrioventricular nodal reentry tachycardia as it probably is) not a life threathening condition, but really annoying. What happens is that a premature atrial contraction gets "stuck" in the area between atrias and venctricles, and does a "loop" creating quick contractions.

If it's not AVNRT it may be caused by an extra cluster of pacemaking cells in your upper heart chambers.

If you have episodes almost daily your cardiologist probably will suggest ablation therapy. This is easy and painless "surgery" where the channel creating the "loop" is burned or frozen, and destroyed. This will remove your SVT.

In the meantime, you should ask your doctor about other medications not making you as tired as beta blockers do. I know some calcium channel blockers may work against SVT, but I'm not a doctor and certainly can't recommend any medications:)

In the meantime, its probably wise to avoid caffeine, nicotine, stress (if possible) and other triggers for PACs / SVT.

If you can trigger SVT by drinking tea/red bull, its probably easy to get an episode of SVT during the holter test. It's probably even better to ask your doctor to do a 12-channel ECG after drinking some cups of strong coffee, as 12-channel ECGs are better to determine which arrythmia you have, instead of 1-3 channel Holter monitors.

[is_something_wrong]

Hi,

I think you should ask this question to a doctor on the expert forum.

As you know is SVT (or atrioventricular nodal reentry tachycardia as it probably is) not a life threathening condition, but really annoying. What happens is that a premature atrial contraction gets "stuck" in the area between atrias and venctricles, and does a "loop" creating quick contractions.

If it's not AVNRT it may be caused by an extra cluster of pacemaking cells in your upper heart chambers.

If you have episodes almost daily your cardiologist probably will suggest ablation therapy. This is easy and painless "surgery" where the channel creating the "loop" is burned or frozen, and destroyed. This will remove your SVT.

In the meantime, you should ask your doctor about other medications not making you as tired as beta blockers do. I know some calcium channel blockers may work against SVT, but I'm not a doctor and certainly can't recommend any medications:)

In the meantime, its probably wise to avoid caffeine, nicotine, stress (if possible) and other triggers for PACs / SVT.

If you can trigger SVT by drinking tea/red bull, its probably easy to get an episode of SVT during the holter test. It's probably even better to ask your doctor to do a 12-channel ECG after drinking some cups of strong coffee, as 12-channel ECGs are better to determine which arrythmia you have, instead of 1-3 channel Holter monitors.

[Mom2four85]

I would say stay away from any stimulates, if they need further testing that doesn't show in the 24 hr, they can do a 30 day one that may show your problem

if you find stimiulates such as caffeine & soda etc bother you, don't drink them - keeping a journal may help pinpoint the the problem also - date, time, what you were doing, symptoms etc

try your BB at night, my dr had me try that for 2 weeks because I take so many meds for different things and mine made me tired, it didn't help me but its worth a shot - or ask for a smaller dosage

[ireneo]

I agree with Lisa - I'd stay away from the stimulants for now. It may just raise your heart rate but not necessarily trigger an SVT episode. Plus once you've had something to drink like that, you're stuck with the results. Let your heart act normally so they get a true indication of what's going on in there.

I've worn monitors many times over the years and the best advice is to do your normal activities, don't take it easy just because you're wearing a monitor. And if your heart decides to be quiet that day, they can do an event monitor instead.

[is_something_wrong]

I agree - but in this case it seems the monitor should be worn to capture a specific arrhythmia, not to count PACs/PVCs.

I wore a monitor to capture palpitations during exercise once. I kept walking and running for a long time just to trigger the crap, and it worked. Turned out to be PACs.

And - because I kept wearing it after this - I found some brady at night that have scared me ever since, hehe.

[ireneo]

The poster is trying to capture some SVT, sounds like PSVT. We all know stimulants like coffee and Red Bull don't help. But it would be a more realistic picture to see how the heart acts on a normal day. Well, perhaps the poster drinks Red Bull every day LOL but I doubt it.

I sometimes have tachy but it's due to fluid retention and is not PSVT. A cardio wouldn't care about a simple sinus tach. I'm rambling, not sure where I'm going with this. Perhaps I'm trying to say that a doctor should see what happens on a typical day to get  a good feel for what's happening and how to handle it.

And I'm not a big fan either of wearing a monitor just to count ectopics.

[Mom2four85]

I had EKG's, then 24 hr holter which showed the counts of my pvc's/pac's couplets, triplets, bigeminy & trigeminy; VT, a stress exercise test, CT, an echo and then was scheduled for ablation.

I got a 2nd & 3rd opinion; the 2nd opinion prescribed meds in hopes it would correct or help what was going on with me; which it didn't - I think alot of dr's like to try meds first

That's just how my cardiologists & EP's did, so I'm not sure in which order other drs have their protocol set for testing & surgery, but it's worth asking if your dr about - and again it all depends on what is going on and where it's originating

personally, I put off surgery as long as I could even when I was told I HAD to have it done - I'm not a very good patient :P

[anxietygad]

TY for your comments, I spoke to my doctor today about my SVT this afternoon and she said I should see the cardio still, we have tried different beta blockers but still make me tired and flat even when taken at night, I still feel horrible in the mornings. About 30mins ago I was just sitting watching TV and my heart rate went upto 185bpm, this is happening around every 2-3 days without doing anything, I have been putting up with it for 2yrs and do not have anyhting that will trigger it. I mentioned to my doctor about having red bull when the monitor is on and she said yes its ok but i will wait until I speak to the cardio. Once again thanks for your comments and advice xo

[mysolution]

Dear Ms:
I had almost the exact same experiences as you, but more serious, 4 major episodes of a heart rate going up to 180 bpm, lasting up to two hours. I even saw a cardiologist who prescribed atenlol, which made me dizzy and weak. I stopped this drug in three days. But today, I don't have any more episodes.
What did I do to eliminate these episodes? (1) I walk 1 mile per day, to build up my heart muscle. For the last two episodes, I used the straw technique (see my post) which stopped my fast heart beat in less than a minute, when done correctly.

Today my heart beats at 56-58 beats at rest and normally 60 bpm.  I don't know if I will get another attack, but if I do, I will stop it in one minute just by blowing into a straw: the vagal nerve stimulation technique.  Maybe I helped you. Hope so.  

I am guessing that people who never exercise and let their bodies go, suffer from numerous diseases, one of which is heart rythym problems.

[mysolution]

One hour before bedtime, I take one fish oil capsule, one multivitamin, and one simvastatrin pill (to control cholesterol).  Maybe the fish oil and multivitamin participate in preventing fast heart beat episodes.

[Mom2four85]

oh wow your dr said ok to a red bull? most doctors advise to cut out all stimulants all together...I want your dr :)

[anxietygad]

No she just said while i was on the holter monitor and any other time to stay away from things like that