Pregnancy tachycardia

[EM87]

I am 21 weeks pregnant and am having a lot of trouble with my tachycardia. I had previously diagnosed with inappropriate sinus tachycardia, but now they are checking for ventricular tachycardia.My heart has been beating 160-190 bpm. I feel awful almost continually. My question is what can they  do while i'm pregnant? Also, will this get worse because it already is hard for me to even go up the stairs to my apartment. My biggest fear is having a heart attack or stroke. Can that happen? I'm only 21 years old, i this something unusual?

[nervouslady]

Hi there,
I was pregnant last spring/summer and had a horrible episode of arrhythmia about 8 weeks in.  I've always had little blips and skips but this one lasted a long time and scared me half to death.  I ended up miscarrying (NOT related to the arrhythmia) but before trying again I wanted to investigate what was going on with my heart.  I actually just got done with testing a couple of days ago.  They told me that I have ventricular tachycardia (nonsustained), PVCs and SVTs, but that I'll be okay to handle a pregnancy.  They all agreed that arrhythmias can get much worse with pregnancy, but it is usually merely an irritant and not dangerous.
Are you feeling dizzy when you get these?  Or are you generally sick from the pregnancy?  If you are getting very dizzy or passing out (from arrhytthmia) then your doc will want to do something for you.  I've heard some beta blockers are okay during pregnancy - ablation procedures are not.  
As for your rapid heart rate, your heart is working harder - has twice the amount of blood to pump than it usually does, and so heart rate goes up while pregnant.  If you are constantly over 150 that is an issue but if it's in spurts I don't think it's too concerning.

Your risk for stroke is highest during the 6 weeks after delivery, not during pregnancy.  And I only know this because I have a history of stroke.  My doc will put me on anticoagulants after delivery for 6 weeks to combat that risk, should I get pregnant again. But, again, I've had a stroke already, otherwise it wouldn't be a concern.

I hope you end up feeling better soon.  I'd like to get preggers again but I'm worried about experiencing bad arrhythmias again, even though i got through them fine before and I've been checked out.  They scared me.  Good luck and congrats on the pregnancy!

[jkfrench]

Hey sweetie~
I had horrible palps during my pregnancy.  I wore two holters, and actually did a stress test and everything was fine except for my heart racing.  Especially after a meal.  My doctor told me tenormin was safe so I took it.  (only 1/4 of a 25mg)   It worked wonders for me.  It helped slow the rate down to around 90 and it was a godsend for me.  I didn't have skips at that time (18 years ago) I only had trouble with the inappropriate sinus attacks.  Ask your doctors about it.  I know how you are feeling because even though I dealt with this years ago, I still remember the feelings.  Even where I was when I had bad spells with it.  
Don't worry, but there are things you can take to make you feel better.  That racing heart, especially when pregnant with all that extra blood flowing is almost unbearable.
Frenchie