Skipping/Stalled Heartbeats

[Greg]

For several years now, I get cycles where my heart seems to be beating fine, then all of a sudden it "stalls" or pauses, like it stops beating for an instant. Then it "thumps" hard and starts beating normal again. Sometimes this happens several times an hour. I could be resting,working, or walking. Once in a while, it feels like fluttering, butter flys beats, but mostly it just skipps beats. On occasion, after some skip beats, it goes to racing fast, causing a tight chest. and shortness of breath. My doctor recently put me on a beta blocker, and have have all the tests, ekg, holter, etc. Is this SVT ??? or something else??? Please help.....

[CCF CARDIO MD - DLB]

The pauses and thumps sound like premature beats, either PACs or PVCs. The fluttering sounds like an SVT. Since you have associated chest tightness and shortness of breath, I think it is important to figure out for sure what this is. The Holter monitor results should be useful in that regard.

[Missy]

What actually are SVT's and are they dangerous??

[CCF CARDIO MD - DLB]

SVTs are supraventricular tachycardias. This refers to a specific type of fast heart beat caused by abnormal electrical activity in the heart. In certain circumstances and in some people they can be dangerous.