Question for anyone who has svt/pvcs

[sb786]

I'm having a terrible time at the moment with the pvcs. All week i've been getting loads but yesterday was a nightmare i must have had 100+ in about 6 hours!! I know that they are benign in a normal heart but my fear is that the pvcs will end up triggering an SVT.

I just want to ask anyone else who has svt how many pvcs do you get in a day and do they always trigger your svt?  Also does anyone know HOW the pvcs trigger the svt?

[joe4185]

I have intermittent bouts of svt caused by pvc's. They only happen about twice a month or so. I am scheduled for an ablation for svt Wednesday. SVT can be cured by ablation I am told, so I opted for the surgery. I wouldn't let the thought of svt scare the life out of you, as i have hed an attack in the middle of weightlifting with 315 lbs on my back and i got throught it.

[anacyde]

I am on no meds, I control the SVT with vagal maneuvers as needed (hard cough, or if it's real persistent, icy water to the face works).

I've had PACs trigger SVT, if they're real frequent (several per minute) but I've never had a PVC trigger it.  I'm not sure if it even can...though I guess lots of things are possible.

[sb786]

Thanks anacyde. My concern was the ectopics triggering SVT. I too get PACs but also get many more PVCs. I've been having an increase for some reason.
Are you on meds for the svt? You say they are well controlled, how?

[ireneo]

I don't know for sure whether they were a trigger or not. Perhaps an EKG strip would have told the story. I know years ago when we lived in Denver (higher altitude) my heart would go tachy often - if I got up too quickly from bed in the morning, eating too fast, emotional upset. After we moved to Oregon (lower altitude) I felt much better. Still, tachy could start if I exerted myself (like running across the parking lot), got too tired, overheated. Those are all stressors. But there were times that it just went tachy because. . . . Now I rarely have tachy, maybe once or twice a week. That's great. My "heart hiccups" are every day but I'm so used to them I'm able to ignore them. I feel them but I don't think about them.

[sb786]

Before the ablation did the pacs/pvcs trigger the svts?

[anacyde]

I have PACs that trigger supraventricular tachycardia, occasionally, but it's short and well-controlled.  I've had it for 13 years.

If your concern is about PVCs triggering ventricular tachycardia, don't worry.  The chances of it happening in a normal heart are not even worth concerning yourself with.

SVT = supraventricular tachycardia (atria)

NSVT = non-sustained ventricular tachycardia (ventricles)

VT = ventricular tachycardia

Some people get confused.  I hope this eases some of your worry.

[sb786]

Thanks for the reply. Its good to know that even though you have a lot of pvcs you don't always have svt. If you don't mind me asking are the svts frequent for you? How often do you get the SVT and how long do the episodes last?

[ireneo]

I have PAC's and PVC's all day long. I don't really keep track of them but I know some days are worse than others. It's not unusual for me to get up to 15 a minute on occasion. They do not trigger my PSVT. I've had 3 ablations so my heart isn't as touchy as it used to be. I don't use any meds except for asthma and aspirin if I'm having a naughty heart day.

[Christie503]

I have 1000's of pvc's a day, it has never triggered my svt. I'm on dig for svt, so I don't know if that is why they dont trigger my svt or, I don't think so.