SVT and pvc..........had enough!!!

[sb786]

Hi everyone! i'm sick and tired of being scared of my pvcs and svt. i have decided to do whatever it takes to try and come to terms with everything. i have just recently been diagnosed and before i can i need to understand what SVT really is. i want to know what other pvc and svt suffers are doing to cope. other than this forum there is no-one i know who has svt. i just want to hear other peoples experiences.
do all you svt suffers also have pvcs?
what triggers your svt?
what meds work for you?
does anyone wake up from sleep with svt?
does anyone get weird strong beats like your heart is slowing down just before an svt?????
does anyone get svt whilst eating?
can anyone explain how svt is triggered by a pvc?
how do you know that you are definitely having an svt attack and not something serious? (i always panick when i have an svt because i'm convinced its vt even though my docs and cardios say i don't have vt)
i know its a long boring post and you guys have probably gone through this loads of times but i really would like to hear of your experiences.

[mmfd]

I went SVT free for 5 whole years just by taking a small dose of Verapamil, a calcium channel blocker.  They are a drug often indicated for SVT, as well as for other stuff.  My resting heart rate did not lower, and the only side effect I had was mild constipation which is very common for CCB's.  If you only have SVT for 15 min. or so, a good EP might not be inclined to ablate anyway.  If you haven't passed out from it by now, it is unlikely you will!  Try focusing on the good things in your life instead of what will never happen!  Otherwise it's such a vicious circle:  a couple of PVC's leads to anxiety which leads to more PVC's which leads to more anxiety which leads to SVT which leads to more Pvc's and so on and so on.  You can decide that you are sick and tired of being so anxious and worried unneccessarily.  You can decide to be in charge of your life instead of anxiety.  Think about it.......

[sb786]

thanks em, my cardiologist always tells me to not bother with the ablation unless my attacks become too uncomfortable and too frequent. i know some people find ablation cures the svt totally but some find it doesn't and causes more palpitations! but it would be brilliant if one ablation could get rid of the svt altogether.we should start a new thread and ask how many people find meds control their svt and how many have had success with ablation!! take care :)

[emilycaitlin]

Hi sb,
Yeah, I remember when I was first diagnosed the dr said if your hr goes above 200, then go to the er, so I took that to mean as long as it stayed below 200 I didn't need to go, even though it was lasting so long at 180. Looking back, I feel dumb for letting it go on like that and not going though. I told him last time I was up there they were lasting for all those hours and he said I should have gone and gotten some kind of injection to convert. It's uncomfortable but I've not ever panicked when it was happening, the worst part is when my rates go up that high I get a pounding and extreme tightness in my neck, the dr said it was cause of the large vessels being close to the skin's surface there or something like that. The thing that would always get me was I could lie down for a couple hrs and it still wouldn't get better. I used to keep old toprol at the house and just take 1 or 2 of them when it wouldn't convert on it's own.
I don't remember my dr saying I had pvc's, he said what I had were pac's, he called them apb's but I think that's just a different term for pac's. Anyway, I do sometimes get a very short, like 5 sec run of them before an svt but mostly it just happens on it's own. But really, nothing bad has ever happened to me because of the svt, the dr just wants me to have the ablation I think because mine are pretty frequent and long lasting. I'm just still undecided though, not sure about my insurance paying and all that so we'll see. Hope things start to get better for you, take care, em.

[sb786]

sorry forgot to ask do you suffer from pvcs? do you know how the pvcs trigger svt??

[Roemance]

I have both and I feel my pvc’s Sometimes trigger it. Also, get blood work because any electrolyte imbalance or anemia and especially dehydration will set them off so frequently.   I’ve had this since 2006 and only four episodes until this last year ... 18 in 9 months and they said it’s weakening my heart muscle and I must have ablation

[sb786]

Hi em,
wow! i am lost for words!! i cannot believe your svt lasted for 8-10 hrs with a heart rate of about 180bpm and you never went to hospital for treatment!! my God you are brave!! when mine last for more than 10 mins i panic and cry and scream..... do you not panic? how can you remain at home for so long with your heart going so fast?? i wish i was like you!! my cardio did tell me that i can stay at home for hours before going to the hospital nut i never believed him!!

[emilycaitlin]

Hi sb,
Sorry the svt is getting to you so bad, I wish I could say something to make you feel better, I've had it for 3yrs though and it doesn't limit me at all, I still drive and go out and hardly think of it unless it's happening of course. It's been on my mind lately cause I've been trying to get adjusted to this bb and been thinking about having the ablation.
Before I started the bb, mine were pretty long, like 8-10hrs with a hr of 180+. The holter recorded a 4hr long one with hr sustaining above 180. That was 3yrs ago, they said to have the ablation back then but I was scared of it and didn't want to. The episodes got alot better for awhile and then started increasing again in frequency/severity so I went back to the dr, he put me back on toprol and recommended ablation again. Since I've been on the toprol I've only had maybe 4, lasting about 4hrs each and hr not much above 150, which I'm not sure was svt, it may have just been some weird run of sinus tach. But at any rate, like the others said it's not life threatening, but yeah I know it sure is scary when it happens. Take care, em.