SVT attack

[nlkbck]

Hello, I am a 27 year old female. I have just experienced my first Supraventricular Tachycardia(SVT) attack. I was just walking down the hall at work and became very dizzy, sweaty, and it felt as though my heart was pounding out of my chest. Luckily I work at a hospital so I wired myself up to a cardiac monitor and my heart rate was 168, by the time I was wheeled to the Er my rate had jumped to 223! They gave me an Adenosine injection and within 1 minute my heart was in normal sinus rhythm. But I still felt short of breath, my arms were tingly, and still felt light-headed so they proceeded with an EKG( Normal Sinus), a chest xray-(clear), a CT checking for a P.E.(Clear). My blood work was a bit screwy...the major concers were that my D Dimer was +1592 and My potassium was low. I was also given a Echocardiagram after a day of still feeling a bit light-headed and short of breath, and fatigued. (Normal results). I was given a clean bill of health and was told that another bout of SVT may or may not reoccur. I was also told that my fatigue and SOB was still my body readjusting. That such trauma on the heart releases hormones that will make you feel pretty crappy for a few days. And that I need not follow up with a cardiologist.
It has been 2 days since my SVT occurence and I am still feeling fatigued and like I need more air, like I am short of breath. I feel a slight tightness in my chest.
My question to you is, IS THIS NORMAL, and when will these feelings start to dissipate?
Please get back to me with your thoughts/concerns and or advice.
Nicole

[iAmEllen]

Sb, I'm the same age as you.

I do sometimes have PVCs in my sleep.

[bama jane]

I have svt pvc's pac's and combinations of both for 7 years.  it is awful but I tried an ablation, didn't work for me.  I get awakened from sleep almost every night with extra beats.  I am on a lose dose of beta blockers and it has lessened the speed of my svt and made the long episodes lasting 30 minutes or more very rare.  I do however have short runs of svt every few days. I used to have svt wake me up from sleep 2 or 3 times a night.  It isn't that bad now.  Was hospitlized a lot the first year.  Try to tough it out at home when it happens because I have had enough of the emergency room and hospitals to last a life time.  Sometimes a hard cough will break mine.  I also have extra beats at times every 2nd or 3rd beat. Have tried most of the heart drugs with little success. Some actually made it worse and made me have pauses in my heart beat. I just don't think medicine has figured out a way to stop the extra beats. When it happens I try and tell myself I have been here so many times before and am still here to talk about it.  It is so life altering though and I have such compassion for anyone trying to live with this condition.  Anyhting that seems to change the blood flow in the heart will cause misbeats for me at times.  Eating, reaching over my head, bending over, lieing down. The thing that has helpe me the most is consistent exercising on the treadmill. One hour and 5 minutes 7 days a week. It lowered my resting heart rate 15 beats a minute and I don't go that fast just under 4 mph.  It's a fast walk. I think that is what really helped to cut down on the sustained svt (30 minutes or longer) I've been consistent at it for 3 years and the fear of returning to the days of rushing to the er every week is what keeps me doing it.  Good luck and Merry Christmas to all.

[sb786]

Thats exactly what i think that the adrenaline and the fact that i'm startled/frightned triggers the svt. i wonder if fright can trigger svt, i have heard alot of people say that stress can trigger svt but i'm not sure if fright can. last night i woke up because of missed beats i couldn't believe it. have you had pvcs whilst sleeping ever? If you don't mind me asking how old are you? i am 27?

[iAmEllen]

I've only needed Adenosine once so far, thank god.  When I was a teenager I used to have very long episodes of SVT that I know now should have been treated but my parents were convinced they were just panic attacks so they never brought me in.

Anyway, with the nighttime things, I wake up with a start, very panicked and anxious, sweaty, and with my heart pounding.  I feel like I'm in danger.  I NEVER remember a dream right beforehand.  Every now and then I'm so panicked that I call 911, but I'm almost always calmed down by the time they get here and then I feel like an idiot.  Like I said, these night things have plagued me for so long.

I'm a little disoriented right as I wake up so I'm not positive, but I think usually when I have a nighttime SVT it starts a little bit after I wake up.  I think the adrenaline and pounding heart trigger it or something.

[sb786]

wow! cant believe there is someone else who has exactly what i have!! Adenosine was the worst feeling ever, i could actually feel my heart slow right down, i had a horrible crushing pain in my chest and my whole body felt very heavy!but it didnt last for long. I discussed adenosine with my cardiologist and he told me that its actually a natural chemical that our body produces!! how many times have you had to got to the hospital for treatment?
when you wake up startled what does it feel like to you? sometimes i think perhaps i was having a nightmare of some sort but i can never rember if i was? does the svt happen as soon as you are awake or does it take a few secs to kick in?

[iAmEllen]

What did Adenosine feel like to you?

My PVCs started a few years before my SVT but I've had both for at least 10 years.  It's interesting that you wake up startled within the first hour of sleep because I've had the exact same thing happen to me many, many, many times.  I have not been able to get rid of those weird nighttime attacks.  I wake up with my heart racing, panicked.  Usually it's not SVT but it has been on occasion.  And like you, it's ALWAYS within the first hour or so of sleep.  Very odd.