Tachycardia

[GoldenKatie]

Within the past three months, I've had three episodes of tachycardia.  The first time, it registered about 175 to 180 for about four hours.  The second time, I didn't have anything to check it with, but it lasted about :40 minutes.  Then today, it went to 165 for about :15 minutes.  Should I mention this to my primary care or is this nothing to worry about.

Thanks

[SillyHeart]

Ireneo, that's certainly true for me.  If I don't do valsalva within a few minutes of my SVT starting, then I can't break the rhythm without medical intervention.

[ireneo]

Correction: it should probably be more like 10-15 seconds; it just feels a lot longer. I checked it against a clock and at 30 seconds you might pass out; not the best way to stop an arrhythmia LOL

[ireneo]

You could also try the valsalva maneuver. You take a breath, hold it and then push as though you were having a bowel movement. For me it works best when I hold it for about 20-30 seconds and then release my breath slowly. I'll feel my heart flop around and thump a bit but it drops back to a normal rate. It works best if you do it sooner rather than later. I thought that was my imagination but I did read last year that it's easier to stop a tachy rhythm if it hasn't gone on very long. Just a suggestion. But please do get it checked out.

[GoldenKatie]

Thanks.  Unfortunately, we live in the mountains and are about an hour away from an emergency room.  I'll mention it to her next time I'm in.  Appreciate your response.

[SillyHeart]

Um, yeah, not only do you need to mention it to your PCP, but you also need to go to the emergency room next time.  Many tachycardias fortunately aren't life threatening, and 180 isn't tremendously high, but nonetheless you need to have an episode caught on EKG to make sure it's not serious.  And even the less serious tachycardia episodes should be medically aborted.