SVT or VT. How do I know the difference?

[sonny372]

Hello everyone. Recently I had a couple of days where my heart would suddenly start beating really fast and then there would be a brief pause than a return to a normal beating pulse rate. Now I think i had a meal with maybe too much sodium and I wonder if this was the cause. Anyway, I went to the Cleveland clinic and did a miriad of test that included blood tests, ekgs, stress echocardiogram with a dopudamine injection instead of treadmill, x-ray, holter monitor and an event monitor for 3 months. They said that my heart was structurally sound no evidence of a blockage or heart attack. They did find pvc's and pac's with a sinus arrythmia episode, but was told not to worry. However I do not think that what I experienced a few days ago was anything that was ever captured. These symptoms from a couple of days ago I had prior to my Cleveland clinic visit wich prompted me to go there. I had not had any of these sudden onsets of fast beats for 3 months and then all of a sudden bam.

So my question is it possible to be having VT with a good workup or is it SVT?. Does anyone know the difference if they were to put their hands on their pulse? How can I be sure what I am feeling is not fatal? I thought I was out of the woods after my visit and 3 month period with no symptoms. I have however started to eat worse. Pizza's ground beef chips and occasional sweets and eating out at restraunts with food that may have a lot of sodium. Anyway I would love to hear any thoughts on this.

[is_something_wrong]

No,

(and I strongly think this is SVT by the way)

I meant an occational "bump" in the throat, not syncronized with your heart rate.

In structurally normal hearts, chance of VT is really slim, and if you otherwise felt OK, it's almost impossible.

What you should do, is visit your doctor, explain the symptoms as you wrote them here, and ask him if there is need for an event monitor. Even SVT can be really annoying and ruin your life quality if it happens frequently.

Good luck!

[sonny372]

Hi. Thanks for your response. Well as far as I know it did not last for minutes. I felt a strange sensation in my chest, can not really describe it, then I felt like i should check my pulse. I checked my pulse on my throat and felt a very fast heart rate and then after about ten beats or so felt the pause and then a resuming of a normal beating rate. I think it lasted like maybe anywhere from 15-45 seconds I just do not know because i had only had my hand on my throat for a few seconds. But from the time of the chest sensation to the end of the episode I would say maybe 40 seconds realistically on the high end. I just came from lunch and had some cajun chicken alfredo with some chicken rice soup. I thought there might have been a large quantity of sodium in their, but who knows. I had been fine for three months before that day. I did not have any dizziness and I have had this before and not had any dizziness, but I heard you can have VT with no symptoms. The pulse I felt was not abnormally strong. The force was normal but fast.

At the end of your comment did you mean if I could feel my pulse in my neck by putting my finger on it?

[is_something_wrong]

Hi,

As you describe the symptoms, you obviously have an ectopic tachycardia (SVT or VT, the little break afterwards is the main symptom for such tachycardias).

Bad news is: There is no way to tell for sure. There are some ways to differ them, though, but they are not 100% certain. And - if you have a structurally normal heart, events of VT are usually completely benign.

How long did the tachycardia last? If it lasted for minutes or longer, VT is extremely unlikely. Even if it didn't, VT is really unlikely.

Did you experience severe dizziness during the event? If you didn't, VT is extremely unlikely.

Did you feel occational pulses in the throat or neck during the event? If you experienced all beats in the throat or neck, VT is ruled out. If you didn't feel any, VT is almost certainly ruled out. If you felt some, VT is possible.

Sinus arrhythmia is completely benign, by the way.