PSVT

[olindy5]

Hi, I've recently been diagnosed with PSVT which was confirmed during a stress test I had whereas my heartrate went from 170-240 just like that.  I've had occasional episodes where my heart would race uncontrollably which warranted me getting it checked out.  I had an EKG & an echocardiogram & both came back perfectly fine.  The cardiologist said that I tolerated the stress test very well, even though I was short of breath that night while playing volleyball!  My options were to go on a beta blocker, ablation therapy, or keep it under observation.  I've opted, at this point, to keep it under observation & if it worsened or happened frequently, I would then opt for the ablation treatment.  My cardiologist said it was non-life threatening based on my reports.  I'm just wondering what is considered frequent.  Are there underlying causes & other tests that could be performed to rule out what may be causing this sort of problem?  I've already had some blood work done & thyroid checked.  I'm wondering if severe emotional stress can have this type of affect on a person?  Lord knows I've had my share of the stress the past 5 years!  Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated!  Thanks!

[olindy5]

Thanks for your post regarding my PSVT question.  As far as the doc taking a we'll see attitude, it's more like ME taking the attitude! lol  I'm still wondering if there is a correlation between stress/anxiety/adrenaline kicking into high gear that could be bringing on the episodes of PSVT that I'm experiencing at times.   I get short of breath when my heart races uncontrollably, but so far the racing always goes back down immediately upon rest.  I will certainly check into the ablation therapy if things worsen, but at this point I'm going to TRY & TRY like heck to de-stress myself.  I don't drink alcohol & my caffeine intake has always been very low, so I know it's not those things making matters worse.  I wondered about dehydration, though, & I'm making a conscious effort to drink more water as much as I don't like it--I'm buying flavored bottled water now!  Thanks--any other ideas out there, I'd be happy to hear them!  :-)

[cindy707]

Hey i read your post....it looks like your doc is taking a we'll see attitude which is not a bad thing at this point.  The earmark that i would look for is to be sure that the episodes do not become progressive because if that happens it usually comes pretty hard and fast and then you'll need to address the situation at that point.  To me having had the same diagnosis and what is considered "frequent" would be at the time that you become uncomfortable or scared with the situation because you are looking at a case by case situation.  The causes of this can be pretty broad but i think one of the causes for many people is the electrical activity of the heart is not firing correctly for some reason thus you are taching out.  Stress yes has alot to do with it as well as consumption of caffeine as in coffee, iced tea, colored sodas, sugar, energy drinks and red wine is a big no no.  You can try to minimize the episodes by making sure you drink lots of water because dehyration can set them off as well as burning the candle at both ends mean not getting good sleep at nite and basically just wearing your body down.  I myself chose the meds first and then ended up doing the ablation a couple of years ago because it got to be too much and i became frustrated and scared because my heart rate went into the 300's.  You seriously don't want to give your heart a push of adrenaline thru your body because its almost a given that an episode will arise....good luck you could be one of the lucky ones that you have no problems for years and years...its sort of the luck of the draw.....