22 and being diagnosed with SVT. Help

Hi, I feel your pain. I am also new to all of this but 22 is young and I hope you get it figured out. I did the holter monitor for 24 hours and I have Svt, mine started out just randomly or when exercising and slowly progressed to the point where I couldnt even stand up and my heart went up. I am on a low dosage of beta blocker. (Beta blockers lower blood pressure as well) and I have low BP already so I am only able to take a low dosage and I'm ok. You are talking about ablation surgery which I have not had. Sometimes Svt and anxiety attacks are very similar. Unfortunately I have both. I did a heart ultrasound and the stress test (treadmill test which was how they knew for sure it was svt) . certain foods such as caffeine, spicy food; chocolate, alcohol etc may trigger attacks. So im watching and journalling what i eat I'm still in the learning process myself. Anxiety and lack of sleep also triggers for me . It's scary when it happens and very stressful so cognitive behavioural therapy is extremely helpful. Anyway I really hope your able to deal with all this. It's so new and it can really affect your life. Ask questions and this forum can be helpful. There are so many people with this problem. Good.luck. 😊

Hi there, 

I am sorry to hear that you have SVT, I can definitely understand your frustration. I had two episodes 3 years ago. The first one I didn't know what was going on, so I went to the ER thinking I was having a heart attack. My heart rate got up to 204bpm which terrified me and they had to actually stop my heart to get it back to normal. I had another one about a week later which didn't last long after I researched how to control them on my on. I went to see a cardiologist and he recommended that I have the procedure done that you mentioned which is called a heart ablation. They go through your groin, in your veins and up to your heart to try and fix the problem. I was TERRIFIED as you can imagine, but it really was not bad at all. I knew that I couldn't stand the thought of having these constant attacks, so I knew I had to do whatever was needed in order to fix it. I was on beta blockers prior and they freaked me out because my heart rate would get so low. So I had the procedure done and four hours later, I was released from the hospital,so it is an outpatient procedure. I just had another one this week and luckily I had just went to see my cardiologist to tell him about how my heart seems to pound at times, so he gave me a monitor to wear so he was able to catch the SVT. He said that he doesn't want to put me on beta blockers just yet, so just wait to see if it happens again. I know it's scary, but I would suggest that you have the heart ablation done. It's really safe and you could possibly be SVT free forever. Some people have said that it sometimes come back and you may have to repeat the procedure, but I think its worth it. I hope this helps and good luck to you!

I,ve had this for 40 years, it is frightening and affcts your life but i learnt to live with it, i did have a bad attack recently which had to be put bck into normal rhythm by the hospital, as we get older it is harder to cope with, i,m on a beta blocker now,i,ve had a few over the years but couldn,t cope with the drop in heart rate and blood pressure, i,m perservering this time because that attack frightened me.  Go wth what the doctor suggests, you are young so can handle it better.

 

Thank you everyone,

I'm not sure what my triggers are at the moment so will have to try and figure that out.

I am thinking about having the beta blockers but not sure on how they will affect me, and also not sure if I have to give up drinking... I am only young and I always think that beta blockers are for older people haha

Hope

Hi Hope

I was 21 when I was diagnosed (23 now) and have had 2 bad episodes where I was admitted to hospital. I was really against having the ablation but as time goes on and you realise what your triggers are you slowly start to become fed up of cutting things out of your life. For example alcohol and chocolate are a trigger for me - also becoming too hot. After nearly 3 years I have finally had enough of tip toeing around myself and not enjoying my life and have decided for an ablation.

If it is offered I would really consider this as SVT is not very pleasant and you don't want to spend the rest of your life worrying.

Hope you find a solution🙂

Hey there, I am a strong believer in your environment affects your body.  I had SVT when i was 14 but it didnt get diagnosed and then it dissapeared and it laid dormant for 12 years then came back at 26 (i was very stressed in this part of my life).  I have since changed lifestyle to a non stressful job and moved away from the extremely busy area I was living in and took up running.  I have to say this has helped me so much, I now only get an attack about once a year.  The doctor offered beta blockers, possibly ablation but when I told them I wanted to change my lifestyle they agreed with me.  Everyone is different but stress is a definate factor. You may not even realise you are!  Also a tip when you get an attack is running your wrists under very cold water, it works for me!