Does this sound like I'm experiencing SVT??
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Ok so first I'll give some background info on myself. I am currently 30 years old male who is 6 feet 2 inches tall and weigh 170 lbs. I have been active and involved in sports my whole life primarily basketball and weight lifting as well as sprints and high intensity interval training.
These "attacks" for me started about 3 years ago I'd say I was 27 and just began one day during an intermediate intensity basketball shoot around.
To describe the attacks i suffer from I would say its a sudden "thump" or "drop" of the heart and then it goes into very fast rhythm which then causes me anxiety as a result of this happening and typically i also experience dizziness,weakness, blurred vision and sometimes arm,hand and feet tingling or numbness. I have been to the ER about 15 times in the past two years for these attacks and each time every single thing checks out perfectly and they say its anxiety. the attacks last anywhere from 3-30 minutes and are somwhat different but primarily the same each time.
The most common triggers are exercise of any sort or even doing something thst requires any sort of exertion at all, caffeine (which i have stayed away from completely for over a year now) and stress, although they have happened before completely at rest watching movies at home.
So I've had a month long event monitor and two 48 hour heart monitors and had several attacks happen during these. The cardiologist also has done heart echo or ultrasound testing and stress tests. He says its just pvc and pac episodes even during these attacks. Ive done days upon days of research on this as its affecting my life in such a negative way. All I want is a solution and an answer. To me my episodes sound exactly like svt even though the cardiologist hasn't mentioned svt to me ever.
The thing that really got me to thinking about svt was a colleague of mine at work described her heart issues and she said it was full diagnosed as svt and her description in great detail sounds exactly the same as what i experience in every way.
So my question is does someone with experience think this sounds like svt? If so any suggestions how I should approach this with my cardiologist to not insult him and also to look st possible treatment?
Thanks in advance
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DrHoff Aliens05
Posted
It sounds like you may be experiencing a PVC followed by an episode of pre-syncope. The elevated pulse and blood pressure directly afterwards could be due to adrenaline release and your body's way of ensuring brain perfusion following a temporary drop in blood pressure during the PVC/dropped beat event. Out of interest, do you notice it happens particularly during or after specific exercises? Anything where you quickly go from lying or squatting to standing can also result in a sudden drop of blood pressure called orthostatic hypotension.
In terms of what you can do, obviously alcohol and nicotine are key suspects in most cardiac disease, and caffeine may also exacerbate PVCs. So if you're using any of them, best to stop to see if it makes a difference. Also ensure you're well hydrated before exercise, that will minimize any effects of orthostatic hypotension.