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New Maneuver for SVT is GREAT! Modified Valsalva

Posted , 5 users are following.

tamio4
tamio4

Ok, maybe it's not new, but I believe the modified valsalva maneuver has only been documented in the last 2 years. 

A brief history on my SVT - I'm 48 and just made my second ER visit for SVT. I've had many, many episodes lasting from 15 seconds to over 3 hours, and although it has happened at many different times, it happens most often when I'm sleeping or just falling asleep.

My 3+ hour episode last week prompted an ER visit and I feared another round of the horrid adenosine. But the doctor first wanted to try a relatively new procedure he called a modified valsalva. I was sceptical as nothing I'd tried at home worked: valsalva (bearing down by holding mouth & nose closed & trying to blow out), ice water on my face, burpees, relaxing on my right side with knees pulled up. I won't be able to accurately explain the procedure so please search it on the internet - but in a nutshell, it was the regular valsalva maneuver while sitting partially upright for 15 seconds immediately followed by laying my head flat and elevating my legs to 45 degrees. 

IT WORKED!! My heart rate went immediately from 190 to 90 and then stabilized around 102. No IV! No adenosine! And this is something we can all do at home! The documented success rate of the normal valsalva is 17% - the modified version is 43%! If you find yourself in the midst of an SVT episode, try it! (But seriously, search it first and watch it in action.)

SVT is scary, no doubt. But having a reliable solution I can do at home is a huge comfort!

0 likes, 17 replies

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  • Emily2009
    Emily2009 tamio4

    Posted

    YESS! I too had a bad episode over the weekend which landed me in hospital (others could literally hear my heart through my chest and it kept going in and out of SVT) and they tried this before the adenosine and it worked like a charm! They gave me a syringe to blow into though to make sure I was blowing hard enough and let me keep it afterwards. Like you I am so relieved to have something else I can try at home smile  
  • Lolasmom
    Lolasmom tamio4

    Posted

    Hi there.

    i have seen this on youtube, But do you not have to first blow into a blocked syringe for 15 seconds before you lay down and lift your legs.   Did they do that with you when you went to the ER?

  • Lolasmom
    Lolasmom tamio4

    Posted

    I just saw Emily's post about the syringe.

    I carry one in my purse.

    I tried it last time but it did not help as much as I thought it would.  But will try again.

    My episodes have been weekly lately due to some additional stress in my life. Bit I am now going past 3 weeks now so I am very thankful.   Horay !!!!

  • Paladinx
    Paladinx tamio4

    Posted

    I get these SvT type attacks at night too.. right as im first falling asleep...  All of the sudden I feel this sense of I don't know.. like a fear or a sense that it is coming.... and i usually have to turn over on my back and try to cool off.. Sometimes it doesn't come to pass..  sometimes my heart rate increases a little and it goes away, but sometimes the heart takes off very rapidly and i start sweating and its a terrible feeling..  I was very convinced it was SVT because of how fast the heart takes off..  it usually doesn't last long.. but scary as hell...  A couple of years ago i went to a cardiologist and they gave me an ekg, echo and a holter monitor..  The very next day I had an attack while wearing the holter monitor and was pretty convinced it would show up as svt... but to my surprise the cardiologist said it was a panic attack..  I asked him i said, wow so it wasn't SVT, it was normal sinus even that fast?  he said yea..  So since then I tried to accept that its just part of my anxiety condition.. they went away after that for awhile but when they come back i still question it.. I know i have panic/anxiety but i always felt like maybe SVT or something like that was what was causing my anxiety..  

    • Lolasmom
      Lolasmom Paladinx

      Posted

      Hi there,

      What I do not know is hoe they know whether it is anxiety or SVT.  Did he explain that to you?

    • Paladinx
      Paladinx Lolasmom

      Posted

      They can tell on the EKG/holter monitor because the SVT electrical pattern is different than normal sinus tachycardia.. Ive looked this up to death and they say the most conclusive way of knowing if you have SVT or not is to catch it on a monitor/ekg... I did exactly that.. I had the attack while wearing the monitor that was given to me by a cardiologist with good reviews.. not even a regular doctor or anything..  And I brought up that i thought i might have SVT before he even saw the results.. So i dunno what the chances are it was misdiagnosed..   If it is a panic attack... panic attacks and anxiety can mimic SVT very well.. 
    • Lolasmom
      Lolasmom Paladinx

      Posted

      Opps, replied to the wrong person

      thank you for that.

      Mine was recorded on an EKG as SVT.

      I also get weird lulls in my heart beat.  Seems to happen after I eat anything. Eating creates gas/burping and then my heart flutters.    

      I think this is something different

       

    • Paladinx
      Paladinx Lolasmom

      Posted

      when you get SVT does it hit out of no where like it just hits bam.. or is there a build up towards it, where you know its coming and try to fight it off?
    • Lolasmom
      Lolasmom Paladinx

      Posted

      It was always a klunk in my chest, and then in a second my heart rate was up.

      But the last few.times.  i seem to feel weird, and I know something is going on but my heart rate seems to go up as i watch it on my app.  When it stops though it just stops in a second  right back down to about 75 bpm 

    • Paladinx
      Paladinx Lolasmom

      Posted

      Thanks for sharing your experience.  I never get the klunk feeling, I assume that is a skipped heart beat like a pvc/pac that triggers the SVT.. ive heard that is like the very common way SVT starts.. im very sensitive to PVC/PAC's I usually can feel them..  my cardiologist seemed impressed on the holter monitor that recorded the 'panic attack"..  He said i didn't have any skipped beats in the 24 hour recording.. I wasn't surprised since I didn't feel any..  my heart can take off very quickly but there always feels like there is a build up right before . 

    • Lolasmom
      Lolasmom

      Posted

      I asked my EP specialist about a month ago about it.  I explained that they are different now.   His answer was they do that sometimes.......what a stupid answer

      The fluttering I get is different to that.  But it seems like it is daily now.  I have had some stomach issues, and it appears that the gas/burping triggers the fluttering.   That is actually more annoying than the SVT

      I am no longer on beta blockers.   Would rather have SVT than feel the way I did on Bisoprolol.

      I felt like a zombie with far to low bp and to low a heart rate.  My hands and feet were cold, and I could not get off the sofa,   Instead of feeling like that everyday, I would rather deal with the SVT when it raises its ugly head

    • Paladinx
      Paladinx Lolasmom

      Posted

      There is a nerve that runs along your stomach and esophagus.. I really think that stomach gas stimulates this nerve which makes your heart do weird things sometimes. I know gas and stuff can trigger skipped beats in me and heart racing..  Do you have anxiety at all... anxiety and all this stuff can intertwine really weirdly
    • Lolasmom
      Lolasmom Paladinx

      Posted

      Yes, I have all of the above.   drives me crazy.

      I am also weaning off some meds since March in order to have another ablation attempt.

      I can even just drink water in the morning and the fluttering can start. Makes for  a very long day

  • Lolasmom
    Lolasmom tamio4

    Posted

    thank you for that.

    Mine was recorded on an ekg as SVT.  But I have crazy lulls with my heart beat. It seems to happen after I eat anything and get really bad gas/burping. Then the heart starts to flutter.

    I am pretty sure that is different

  • Lolasmom
    Lolasmom tamio4

    Posted

    Sorry, that message was for  Paladinx
    • tamio4
      tamio4 Lolasmom

      Posted

      No problem - hope you are able to find answers as relief! 

      You asked the question about blowing into a syringe first (valsalva maneuver), and yes - you do that first for 15 seconds (or as long as you can), followed immediately by lowering your upper body & elevating your legs.

      I realize it won’t work for everyone, but with such a jump in success rate over the regular maneuvers, I had to post it! The more we know, the better!

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