New to the SVT world

I tried medication to start with, and the side effects were crippling , I suffered no ill effects with my Svt, other than than they were frequent, nearly always at work and my heart rate was always 180bpm+ so high, so my cardiologist decided on an ablation was the best option.. i went with the ablation, it was a walk in the park, just chilled out of a table for 1hr 40mins.. but afterwards I often get a lot of eptopic beats/ flutters that come and go as you please.

Now this isnt directly helpful, but what i would suggest is to at least try the medication ( i hated every second of beta blockers) so i know my situation currently is the lesser of two evils.. i would recommend at least testing the waters.

i hope this helps a little.

I think it's really a personal decision but in general these days if you are young and healthy and active they like to jump to the ablation because it's the best shot at a permanent cure. Medication, in general, seems to work for a while for many people but often as people age it seems like it becomes less effective, though not always. But for many medication is just delaying the inevitable. I've been on beta blockers for about 5 years now and have had to increase the dose a few times, they're still doing the job but I don't know for how long. I did have an ablation but it didn't work (or I developed a new problem after, who knows), but I still think it's generally worth a shot. The whole process was expensive and unpleasant however for most people it's a one time thing, fix it and you are done. Especially if you have AVNRT the success rate is over 90% I believe, so the odds are good they can take care of it once and for all. There is, however, nothing wrong with trying drugs first for a while to see how it goes if you are apprehensive. I personally have no side effects from my metoprolol other than amazing blood pressure and a resting heart rate of 58.

i had svt for 2 years before it was eventually caught on ECG my heart rate was 240bpm. i had to go to hospital for the shot of adenosine to revert my heart back to its normal rhythm.

about 7 months later in 2017 i had the ablation and have been fine since, just had the odd flutter but nothing major.

it was an easy procedure i was laid there for about 2 hours under sedation and it was fine. id reccomend highly going for the ablation! good luck and heres to being rid of SVT once and for all!!

Hi, I am on daily flecainide 100 mg CR now and don't have any noticeable side-effects. I was on 200 mg but that was too strong and made me tired. The cardiologist does not recommend ablation for me because its likely the tachycardia is being triggered on the RHS, which is a lot harder and more risky to access than the LHS. Personally I think you should try the meds before the op, which could be risky. I am not a fan of medication, but daily flecainide 100 mg CR has given me back my quality of life.

Hi Jamie,

I was diagnosed with SVT 4 years ago and was put on Atenolol. I was fine for 3 years. But last year the situation got worsened and had to do the ablation. Even though the doctor had said the ablation was successful but it came back. I am getting the palpitation again and was hooked up with the loop monitor. I am now waiting for a call from my cardiologist. I probably will go for another ablation if my doctor suggest to do so. I hope the second ablation will eliminate the problem completely .

It is totally up to you but I would strongly suggest to go for an ablation. Medication has side effect, some people feel it some don't. I feel dizzy because of this medication.

I had ablation for avnrt 4 weeks ago i had had it for 10 years and in that time it sliwly slowly got worse and worse. When i had to go to hospital a few times because it was lasting hrs and one time it turned into a fib despite medication so i had ablation. If you are young and fit it really isnt bad. I had no sedation at all and an attack was triggered immediately. I was on table 2 hrs then kept flat then slowly sat up over next 4 hrs. This was worst bit .

I've heard of people having an ablation and ending up needing medication and as Bedford90 commented - the side effects can be terrible.

I take a small dose of beta blockers when I need it, like if I'm at high risk of having an episode (sleep deprived, stressed and hormonal are a good combination) to prevent an episode, I also use a beta blocker during an episode to slow my heart rate and make it easier to convert. It will slow SVT down to about 140 bpm for me which is easier to cope with. I don't take beta blockers daily though.

I'm 45 and have had SVT since I was a kid. I regularly get episodes in the middle of the night and although I'm usually a bit more tired the next day I wouldn't let it stop me going about my day. Out of the hundreds of episodes I've had in my life I've only ever had a second episode on the same day once. I find there are always more skipped beats and "irritability" after an episode but it doesn't usually result in another episode. Don't let the anxiety about this change your life. Unless the cardiologist is worried about your heart structure or cardiac vessel disease it's not usually seen as a harmful condition.