Supraventricular tachycardia and exercise?

I am 74 years old male living in India. I have frequent episodes of PSVT at times lasting up to 8 hours. However I don' skip exercise. I run (Jog) about 4 Kms or more 3 times a week. To resist onslaught of PSVT I have to keep my heart strong....Though I am going to opt for RF ablation for the quality of life.

Hey 

I was diagnosed with SVT when I was 21 and first started having symptoms when I was 19. I found that they came on during stressful moments in my life or during times where I've had to deal with personal anxiety. I still try to lead a healthy life (work out, go for hikes, etc) while taking Verapamil. 

It's completely doable, but I admit I miss taking my old preworkouts (I abandoned those on advise of my doctor) and having the same level of workout as I used to. I've also found that I get strained easier working out/ more tired quickly since taking medication for it. 

I hope to be getting an ablation soon, so I'll keep you guys posted.

 

I have had SVT since I was a baby but my parents thought my irregular heart beat was due to the heart murmur that I was born with.  Well I have had at least two - three episodes a year for my entire life, but my doctor told me that my murmur closed on it's own.  So why was I having episodes???  Never had problems playing basketball in school, or with any other activity.  In November of 2015, I had an episode so severe that I was rushed to the hospital where they had to stop my heart, and then start it again.  Scary stuff.  Don't ever want to do that again.  It was documented for the first time at 44 years old.  I noticed as I got older the episodes were lasting longer and  happening while asleep.  I had an "out of body" experience with one while lying on the couch on my left side (heart side).  So I started to document what I was eating, the stressors in my life, and the exercise I was doing.  I got the stressors out, noticed that lying on my heart side, too much sugar, caffeine, artificial sweetners (sacchrin, sucrose, sucralose, dextrose, maltodextrose, dextrin, aspertame, sweet n lo, etc.), chemicles, oily food, and lack of excersize contributed to my episodes entirely.  I have not had an episode since 2015, when I was rushed to the hospital.  Yaaaay.  This is the first time in my entire life that I have not had an episode.  So many chemicals are being added to food, prepackaged food, can/jar food, and especially fast food and restaurants.  Be careful of what you eat and who is around you causing you stress.  I also drink lemon (real lemon) water with cayenne pepper on a regular basis.  It helps strengthen the heart and thin the blood.  Be careful of foods that stay in your colon for more than a day.  This causes heart issues as well. Keep your bowel movements regular/daily.  They should be almost everytime you eat. The colon affects the heart.  Don't just rely on a doctor...listen to your heart.

Hi All,  glad I found the shred.  I know it's a little old, but I'm learning a lot.  I'm not a Doctor and don't advise people, but here is my story to convey to your Doctor for advise.  Brief history here- 48 year old male.  Type 3 heart block controlled with pacemaker.  Now going through SVT's from about 160-190 bpm occurying randomly through time, all times of days/nights (yes, they wake me up regularly).  This helps me:  At time of attack and depending how strong it is, I'll take the following:  500 MG fresh cayeen pepper, 250 MG of L-Arganine, 500 MG Valerian root,  100-300 MG of Gabbapentin. I also have discovered powdered beet juice which has helped me drop my average pressure from 190/60 to 110/70.  So,  for light attacks, I start with Cayeen.  Wait 5-15 minutes.  Ussually it lets go shortly after I get the burning in my belly.  If it doesn't, or itf it is a particularly bad episode, I hit the cayeen, 1/2 cup beet juice and valarian root all at once.  If angina pain is kicking in, I'll hit teh gabappentin with all of the others listed.  I'll also try all of the vagal maunuvers, but they don't really help much.  My longest attack has been 150 beats/min for 16 hours.  They are no fun at all and the feeling of pure exhaustion is sometimes overwhelming.  It took many trip to the ER to convince me it wasn't kife threatening.  Good luck out there. 

Amy,

I am 49 and have SVT. I am also a distance runner. I had an ablation 7 years ago. I was fine for 2 years, but it came back.  I currently am taking Flecainide 2 times per day and it has helped tremendously with day to day episodes. However, I still have very excellerated heart rates (200 - 240 bpm) when I first begin running each day. (I usually run 5 to 7 days per week) My normal heart rate while running is around 140. A heart rate of 240 makes it a little difficult to breathe... Anyway, my cardiologist knows I am a distance runner and supports my addiction to running as I am otherwise very healthy. He has encouraged me to get another ablation, but I just haven't done it yet. If your doctor thinks it's ok to run, I encourage you to go for it. It's such a great way to stay in shape and can be a great stress reliever too. If you aren't taking any medicaion, my cardiologist said that Flecainide is the best for people who are active. By the way, I ran 5 half marathons and one duathalon this spring in a 2 month period. I refuse to let my crazy heart take running, as long as my doc says it's safe. Best of luck to you!

Patrice

Hey Amy. I know this may be three years to late but I’ve had SVT since a teenager and I’ve run many half marathons, tough mudders, fun runs, ect. It doesn’t normally bother me but on the odd occasion it has I just do my manoeuvres, wait for it to pass then keep on going . Hope this helps. X