svt and more

Don't worry! I had these for years. Started getting SVT when i was 14 - finally cured through catheter ablation in 2004 aged 51. Used to gey 'missed beats' all the time - this thing ruled my life for about 30 years. When young it didn't bother me too much but as I got older the frustration of being miss diagnosed with anxiety panic attacks etc. stopped me exercising enough put on weight & now have diabetes. finally diagnosed in 2002 with SVT at the Bristol Royal Infirmary - put me on Tildiem until the proceedure. It wasn't totally painless but the specialist & the staff were brilliant - was even able to play Dylan's Blood on the Tracks CD for me. proceedure took 6 1/2 hours as they decided they would try to freeze the 'bad pathways' however, during the night & early next morning had constant SVT although at a slower rate than before, so they took me down again & repeated proceedure this time using radiowaves & I have not had the problem since!

I do get slight bouts of minor flutters but nothing like the missed beats feeling.

The worst thing about the proceedure is when they do the EP study & the technician initiates the fast heartbeats through the electrodes - although it's great when they just return to normal rhythmn & the groin is a little sore for a day or two ( but then I had it done twice )

Good luck with this - you will feel so much better afterwards!!

Hi I too am awaiting ablation treatment at Papworth Hosp. I have had SVT since 13 years and am now 43yrs. I am very nervous about the procedure and the possibility of it going wrong. I keep thinking about pulling out but then I experience a missed beat or fast beats I feel I must go ahead.

Like you two I have been to A & E several times and received Adenosine to correct my heart rate and absolutely hate the experience. It is all getting more difficult as I get older as I now have children who I have to organise before I can rush to A & E.

Do either of you have any advice for me that will help me make up my mind. I so wish I could be free of this as I am looisng my confidence to travel and go on long walks; I even avoid sustained exercise etc. of any kind which I used to be happy to do. However as I have said I am worried about the op going wrong and ending up with a pace maker or worse (what else could happen!!)

appreciate any thoughts you have

Jay

Hi just to reply to the above posts.

I'm also due to have the procedure this December, I havnt got the date sorted out yet. Ive had problems with my heartbeat since i was about six. ABout once every year i would get a funny feeling in my chest that would last for a few minutes then i would end up blacking out. Though i would also have periods when i would have the feeling of my heart going fast but it would terminate by itself.

I remember once telling my mum about it when I was young. I told her to check my heart beat and she agreed that it was fast but that it was probably fast becasue I had done some running.

It didn't get picked up until i was in high school. It was a topic that i kept to myself and finally i saw a doctor. But as there was no abnormalities on the ECG and an echo was normal i guess they just choked it up to an anxious girl worried about her exams.

Then finally two years ago it was finally caught on an ECG. When the ambulance men came they couldn't even get a blood pressure reading off me. The diagnosis was a VT, which is a bit weird.

I had to be kept in hospital for a week and it was decided that i should have an ICD fitted- this helps with the pacing of the heart and gives a small electric shock if the heart goes too fast. I was also put on a Beta Blocker.

Since the device had been fitted i had had short episode that terminate sponatneously, nothing that would cause the ICD to be activated until late August.

When I wen t back to hospital to have the ICD checked they said that there may be a chance of i had a problem with the circuit of my heart and so I am waiting for my appointment. I'm a bit worried but frankly if it means i'll have the chance to get off this medication i'm willing to try anything. But i am a bit worried in case i may need a pacemaker permanently. The ICD can also work as a pacemaker, i mean if it had to. At the moment i have to be careful of magnets and some radiowaves. I also have to be careful around certain devices such as wireless item and have to be careful how i hold my mobile phone. But i guess sometimes I am a bit reckless, because even if the ICD stops working, it doesn't pose an imediate threat, but this would be different if I needed a permamnent pacemaker.

So to summariese, i am worried about the chances of needing a pacemaker afterwards.

Also How long after having the procedure done, can you not fly anywhere- e.g. in a plane.

I myself have a sort of undiagnosied svt that im getting more and more stressed out as time goes by.

ive probably had an arrythimia since my twenties and im 43 now.

i have about 10 episodes a year, and i also have small children so its made it all consuming and even more physcologically difficult to live with this

i take a beta blocker when the arrythimia begins but if i do not take anything it would go on for hours...around 120 beats a minute

my blood pressure elevated

it would be nice to hear back from anyone regarding their situation and if ablation is the answer...im scared to death to have them mess with my heart

elizabeth

Hi to all you fellow patients... ive had svt since I was 14 and im now 21, mine was every time i did exercise, drank caffeine, even sneezing and hiccuping were triggers so i had svt all the time.

I had catheter ablation therapy 2 weeks ago and feel great. Its really nothing to worry about, they gave me something to make me relax, and its really not as bad as it sounds. It is a little uncomfortable, but it doesnt hurt, so really do not worry. Things you need to know...you can feel the wires poking around which was a little weird at first, but you get used to it. Also its very strange when the doctors keep triggering off your SVT, they just turn it off and on whenever they like....but they are completely in control. Also the actual burning does not hurt, its just a little tingling in your chest.

I was on the table for over 4 hours, so my only advice is dont drink too much beforehand, and you must make yourself go to the toilet before, as for an hour after you come out, you have to lay flat.

Since the operation a number of times ive felt my heart try to go into svt, but instead it just does like a 'big beat' and then carries on as normal...so i think, hopefully, that im fixed.

As for afterwards and getting back on your feet, its really important i think to keep moving, doing gradual walks, i found that if i just laid down all day i felt worse! Two weeks on im now going for maybe 30 minute walks and just taking it easy, gradually building myself up.

I hope this helps someone, i wish you all a speedy recovery.

Hello everyone.

I have had 3 episodes of SVT over the last 6 years. Extremely bad cases in that my heart was beating so fast it was impossible to feel a pulse.

Only way it could be reverted back to normal rhythm was by the 'injection'.

After my third attack in October I was referred to Wythenshawe in Manchester for an ablation. I am a very fit fell-walker who felt that my life had come to and end as i didn't know when the attacks would happen. I was particularly concerned for it happening abroad on holidays.

My experience was totally positive.

I was on the x-ray table for approximately 2 hrs and could feel them starting up my SVT on several occasions.

It doesn't hurt at all and only experienced a slight warm feeling when the ablation was done.

The worse bit is the keeping still for 3 hrs afterwards to ensure that the vein in your groin heals. Took it easy for the week following and have after two weeks done a 6 mile walk. I have only done slight ascents and have experienced what can only be described as a 'big beat' on a couple of occasions. But I think that this is down to scar tissue hearling.

Have a review with my consultant in 5 weeks.

Its the best thing I have done and couldn't recommend the ablation more.

Well done to the Wythenshawe Team