1. Community
  2. Heart Health
  3. Supraventricular Tachycardia

Svt has controlled my life!!

Posted , 3 users are following.

Garrison6
Garrison6

Hello! I've been dealing with SVT for the past 7 years. I'm a Fire Captain and have been in the fire service for 23 years. I had my first "episode" on a fire scene when I was 38. Ever since, I have developed anxiety any time I make a fire or just a fire call. I didn't have many attacks at first, but now they come about once a month. They can last from a min, to 5 or 6 hours. I just went to E.R last Nov. after doing our yearly agility test. I finished the course and as soon as I finished, I went into another attack. The staff at the Fire Academy, put me on oxygen and did an EKG and said I should go to the E.R. They gave me something at the E.R. to stop the attack, and after about 3 hours they stopped. The cardiologist came in while I was having one, and said it wasn't life threatening or career ending, and wanted to keep me overnight. They did an Echocardiogram and stress test and bloodwork and everything checked out fine. The cardiologist who specializes in electrophysiology said that it could be a right bundle branch block. The diagnosis he gave then was atrial tachycardia from lactid acid from over working my body or dehydration. He didn't want to see me back unless I had another one. So, I had another one just last month that lasted about 3 hours on a fire. I called the cardiologist, and the nurse said that my chart says SVT. Is SVT and atrial tachycardia the same? What other test can they run? I feel like I'm at the end of my rope with this. It has affected every aspect of my life, including my home life, which I don't want. My wife has been very supportive and had helped me allot just talking to her. I'm not open to meds or ablations because of the potential risks and side affects. Can any one give advice on how to deal with this. On thing I forgot to add is that my heart rate never gets above 150-160. It starts off tachacardic , then starts beating erratically, with lightheaded and dizziness spells. Thanks so much for any advice thats given!

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • Lolasmom
    Lolasmom Garrison6

    Posted

    Hello fellow SVT er !

    AT is just one types of SVT. When I got mine diagnosed, they told me I had AVNRT. Just one of the types.

    Mine started in Feb 2016. I had a really bad cold/cough, and I think the virus triggered it.

    I was lucky on my second episode which was just a few day after my first to catch it on an ekg. Thats when they said it was AVNRT.

    I have gone for 3 attempted ablations. But never ablated Long story......

    But it was my second attempt at ablations when they found out I infact had AT and not AVNRT

    Since this started in 2016, I have had 110 episodes.

    I am taking a calcium channel blocker right now, but I do not think it does anything other than possible making it easier for revert my episode.

    I was on a beta blocker in the beginning, but the side effects were so bad, that I told my EP I would rather have an episode than feel the way I did on the beta blocker, so I stopped them. I went for a long time taking nothing.

    When this first started I too would get very anxious, and all that did was make them worse and last longer.

    I now when I have an episode I do not get anxious. I get more p****d off. This really helps. I just get to my maneauvers and get it to stop.

    My rates are usually around 140 bpm. I feel thankful that's all they are. I have learned so many ways to revert.

    My episodes last any where from 5 minutes and up to over 6 hours. The long ones are of course harder on you. I feel like a wet noodle after the long ones. Shorter ones up to an hour, I can just get on with what I was doing prior.

    There are many closed groups on facebook for SVT. Try looking them up. You can learn so much. And also you will see that alot of people have this, and suffer alot worse.

    My episodes are usually weekly. But there are times when I have had one everyday for 5 days, and one of those days, I had 2

    You can do this!!!!

    Yes, I hate it but because I have never been ablated, there's nothing I can do but accept it.

    If you have any questions, I am hear

  • s22122
    s22122 Garrison6

    Posted

    I have had SVT my whole life (literally since the day I was born), and have had episodes anywhere from a couple of minutes to several hours. The longer lasting episodes were usually ones triggered by very strenuous exercise (such as a steep hike or hilly bike ride). I have never gone to the ER for an episode, and have been reassured that the condition is benign. Like you, my echocardiogram and stress test were both normal. After doing a recent holter monitor, the EP suspected that the type of SVT I have is paroxysmal atrial tachycardia, with highest rate in the low 200s, but this has not been confirmed. As annoying as this condition is, the EP actually advised AGAINST ablation since the risks could cause more damage than the actual episodes. I was prescribed a calcium channel blocker to take only as needed. Hope this helps!

    • Lolasmom
      Lolasmom s22122

      Posted

      I also have PAT. I am most interested in the type of calcium channel blocker you are taking. I was put on Tiazac XC 120 mg, but it does nothing but lower my bp. The only thing I find is that it seems to help revert with my maneauvers, but does not decrease the amount of episodes

    • Lolasmom
      Lolasmom andrea28756

      Posted

      The only difference I have heard of is that AVNRT seems to have a high rate when in episode.

      My PAT, when in an episode is usually around 140 - 150 bpm, where AVNRT I think can go up to 290 bpm.

      Also, I think PAT does not involve the AV node where AVNRT does

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.