svt or panic attack?

Whenever I have an SVT attack, my heart beats very fast and hard ( usually more than 150 bpm) I can see my heart pumping just below my sternum. It usually just happens all of a sudden and randomly stops after I splash my face with ice water or do a val salva maneuver. I also have anxiety because I am scared of having an svt attack. For me, my heart beats much faster and stronger when I have an svt attack than when I have an anxiety attack.

Ok with svt it suddenly happens with no warning and stops just as sudden with a panic attack it Gradually istarts getting faster and faster and you can usually feel your heart start to slow with breathing and calming yourself down I have both plus heart palpitations the symptoms are so similar it's hard to tell them Apart both scare the life out of you and I think one give you the other sometimes my heart rate with svt goes up to 230 and with panic attacks it's fast but goes up to about 140

Hi, I suffer from SVT and panic attacks. For me I can definitley feel the difference. SVT happens suddenly, I usually feel a skipped beat, get a heavy head (feel like im going to pass out) and shortness of breath. With panic attacks it is gradual and i can control my heart rate with slow controlled breathing, I also feel an overwhelming sense of panic and fear. Either way both are pretty horrible. Hope this helps. 

Sinus tachycardia can and often does, especially in younger people, reach rates that high.  I'll give you my "take" on some of the difference between SVT and panic-induced high rates.  SVT results from atypical electrical pathways in our hearts, often described as a short-circuit.  Panic-induced would mostly result from a paniced body being flooded with hormones (adrenaline) that are very good at boosting heart rates. This is part of the flight-or-fight response that, historically, was more of a good deal, since it helped keep us alive.

For lots of us, I think, our high heart rates begins with SVT and then are complicated by our panic. Misery is misery, regardless of cause. Many of us understand, too well, your struggles.

I encourage you to get a good diagnosis, and then do lots of reading to help you decide on your best response.  There's a very good chance that ther's some very good help available for you.  I hope you find it and wish you well.