1. Community
  2. Heart Health
  3. Supraventricular Tachycardia

SVT sufferers can use your advice ..

Posted , 20 users are following.

Paladinx
Paladinx

I been suffering from anxiety for years and it has ruined my life.  There is one symptom that is devestating and scary to me.. I have to get a monitor to catch it to know for sure, but that won't be till jan 29th.    My main question to you guys and girls who suffer from SVT.. Is do any of you also get panic or anxiety attacks?   Mine have been happening most often right when I am trying to go to sleep.. I get this  weird nervous feeling that sweeps over me and get start getting hot.. like a hot flash.  It feels like if i can't take control over it right than and there,, my heart than starts to rapidly speed up into almost a mode where the heart is beating at even but very fast.. I get more nervous and start sweating like crazy and the nervous feeling and sweating and panic maybe lasts about a minute or a couple of minutes.. than I start feeling more calm and the sweating stops and my pulse starts slowing back to normal..  Does this sound like an SVT attack or more of a panic attack.. Another thing to note I do not notice or feel any skipped heart beats before my heart takes off to the races, and i don't notice any skipped beats when it ends. I have read a lot of people say their SVT usually starts with a skipped beat or heart flutter and also ends that way..  I never get these attacks in a split second.. i always know when they are coming on.. i feel nervous or volatile and get hot and the nervousness hits hard and than the heart starts speeding up very rapidly.  

 Any info or anything would be greately appreciated.. i am so down in the dumps righ tnow

sincerely

paul

0 likes, 75 replies

75 Replies

Next
  • jerry06185
    jerry06185 Paladinx

    Posted

    It sound more like panic attack  than SVT but I'm not a doctor,with either you live through it or you die, my grand father died from SVT when he was 76 ,his heart exploded ,I'm now 64 I've had it sence I was 13 it becomes more of an anoience 

    than anything else  if it is SVT bear through it ,don't allow the fear to take over your 

    life 

     

    • Paladinx
      Paladinx jerry06185

      Posted

      Thank for responding.  Its kind of hard to relax over it after your first statement that your grandfathers heart exploded from SVT .. I never heard of that with all my readingn about it.  I have read that SVT isn't life threatening in most people.. and the ones in danger are people with heart problems or defects.  Are you sure it was your grandfathers heart that exploded from SVT?  Sounds more like he had another problem.. possibly an aneruym somewhere.  I don't think the heart is capable of exploding.. its an extremely thick muscle. IT will stop beating before it explodes. 
    • Paladinx
      Paladinx jerry06185

      Posted

       Sometimes they mean that a piece of plaque got lose ... as in it gave him a heart attack... I bet you won't find even one case of someones heart actually exploding..  
    • sherry08966
      sherry08966 jerry06185

      Posted

      Jerry,The Dr's 40  years ago did not know anthing near what they know now. Our son has had SVT for many years. I have it from anxiety and panic attacks. From what I understand with SVT if the heart rythm gets too fast for any reason and does not slow down on it's own it can start shaking , or trembling and just stop. So no one should take it lightly. If it is from anxiety that one needs something to calm them down a bit. So anyone having SVT be careful. 
  • sonia98806
    sonia98806 Paladinx

    Posted

    Hi Paul 

    I completely understand how you feel. I have suffered with anxiety for years. I have just been diagnosed with svt and the symptoms are similar. My cardiologist said that doctors often say it's anxiety when svt is the problem.

    Although that said I still have anxiety so not sure which came first svt or anxiety.

    The only thing I would say is that svt has to be caught on and ecg so don't be surprised if when you have the monitor on in January you don't have the palpitations.

    I really think until you can get a diagnoses svt you should treat your symptoms of anxiety.  Have you tried mindfulness? One thing I've realised over the years is to try and stop fighting anxiety attacks. It's really hard but when I can actually do it, it works! 

    Good luck 

    Sonia x

    • Paladinx
      Paladinx sonia98806

      Posted

      Thank you sonia.. I have an appointment set but its not until jan 29.. So I am just trying to gather some information..  So you have had both.. You can't make the distinction between when you have had anxiety attacks or SVT ?   I hear people say SVT can come without warning at anytime in an instant.. and many people say they feel a skipped heart beat or heart flutter before their SVT takes off racing, and than it ends just as abruptly.. Do you find that the case?  
    • sonia98806
      sonia98806 Paladinx

      Posted

      I do feel it instantly, it feels like my heart thuds and then my heart races. Mine usually lasts for hours rather than minutes although that's because I believed and was constantly told it's anxiety. Now I know I have svt I wouldn't leave it so long I would go straight to a&e. Do you ever record how fast your heart is racing? When I last went to a&e the cardiologist said that with anxiety your heart might be racing around 120bpm not at almost 200 bpm  as mine was. 

      How often are you getting the palpitations and how long do they last?  Have you tried any of the ways of slowing it down, blowing into a tube, dipping your face on cold water? 

    • Paladinx
      Paladinx sonia98806

      Posted

        Well I am not sure if that is exactly true.. One time I got nervous and im pretty convinced that one time was straight up nerves and my heart was at 140, and that wasn't even one of my bad attacks.. I also know someone on the forum who had a pulse of 180 and he got it caught on a monitor and it was an anxiety attack.. So anxiety can bring the pulse way up.. I am sure mine is probably 150 or higher .. At my worst attacks I wouldn't be surprised if it was close to 200.  

       They usually don't last long.. maybe a minute, the most maybe five minutes max... I don't feel any thuds, or PVCs when it happens.. It doesn't start in an instant but it can come over me pretty fast sometimes.. My warning is usually a feeling that something isn't right a nervous tension or something than i start getting a hot flash and feel hot.. than my pulse starts to rapdily pick up speed.. sometimes It goes a little fast and everything calms down.. sometimes i feel that nervous tension coming on and feel hot but my heart doesn't get to the point where my heart races.. and sometimes my heart just takes off into a weird mode where its beating really fast and steady and I feel nervous horrible feeling.. dreadful.. Im sweating more profusely..  and than generally after a min, or 2 mins  or 4  mins etc.. I might start to feel the nervous panic and sweating subside and than my pulse starts coming down to normal.. It doesn't instantly go to normal, nor does it slowly go to normal.. its probably more like... boom.boom.boom..Boom..boom..boom....boom....boom....boom...boom......boom........boom.........boom... ..........boom..............boom

      I know thats silly but best way i can describe it. 

    • sonia98806
      sonia98806 Paladinx

      Posted

      It's difficult isn't it... I have no idea if svt ramps up and down as yours does. From what I've read it starts quickly and stops quickly. Is your heart rate fast but steady while it happens? 
    • Pasty_man
      Pasty_man sonia98806

      Posted

      Hi Sonia and Paul

      I've had SVT for 13 years, it started when I was 29 and it's been caught on an ECG at 220 bmp. I've had adenosine a couple of times to stop it in A&E which is horrid but you're right it isn't life threatening unless you have other serious underlying health conditions. The example given previously sounded like a AAA. 

      Mine starts with a thump or triple beat and then races up to 200+ BPM. The attacks are caused for me by bending down to pick something up, rolling over in bed, extreme tiredness or after alcohol. Mine last up to an hour and stop on their own, some by using the valsalva technique (blowing into pipes etc).

      I had an ablation 3 weeks ago and I feel great. No tablets, worry and although early days I feel very positive. 

      I work in General Practice and that's a long wait for a monitor. 

      There's lots that can be done. Mindfulness sounds like a great idea. I would chase up your monitor and be safe in the knowledge that you're not alone and it can and will get better. 

      All the best

      Chris

  • caroline68835
    caroline68835 Paladinx

    Posted

    Hi. Are you in any beta blockers. I used to get this when I was taking a beta blocker. It was almost as if when my heart started to slow down to go to,sleep the automatic pacemaker kicked in like a railway train running down a track and my heart would race for a minute or two then settle back down again. It would sometimes do this a few times a night. I eventually came off of the beta blocker and it all subsided. I hope this helps and wish you well 
    • Paladinx
      Paladinx caroline68835

      Posted

      No i am not on a beta blocker.. IT keeps happening at night right when im trying to go to sleep.. Happened again last night as i was dosing off.. and this time i was even on a lose dose xanax and it still happened.. but i was so tired that i didn't get super nervous from it and tried to relax and I felt my pulse go back down to normal.. no thuds or sudden stops or pvcs .. it didn't switch off like a switch.. but rather the rate just came down .. I think this time maybe the pulse was going around 120-130 bpm when it was fast.. can't say for sure.. It just always happens when im going to sleep.. very weird
  • tavidu
    tavidu Paladinx

    Posted

    Dear all, I posted the following a few days ago but no one has picked it up yet so have decided to post on an existing discussion and wondered if anyone can help.

    "Hi all. I am a member on another group (PMR) but my wife has just been diagnosed with the above (Ventricular tachycardia ), is this totally different from SVT and if so can anyone guide me to the correct forum. Many thanks." Regards Dave

    • Paladinx
      Paladinx tavidu

      Posted

      Ventricular tachycardia is different than SVT.    You would have tto ask the doc how long she had it for, if it was non sustained or sustained VT.. sustained I believe is if she had it longer than 30 seconds.. but yeah VT is different than SVT.. svt means a beat that starts above the ventricles, VT is on the ventricles.. 
    • tavidu
      tavidu Paladinx

      Posted

      Hi Paladinx, many thanks for your explanation. As she has only recently been diagnosed we do not know what questions to ask the consultant so I assume a good starter would be is it a non sustained or a sustained VT. The unfortunate thing is that my wife was totally unaware that it was happening, she just mentioned that she had the odd giddy turn when she was at a pain clinic at oour local hospital. Many thanks again for your assistance.
Back to top
Next

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.