What's next?
Posted , 4 users are following.
Hi everyone, I'm a 17 yo who's been having episodes of SVT since I was 9. I usually have episodes around once or twice a month, each one lasting ~30 min. The shortest was maybe 5 min, longest was 3 hrs, and they have never responded to vagal maneuvers. I saw a doctor for it the first time it happened, but it had already ended so the doctor thought I had probably just imagined it since I was so young. I never went to the ER during an episode because I was afraid of freaking out my parents or my friends, so a few times I've almost passed out at school or during sports. When I was little, I used to tell my PE teachers that I had a stomachache when the episodes started so I could sit down and catch my breath. After reading about SVT on the internet, I now try to stealthily bear down during class (you get a limited number of bathroom breaks a year from some teachers, and I'm saving those for actual bathroom breaks 
). Last week I finally went to an ER for an ECG during the SVT because I've noticed the episodes were becoming more frequent, and the doctors there finally confirmed what I thought it was. I had kind of learned to deal with the attacks over the years, so I was definitely not expecting them to make a big fuss and put in so many tubes and wires, give me oxygen, or bring in the crash cart. The vagal maneuvers failed again there, so they had to use adenosine (god that was painful). Anyway, it seems my years of denial have finally caught up to me, and I'm going to be seeing a cardiologist soon. I would just like to know what are my next steps? From what I've read so far on its success rates, I would prefer ablation over medication, but is the frequency of once a month enough that the doctor would recommend it? Any tips as to how to stop episodes or how long to wait before going to the ER? Thanks in advance!
0 likes, 3 replies
linda90194 claire76140
Posted
I'm quite a bit older than you, however the cardiologist told me that he does ablations all the time on young patients and they prefer that to taking medication.
The ablation is 95% effective which is very good odds.
I think even 1 x a month would be enough to do an ablation.
I had mine a year ago in October and I'm glad I had it.
Emily2009 claire76140
Posted
I’m sorry to hear of your experiences. I too have had SVT since a young age although when I was really young I would have one maybe once a year. Then in my teenage years maybe once a month. Now I’m in my 20’s it’s every second week or so (although with caffeine it can happen almost every day so I’ve cut that out). And your spot on in the fact that it can be super hard to get a diagnosis. In my experience if you see a doctor while your not having an episode they simply brush it off as panic attacks and if you see them while having an episode it’s calling ambulances and bringing out all stops. And when I was really young my mum and Dad would just tell me I was too excited so I wouldn’t think anything of it. It wasn’t until my teenage years when it started making me feel really ill/occasionally fainting that I decided it wasn’t normal. Despite being told by family and friends that I was probably imagining it.
I’ve recently been officially diagnosed (as it wasn’t caught on an ecg until about a month ago as my episodes were happening more frequently and I’d just had enough and kept walking to the medical centre when they would happen). My episodes usually don’t happen for too long as they respond well to vagal manouvers. Usually 3-5 minutes on average but in saying that lately they have been going 15 mins to half an hour with one lasting three hours. I was told by my initial cardiologist when I was 16 (who didn’t have an episode captured but was fairly sure it was SVT) to go to emergency with any episode that lasts longer than 15 minutes but then again another doctor has said half an hour.
I saw an electrophysiologist last month and am booked in for an ablation in December. Despite my episodes not lasting long unfortunately SVT is something that tends to get worse over time and with pregnancy so I’ve decided to bite the bullet and get it done while I am young. I imagine they may recommend the same for you. If you have a look online you will find plenty of stories of people who have 1-2 episodes total and they still go for an ablation.
Good luck with it all
x
ChristianTaylor claire76140
Posted
If it means anything, I'm 16, have had only 3 episodes that are 6 months apart, and I am getting an ablation in a week. With that being said, I don't think your doctor will have a problem recommending that you have one. I am not doing my ablation because I can't deal with it (the attacks are short but super high heart rate - my record is 258BPM), I am doing it because of the risk of sudden cardiac death - it's not something I want to worry about my entire life. Since my doctor suspects I have WPW, he says it is serious and should be treated.
Anyways, once you see a cardiologist they may want to have you wear a 30-day heart monitor. Or, they may say the ECG from the ER is enough info for them to get what they need. An ablation should be a full cure if it is successful - medication will only mask it. It's up to you the approach that you want to take.