I was in A&E on Monday night with a SVT episode, which wouldn’t stop with the usual way I stop it, so had to have an Adenosine injection which worked straight away, my blood pressure was sky high too. They let me out when it went down to normal. Then at 1 am it started again, but went back to normal in a few minutes. Then on Wednesday, I got up and my AF started this time. It stopped after a few mins and then started again and I thought I’d have to go to A&E again, fortunately it stopped after 45 mins. This has never happened before. Usually my SVT will stop when I lie down and I only get it once in a while. I’ve had this since I was 22. (I’m 70 now) and the AF lasts a long time and I always have to go to A&E with that, but it was the other way round this time and also I’ve never had both of these so close together. The AF is fairly new, I had the 1st bout in 2014 during a really bad coughing virus and I’d only had 3 episodes up until Wednesday. I called the Dr, managed to speak to her on a phone, so difficult to get face to face appointments, but I’m being referred to the Glenfield heart unit again. Has anyone experienced both of these conditions ? I wonder if they are linked. I had an MRI scan and they said I might have a small hole in my heart, but it wasn’t causing problems with the workings of my heart. Sorry for the long winded post.
PAF and SVT: I was in A&E on Monday... - Atrial Fibrillati...
PAF and SVT
Are you sure it was SVT, not Flutter? Because they often go together (PAF and AFlutter).
They said it was SVT. They had an ECG tracing of it. The treatment for that is Adenosine, which is what I received. I will ask the Consultant, when I eventually get an appointment.
Adenosine working shows the correct diagnosis I had some SVT folllowrd by AF when my thyroid was play g up. Settled now and just occasional AF. I think the SVT set AF off but you probably have underlying AF which is fairly easily managed.
I have an auto immune thyroid disease, I have some lumps on my thyroid, but I don’t take anything for it, as the tests they do for thyroid disease every year, never shows anything amiss. Not sure if this contributes to my heartbeat problems. I think it’s difficult to find the reason for these things. Not easy to live with, when you never know which one or other of my heartbeat problems are going to start.
I’m the same that I don’t need meds yet as blood results are ok but thyroiditis can flare up sometimes and that’s when I had something like you describe here
As I only had a blood test a few months ago, I doubt they’ll do them again, might be worth asking though.
I would get the actual results of your thyroid test. Its probably only TSH which isnt the thyroid horomones at all but the pititory sending Thyroid Stimulating Horomone to your thyoid to produce more or less. You can order your own panel of thyroid blood tests online if you look at Thyroid uk website the sources are listed.
In the UK they dont treat thyroid problems until your TSH is over 10 (thats very high indeed as anthing over 2 is regarded as suspicious and over 3-4 should be treated but sadly not on the nhs lol....) The same with B12 am afraid which has a very low threhold before treatment starts - most people get symptoms way before that threshold is met. As you age your ability to absorb b12 declines due to lowering stomach acid so everyone over 50 should be supplementing. In addition low b12 and iron commonly goes in hand with thyroid problems.
Post your results up on thyroid uk once you have them.
Thanks. The thyroid tests were normal when I had my yearly blood tests in September, I made sure I got all the right ones, as they don’t usually do all of them, as you say.
Oh right sorry u clearly know about that one! Hope u get it sorted.....its horrid being poorly. Xx
Thanks. This site is helpful. It’s nice to know you’re not on your own, as husband and other people don’t know what it’s like to have heart issues.
Yes it is & there are some people on here with great knowledge too. Not me....am a relative newby to heart probs! Have you tried ringing the nurses helpline on The Heart Foundation? They're very good too.
No, but it’s useful to know I could ring them if I needed to know anything. Thanks.
Can I ask what sends you to A&E with a fib. I'm in persistant. My hr is always above 100 for most of the time but can go down to 40 then up. Just not sure if I should have ever gone. I'm on lists for cv and Ablation but how long I have to wait is another question.
I don’t get AF very often and the consultant told me to go to go to A&E if the AF doesn't stop after 1 hour or so. I cannot tolerate it for any longer in any case. They treat it quickly, which is better than leaving for hours. There is a history of strokes in my family. The SVT doesn’t usually go on for very long, but this time it wouldn’t stop and my blood pressure was sky high, which is a stroke risk, so it was the SVT that I went to A&E with on Monday, not my AF.
Interesting that you say you could stop your svt by lying down. I had svt and found that if I lay on my back, sometimes for only about a minute, I could stop my svt. Over time my svt got worse, lasted longer and wouldn’t stop with lying down. I was put on 1.25mg of Bisoprolol (which made me very tired) then I had an ablation. This stopped my svt. I don’t take any meds. Good luck.
I am terrified of having anything like that. I don’t like the idea of being under sedation. The consultants have said I might have to have one, but not sure if that will stop the PAFas well as the SVT. I have read peoples experiences of ablation, but being an anxious person, it doesn’t help that much.
I knew mine was svt because my heart rate would instantly jump from say 90 to about 140. I could usually get it to drop back (instantly) by lying down. A bit like flicking a switch on and off. I initially held off from having an ablation. I guess I was scared. As it got worse I decided that I needed one. It was not a problem. I would have another if needed. I had a local anaesthetic so I was partly with it and partly sedated. It is nothing to worry about. They do them all the time. I can’t comment on the paf as I didn’t have that.
Thanks for telling me that. I suppose I won’t know what it’s going to be like unless I have it done.
I have always been under the impression that SVT is tachycardia above the ventricles and this includes AFlutter and AFib.Perhaps this has since been changed.
I always assumed they were in different parts of your heart.I was going to ask if they are linked,when I get to see a Consultant.I’ve had SVT since I was 22,I’m 70 now, but the AF only started in 2014. They feel distinctly different from each other and I know immediately which one I ‘ve got. SVT causes my heart to beat regularly, but at about 160 to 200 bpm, but AF causes my heart to beat very irregularly and is more scary.
Two Ablations for paroxysmal AF now have SVT
svt and link to menstrual cycle 
Been told I have SVT
3 weeks postablation for AFIB now SVT
