Odd symptoms

[daisy2311]

Hi All,

I have been wanting to write a post for a while but I suffer from anxiety, particularly around health and I was worrying whether the responses might make me panic but here goes.

I have SVT, controlled by bisoprolol since last year and no episodes since then. Last year I had an echo and a number of ECGs since 2017.

Since Sept, I have had periods of breathlessness and very mild chest pain (I would describe as light twinges not stabbing). Here is the history:

In Sept, I was on holiday in Croatia and felt breathless and had tightning/crushing in my chest. It felt at times like there was a lump in my throat. I put this down to anxiety for a while as I had a big anxiety attack before going on hols and thought it might be a delayed reaction. The symptoms were on and off for a day or So, so I decided to go to the hospital. They ran an ECG, checked BP and chest and all OK. After I came home, I went to the docs, they ran an ECG and looked at the one from Croatia...all OK with no further action. Since then, symptoms are on and off...the breathlessness is more like a feeling where I feel i have to take a deep breath to get enough air in rather than feeling like I'm gasping for breath. I know that this is not being caused by anxiety so I'm wondering whether it could be being caused by the bisoprolol? When I have my SVT episodes, the doctor has confirmed my HR is regular and they said in 2017 I don't have an irregular heartbeat.

[Kwenda]

SVT can be caused by caffeine and alcohol. The caffeine seems to be my problem and after I massively reduced the caffeine no recent SVT episodes. For me the caffeine even in very very small amounts can be a trigger. Chocolate, tea and of course coffee and colas are now off my list unfortunately.. The SVT episodes also seem to occur when I am relaxed with a low heart rate. When out walking, hiking or cycling I do not seem to get them.

Have to tried the caffeine and alcohol restriction..??

Dick

[daisy2311 in reply to Kwenda]

Hi There, thanks for replying. I do drink caffeine but haven't increased my intake and hardly drink any alcohol. My only SVT symptom is usually just a racing HR whereas this breathlessness and pain are new symptoms.

[Kwenda in reply to daisy2311]

My caffeine intake had not changed for 20 years, but quite suddenly I got the SVT episodes. So something in my body changed.

I also get a slight pain in the chest and thus a little breathless, but these symptoms are mild.

I have had a sonogram, a static ECG, and no issues, but these are all static situations and not like normal life. Heart rate remains low often down in the low 50's and sometimes down to 48. Blood pressure 110/48 so again low.

Doctors tell me in the New Year I will be fitted with a 24/7 blood pressure monitor to see if they can observe an SVT episode. Perhaps this 24/7 monitoring is what you need next to determine if there is something..??

Dick

[daisy2311 in reply to Kwenda]

That's interesting...I will mention the caffeine intake to the doctor. When I have my SVT episodes, my BP is stable. I had my first in 2011, the second in 2012...they didn't do anything until I had two in a month last year. I remember when I went on the bisoprolol I felt very breathless at first ..the doctor said it will get better as my body adjusts (which it did) but she did say the symptoms can get worse...that's why I was wondering about the medication. My heart seems to do a few jumps here and there which make me sit up and think...Here we go and then it stops the jumping within a few seconds.

[Qualipop]

Sounds exactly like how I was on TIcagrelor. Ask your cardio if it's one of the side effects. The only problem I had with bisopralol was hallucinations