29 yr old svt

[anarki]

hey guys, im from trinidad. I'm a 29 yr old female with svt. its developed where it's no longer only triggered by fevers but now anything can triggger it and its hampering my life. i feel so depressed. i have a son and some doctors tell me it can cause my heart to arrest suddenly. sigh. help me get the courage to deal with this

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

There is some information on the NHS website:

nhs.uk/conditions/supravent...

In addition there is a downloadable booklet on the BHF website.

Are you on any medication such as a beta blocker and a blood thinner?

[anarki in reply to MichaelJH]

hey thanks for the welcome. yeah I'm currently on atenolol... but the side effects are hitting me hard. In particular, my pressure is taking a hit. MY preasure is usually around 105/64 or70 but whenever i take beta blockers, its carried too low. sigh.

[MichaelJH Heart Star in reply to anarki]

Please bear in mind I am not medically qualified when reading this.

Atenolol is a beta blocker. There are many of these and often they suit different conditions such as BP or arrhythmias better. For arrhythmias Bisoprolol and Metoprolol Succinate are often preferred. I would suggest you talk to your medical professional about either a dose adjustment or change of medication. Good luck.

[Hidden]

I’m not sure why anyone is saying to you about cardiac arrest: in the vast majority of cases, SVT is unpleasant and inconvenient, but it’s not considered life-threatening or even particularly serious. It’s triggered by ectopic heartbeats, which in some people are medically known to be increased by substances like caffeine, ginger, nicotine, alcohol, dark and white chocolate, some medications like asthma inhalers and pseudoephedrine found in cough and cold remedies, stress, and insufficient sleep. Some people also say that spicy food can trigger them, although this isn’t medically recognised as yet. The goal of treatment is to reduce ectopic beats to reduce episodes of SVT in turn, and beta blockers are the go to medication for that in the first instance, but there are a number to try if one doesn’t seem to suit. Bisoprolol is often the first choice, but I was originally put on sotalol outside the U.K., and calcium channel inhibitors are also a treatment option if someone really doesn’t get on with any of the betas.

I’ve had idiopathic SVT for 11 years now (first episode age 26 in 2009) and had very frequent episodes after the first major one despite medication. After my last episode requiring hospital treatment in 2015, I finally cut out all the known triggers from my diet, gradually worked out which ones were setting off my ectopics, and as a result of modifying my diet/lifestyle and continuing to take medication, I haven’t had a single episode since then, where I’d been having probably 2 or 3 fairly prolonged episodes a week on average. Some people find cutting things out makes no difference at all, but I’d always advocate giving it go: you have nothing to lose and potentially a lot to gain.

[Larachez2102 in reply to Hidden]

I’m glad Iv read you reply to the comment as I suffer with svt and that was terrifying to read and out the heart suddenly stopping when Iv been told that it’s not that much to worry about. I live on my nerves as it is thinking I’m going to die every single day.

[Peony4575 in reply to Hidden]

Well done you for working out your triggers and bringing it under control . I had SVT started after an excessive aerobics class aged 28 and after the initial diagnosis never went back to the doctor or took meds . Used to terrify me . Both my children had it in their twenties. Daughter mildly. Son badly, I think his was triggered by drinking too much on students nights out. They tried and failed to cardio vert him once but he went back into nsr on his own. They didn’t give him meds but advice about pacing his drinking. I think it’s quite common in young people and some are lucky and it goes away . I avoided all the triggers I could find out about and I do think that self management is so helpful