SVT triggered by orgasm

[designjunky]

Hi

I am 44 years old and male. I had my first SVT just over a year ago. I ended up in A&E and the SVT lasted almost an hour - my heart rate was about 200 bpm at one point. I was very afraid I was having a heart attack. My heart rate went back to normal by itself, without any medication.

All the tests / chest X Ray showed I was 'pretty normal' and I was told it was most likely SVT and an appointment was made with a cardiologist.

This first episode came on after sex.

I have since seen a cardiologist who confirmed it was SVT, he explained what SVT is and told me I will have them again. I was told it can be controlled by medication or can be 'cured' by ablation. I was then discharged and told it was up to me how I wanted to proceed. I decided to see how frequently I had them before making a decision. I have since read lots more about the condition online and especially on this forum.

I have had about 8 episodes of SVT since the first time, all have come about after sex / orgasm. They usually last about 5 to 10 minutes and I splash my face with cold water and massage the Vagus nerve to try to control it.

Some days I get what I call 'air hunger' where I feel a little anxious and feel like a need to take a deep breath, I don't know if this is even connected to SVT or not.

I have slightly high blood pressure which I am attempting to control through diet before taking the option of medication for life.

I had quite a bit of alcohol las night and had sex this morning which brought on a SVT.

My question is, does the same pattern sound familiar to you guys on here? I am getting a bit fed up of this now but still don't feel ready to go for meds or ablation as the condition is not impeding too much on my life.... but I am fed up

Thanks

D

[philologus]

Be grateful that it happens after - not before or during....

[designjunky in reply to philologus]

It has happened during but, a gentleman soldiers on. Ha ha.

It is getting pretty annoying now as each time I have one it makes me more anxious and I start to wonder if it may be something more serious than SVT. I am in danger of becoming obsessed.

[abishek]

Hi

I experience similar episodes after sex . I am male (56)

My Symptoms

My heart rates triples the normal, which is 60 and it last for about 2 hours . I have hot flushes and my blood pressure is raised . I sweat but I am not breathless. I became anxious as a result of my heart racing for no apparent reason

Loop recorder

I have a loop recorder fitted and that showed three episodes of heart pauses - up to 3.7 seconds . It also showed that my heart beats at 46 bpm when sleeping . ECG is always normal

My general health

I go running everyday and that does not cause any problems . I am not on any medications

Cardiologist View

Wait and see and there is no need for a pacemaker now

This issue is very stressful and causes a lot of anxiety .

I wish you the very best and please keep in touch . I shall post any updates

[Vony]

How annoying. As if arrhythmias aren't crap enough without disrupting the sex life!!!! For me, when the heart rate increases, I sometimes start to have ectopic beats and then this leads to arrythmias for me. I have been in the gym and had a few missed beats and then they have increased, I go into an arrhythmia and sometimes I then nearly faint. My EP told me to continue ALL normal activities though (which I have) if that is any consolation!!! Even though it may not always feel that comfortable, living life to the full is important and I have managed to put the fear of 'what if' aside...nothing awful has happened yet!! Best wishes

[designjunky]

Good to hear from you chaps. The day after an episode of SVT I feel anxious that I may have another and when I am in bed at night I find myself concentrating on my heart beat, I think I have noticed some ectopic beats - my heart seems to skip a beat here and there and it stops me falling asleep... a lack of sleep leaves me more prone to another SVT. I am not sure if I am imagining it as I am feeling on edge or if it is really happening as it is very subtle.

This scares the sh*t out of me at the time but, the next day I usually feel fine and I carry on as normal and almost forget about SVT.

I used to go to the gym 3 nights a week before my first episode, I am sad to say I have not been since. Have played badminton a few times with no problems though.

I limit alcohol to the weekend and I stopped smoking 3 years ago. I do find that alcohol relaxes me enough not to think about SVT and I have never had one while drinking on a night out. I have read that alcohol can be a trigger but, for me sex seems to set it off.

Thankfully the episodes don't often last more that 10 mins... the SVT, not the sex. Ha Ha.

I wish you guys well. How often you get an occurrence of SVT and are they getting more or less frequent?

Thanks

D

[Kizzie54 in reply to designjunky]

Although I am a woman I have to say I admire your sense humour. I have an ICD due to arrhythmia and sadly it has fired during sex. I have decided I'll just have to b a little less energetic lol 😳😳😘lol

[designjunky in reply to Kizzie54]

I try to have a sense of humour about it and not avoid sex, just in case I have an episode of SVT but, it is always in the back of my mind... I am sometimes worried it might kill me.

My gravestone would probably say 'He came & went' lol

[stargazer61 in reply to designjunky]

Everyone says lol nowadays, but few things actually make you laugh out loud, this had me heehawing, thanks!

[Avrnt in reply to designjunky]

That made me laugh ! And allowed to as it happened to me too. Ablation sorted me at 51 after a lifetime of terror !

[seasider18]

I assume that you are not taking Viagra or you would have mentioned it as a possible contributing factor.

[designjunky]

Hi

Thanks for your reply. I am now on Bisoprolol 2.5mg since 29th Dec 2015, after 2 very bad SVT.  I have not had one since. Feeling good

D

[Crash88 in reply to designjunky]

Hi, sorry to nose in hehe but does tour SVT get triggered during exercise, say treadmill for 25 min at 140bpm and all of the sudden starts racing to 225bpm? i recently lowered my bisoprolol dosage from 2.5 to 1.25 then went to the gym, got on treadmill just light walking and my beats went from 135 to 230 out of the blue now im scared of going back for a walk

[Ernest76]

Try eliminating alcohol and caffeine.

[Richard123456]

Very familiar. Orgasm frequently causes one, orgasm after alcohol before breakfast almost guarantees to get one. PITA

[Kevin_]

Be grateful that it is only SVT attack after or during sex. I too used to get SVT attacks during sex. In one case 10 years ago I had to go to emergency because it lasted hours. They told me SVT is not dangerous and released me. But recently the safe SVT attacks turned into something much more serious. I had AFIB attack during sex. Now AFIB is serious because it is fast and irregular heart beat multiplying the risk of strokes. They put me on blood thinners. ECG shows my heart is structurally fine but it is just that I appear to be a lone AFIBER. I am avoiding sex since then as I am fearful of another AFIB attack. Each AFIB attack brings me one step closer to persistent AFIB as it causes scarring of the heart. Not fun life.

[Hidden in reply to Kevin_]

Kevin

Why not start a new thread about your concerns? I don’t think you will get many responses to your reply above at this stage.

More details about your previous cardiac problems, symptoms, medication etc. will help members to give you advice about strategies for managing your atrial fibrillation.

[Kevin_ in reply to Hidden]

Yes good idea. Thanks. I didn't realize that this thread is so old. I will start a new thread on missing AFIB trigger (Sex).

[Lu2356 in reply to Kevin_]

😟😔

[Avrnt]

Hi D Well I’m a woman but had svt now ablated

Alcohol can definitely trigger even now I’m cured ( I hope) if I drink too much I have a tachycardia then I always panic ( I was a cardiac nurse)

I guess the exertion of sex did trigger which is a nuisance - I would get ablated - choose the consultant very carefully - do it while your young and healthy

I was 52 after a lifetime of fear . Now I’m normal . I faced my ultimate fear and so glad I did . Good luck and don’t worry

[Radkin]

Hi there I to get PVCs after orgasm and last night was the first time I got two in a row not beginning but almost SVT so my PVCs are typically 10 to 50% burden that lasts only a couple of minutes during a transition to parasympathetic or relaxation and they typically happen to me every night if I stay up too late and every morning when waking up and making that transition unless I get right out of bed it seems to me you and I have something similar because yours also occur after the orgasm which is when your body's trying to go back to relaxation mode and SVT is a form of PVCs that just happened one right after the other unfortunately no doctors can guarantee what causes them but most say it's anxiety or adrenaline related unless you have arthrosclerosis in which case they might recommend getting a CAT scan to check in my case I never got the CAT scan because all they would recommend for under 60% stenosis would be a diet change and a lifestyle change in order to keep your LDL below 70 I have managed to get my LDL from 120 to 70 and under 4 months all with supplements and exercise nevertheless I still get the PVCs unless I sleep at least 9 hours and go to sleep early and get right out of bed when I wake up rather than trying to drift back into sleep and I also have to take Klonopin which might help you if you take the Klonopin before sex. I also assume your sex is with a girlfriend rather than a wife which is extremely exciting because studies show that when you have regular sex with someone you've known for a while it's much less exciting and therefore you're much less likely to have any kind of heart rhythm problems