| Allie74
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| That's what they call it and it's unfortunately something that happens to me . Yesterday at work I had another..My BPM upon arrival to the ER was 220. Which isn't really that bad (it's obviousely not good) My highest BPM to date was an off the scale 289 (the med staff couldn't beleive I was conciouse and hadn't gone into cardiac arrest. What's bothering me is that this is the second one in 3 months, which for me is abnormal since I usually go roughly once a year or a little more. The one before January was January 05 and I was 4 weeks preggers..that one was scary for me. Yesterday I had some symptoms that they always ask about but \i never have like dizziness (I almost passed out..we didn't even finish registration) and chest pain :shock: I NEVER have these types of pains. Of course we went through the rill of I.V, Adenosine, an ECG and I stayed for a couple hours for the bloodwork to come back. Everything always comes back fine...they really don't have an explanation as to why it happens, only that when it does I am to go directly to the ER without hesitation. Ok SO...here I am..I quite smoking 12 weeks ago (I'm on my last box/step of nicoderm patches and I will officially be a non smoker, I have lost 11 pds!! My caffiene intake has been the lowest ever and my diet has been STELLAR..aside from a couple of little things like a small slice of pizza. No fried foods..no sugar..I've even had some wine with my dinners or in the evening. I don't get it..why would I have 2 episodes in 3 months NOW?? Bah..anyway I'm home for the day because Im always exhausted after one of these things..only something else to stress over LOL..my boss hates it when Im off..and shes the one who drove me to the hospital :roll: I really hope this doesn't start to become more frequent..they talk of medication and surgery if it does..sorry guys I just needed to vent a little.. |
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Thu Apr 19, 2007 2:12 pm |
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| canadianmom2three
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| I have had the same thing since in college. Actually maybe not quite the same, my actual label was Paroxsysmal Supra Ventricular Tachacardia, not sure how much of a difference there is between PSVT and SVT, but from your description, sounds the same. I was in first year when I had the first episode, and had no idea what was happening. I sat in the univeristy health centre while they hummed and hawed, and then finally my roomie drove me to the ER. They were so jammed up on my arrival, that when I complained of shortness of breath and dizziness (I didn't really realize exactly how fast my heart was beating at the time) they put me to wait for almost an hour. When I finally got to triage they just about dropped over when they took my heartrate, and lecutred ME about not letting them make me wait like that ever again (like I had any choice, or idea!?!). After several more episodes (some of which I had been able to control using the vasal manouver ?sp? where you plug your nose close your mouth and then try to exhale forcefully - did they teach you about this?, and some stopped by extremely cold shower, also a Dr's suggestion - cold cold shower, or dunk head in bucket of ice (not tried that one yet). They were becoming more frequent, and I was developing a bit of anxiety about another coming on while I was alone with my baby, so my family Dr. put me on an extremely low dose of meds. It has totally eliminated them, not had one since, and no side effects. I would highly reccommend it, it has eliminated so much worry and anxiety for me and my dh. Hope this helps! |
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Thu Apr 19, 2007 4:38 pm |
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| Allie74
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| I'm sorry you had that experience..Yeah the first time I went in they made me wait in an EMPTY waiting room at St.Josephs for over half an hour while my chest literally rocked from the beats. The ER nurse actually made herself a cup of tea..my bf at the time flipped out on her and she told him that she knew how to do her job! Once she put the monitor on my finger I thought she was going to pass out...she grabbed a stretcher called a cardiac code and the next thing I knew I was covered in tubes and they were taking blood from my cartoid artery(not pleasant) the Doc on call asked me if I had, had any caffiene i said yes and then he asked if I had, had coke and I said no it was pepsi..he looked at me like I was crazy and said "no I mean COCAINE" :shock: I said do I look like I take drugs??? He pretty much told me well only people who take amphetamines have these problems and we'll find out through your bloodwork..so I basically told him where to shove the results and not to come back..My Family doctor did my follow up..and explained the vasal manouvers. For some reason they don't work for me :? My Doc also launched a complaint against the ER at St.Joes as well as that Doc in ER and the nurse..do you know that afterward she told me she was sorry and thought I was having an asthma attack??? I guess if you have asthma and you can't breath it's ok for them to make you wait.. :roll: Needless to say I have never been back there and I would never reccomend anyone to go there either. Thanks for the info about the meds..Well see what my Doc says when I see him I guess. Did you ever do any testing other than the ECG or Ultrasound? Im wondering if stress tests might be a good idea since it seems to me my attacks come during sleeplessness or stress.. |
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Thu Apr 19, 2007 4:52 pm |
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| samham
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SVT is caused by an electrical problem with your heart usually, not a biological or mechanical problem. Basically what happens is the electrical system in your heart goes haywire when you experience some kind of arrythmia and it ends up trying to fix it. When it can't fix it, things just start going wrong, and you can end up in cardiac arrest. Most people find that eventually, they need a pacemaker or an internal defibrillator to fix the arrythmia and therefore prevent you from going into SVT.
The vagel maneuver you described is usually to reduce high blood pressure. That is why so many elderly people pass out on the toilet. As they are pushing (which is basically the vagel manuevar) to go the bathroom, they experience a sudden drop in blood pressur and pass out.
If it were me, I would get my doctor, or the hospital to refer you to a cardiology specialist to help. It could be very serious. |
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Thu Apr 19, 2007 6:28 pm |
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| haypor
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Hey there!
I had SVT from my early teens until about 9 years ago. It always got worse with my pregnancies, and quite often, non-pg. I finally had a dr. recommend a catheter ablation. After some research, I felt comfortable enough to have the procedure done and I haven't had a bout of SVT in 8 1/2 years!
I had all the same symptoms....dizziness, chest pain, neck pain, etc. It can get scary when you can't get it to stop. One time, I went to the ER, 8 months pregnant, because I couldn't get it to stop on my own. They hooked me up to the monitor and saw my rate was in the 220's! They kind of freaked out. Needless to say, I was admitted and they ended up taking the baby early because of my heart.
I have an aquaintance that also suffered from SVT and had the ablation done and it cured it for her to. It might be something you would want to look into. It's becoming more standard of a treatment, now, to cure the condition. Because it's generally caused by an electrical reentrant problem, they (in layman's terms) thread a catheter into your heart, and "zap" the reentry point, making it quite literally impossible for your "beat" to reentry, causing the tachycardia. Like most catherizations, you aren't put under completely. In fact, I remember sorta being awake on the table and feeling them triggering my heart into the rhythm to find the faulty area. It was weird, but I have NEVER once regretted the procedure. Occasionally, it will feel like my heart is trying to go into the SVT rhythm, but it never does. It's been nice having that issue GONE forever! |
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Thu Apr 19, 2007 7:49 pm |
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| Allie74
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samham wrote: SVT is caused by an electrical problem with your heart usually, not a biological or mechanical problem. Basically what happens is the electrical system in your heart goes haywire when you experience some kind of arrythmia and it ends up trying to fix it. When it can't fix it, things just start going wrong, and you can end up in cardiac arrest. Most people find that eventually, they need a pacemaker or an internal defibrillator to fix the arrythmia and therefore prevent you from going into SVT.
The vagel maneuver you described is usually to reduce high blood pressure. That is why so many elderly people pass out on the toilet. As they are pushing (which is basically the vagel manuevar) to go the bathroom, they experience a sudden drop in blood pressur and pass out.
If it were me, I would get my doctor, or the hospital to refer you to a cardiology specialist to help. It could be very serious.
Thanks for the input it is most appreciated however it isn't anything that they haven't already told me. The running joke is that I'm a shocking girl ;) THey will not consider such drastic measures unless the episodes start happening more frequently and yes I am aware of going into cardiac arrest and this is why the Doc's have counselled me to come to the ER right away. Since the problem is not structural..at this point there is nothing a cardiologist can do..short of having me wear a monitor so they can see the patterns but unfortunately I don't have these attacks frequently enough that they could get anything..I would have to probably wear the monitor for months.
Haypor~ Yes I'm always upwards of 230..it's horrible. They have told me that they would first want to medicate and if that didn't help then the surgical procedure you mentioned would be the last resort. Honestly I don't want these things to be so frequent that I have to resort to anything like that! I would however love them to go away forever..Well I'm back to work today...not that I feel any better but I'm sure losing my job for time off would put me right back in hospital ;) |
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Fri Apr 20, 2007 1:17 pm |
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| canadianmom2three
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Samham, what you have written is a bit contrary to what the many doctors I have visited have indicated...they led me to believe that the risk of cardiac arrest was very minimal. They told me that the heart is very resiliant and strong, and in an otherwise healthy, young and fit person (as myself) it can handle beating at that speed, for hours even, just not forever. It was my understanding that the main risk from the fast beat is that it does not allow the heart to completely fill with blood as it usually does, and therefore less blood is being pumped throughout the body. Of course this leads to dizziness, tingling in the hands, light headedness etc...
I am well aware that sustained SVT makes the heart weak over time and with repeated and prolonged episodes, but my doctor had given me the impression that it was not a life threatening sitiuation, and that I should not become immediately alarmed of cardiac arrest. He stated to try the vasal manouvers, which are in fact the number one method of treatment for SVT, and are absolutely indicated. Then if those do not cause a return to normal rhythm, to head for the hospital. Obviously one does not want to go for hours with the SVT, but I also don't think it is necessarily a life threatning condition for people in otherwise good health, and without other heart problems. From what I have read, it doesn't seem that most people need a pacemaker to maintain normal rhythm, that would be the case for people who suffered from episodes extremely frequently. Most commonly, episodes are fairly rare in occurance, and are in many cases easily controlled by less invasive procedures such as the vasal manouver, or a low dose of medication.
I'm afraid I'm sounding a bit snipey, but I don't want to contribute to the fear that I'm afraid your description may cause for some people. I welcome information to the contary, but in my opinion, I really don't think it is that big of a deal, or in any way a life threatening situation for most people who have it. |
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Fri Apr 20, 2007 1:43 pm |
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| Allie74
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canadianmom2three wrote: Samham, what you have written is a bit contrary to what the many doctors I have visited have indicated...they led me to believe that the risk of cardiac arrest was very minimal. They told me that the heart is very resiliant and strong, and in an otherwise healthy, young and fit person (as myself) it can handle beating at that speed, for hours even, just not forever. It was my understanding that the main risk from the fast beat is that it does not allow the heart to completely fill with blood as it usually does, and therefore less blood is being pumped throughout the body. Of course this leads to dizziness, tingling in the hands, light headedness etc...
I am well aware that sustained SVT makes the heart weak over time and with repeated and prolonged episodes, but my doctor had given me the impression that it was not a life threatening sitiuation, and that I should not become immediately alarmed of cardiac arrest. He stated to try the vasal manouvers, which are in fact the number one method of treatment for SVT, and are absolutely indicated. Then if those do not cause a return to normal rhythm, to head for the hospital. Obviously one does not want to go for hours with the SVT, but I also don't think it is necessarily a life threatning condition for people in otherwise good health, and without other heart problems. From what I have read, it doesn't seem that most people need a pacemaker to maintain normal rhythm, that would be the case for people who suffered from episodes extremely frequently. Most commonly, episodes are fairly rare in occurance, and are in many cases easily controlled by less invasive procedures such as the vasal manouver, or a low dose of medication.
I'm afraid I'm sounding a bit snipey, but I don't want to contribute to the fear that I'm afraid your description may cause for some people. I welcome information to the contary, but in my opinion, I really don't think it is that big of a deal, or in any way a life threatening situation for most people who have it.
This is the information I have been given as well. I don't think that they would let me out of the hospital the same day if it were life threatening. I have been told that as long as I come to the hospital right away that I should be fine although they have told me there is always a risk of cardiac arrest and that is why I should be looked at right away. Once I'm there I never have to wait..I go right in and they fix me within minutes. I have noticed though that the last couple of times my Adenosine was upped from 6cc's to 12..But yes I agree that there is no need to panic in the situation, just get treatment. I wish the Vasal manouvers WOULD work for me...I'd rather stay at home ;) |
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Fri Apr 20, 2007 2:28 pm |
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| samham
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| Sorry - not trying to alarm anyone - just giving you some knowledge after years of being an EMT and taking patients to the hospital in SVT. I'll go away now...... |
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Fri Apr 20, 2007 6:18 pm |
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| Allie74
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| No Samham don't go away! All insight is welcome..Guess what?? I have been referred to a cardiologist as I had another episode Saturday morning...Funny that since I GOT CANNED on Friday :shock: !!! I am SO MAD :evil: !! She covered her butt by saying it would be a "Restructuring of the department" :roll: well thats what our HR person said but My Boss was told me to my face that it's because I took time off...just waiting to see what they put on my ROE because if it says terminated they are in for quite a shock when my attorney calls them and let's them know I'm suing for Wrongful Dissmissal :wink: ...if they think 3 weeks pay is gonna satisfy me after 4 years of service they have another thing coming!! Anyway I called the cardiologist this morning and they are booking months in advance :cry: The Doc at the hospital on Saturday thinks I Have Wolfe Parkinson Wright Syndrome or WPW..I guess time will tell...I just hope I can keep OUT of emerg in the months to come..if any of you have insight to this syndrome it would be much appreciated..I am currently researching as well..thanks guys!! |
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Mon Apr 23, 2007 1:43 pm |
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