Maria Savva's Blog - Posts Tagged "svt"
One year later...
On 1st December 2010, I went into hospital for a catheter ablation to try to cure my SVT. SVT is Supraventricular Tachycardia. I haven't really talked about it much on the internet, but one year on, I thought it would be a good time to write a post about my experience in case there is anyone else out there suffering a similar problem.
First for the technical stuff, what is SVT? Well, it's a rapid heartbeat that can occur randomly without warning, and the heart begins to palpitate at the rate of between 120-250 bpm. Mine used to go up to 240+. An attack of SVT can last anything from a few seconds to many hours, even days. Typically my SVT used to last for a couple of hours, but towards the end when I decided to go for the operation, it was continuing without stopping and could only be terminated with an injection of a drug called Adenosine. Whenever the doctors would prepare to inject me with the drug, they always warned that I would feel 'impending doom' as the drug took effect! What I actually felt was that I stopped breathing for a second or two, but just as panic was about to set in, my heart would thankfully start beating back in its normal rhythm.
SVT is horrible, and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. It can end up controlling your life. The attacks are random; you never know when you'll get another SVT. You could be sitting down, relaxing and it would start, without warning. That meant that I was always anxious, on edge as if waiting for the next attack... Things like booking holidays, even just travelling on public transport, going to meetings, or events, were always extra stressful.
I started having these rapid palpitations in 2001, but when I had the first attack, I thought it was a panic attack, and people were saying things to me like, 'You shouldn't get stressed about things, try to relax.' SVT doesn't care if you're relaxed. I was once asleep and woken up by SVT.
The next SVT I had was two years later. I knew the feeling, because the heart beats in a different pattern than the normal rhythm, so I knew it was the same thing I'd had a couple of years back, and was worried. It stopped after a couple of hours and I tried to forget about it. When I went to the doctor the next day, she told me to 'get some exercise' because my heart beat was slightly fast. She sent me for an ECG at the local hospital which came back fine (which it would, because SVT only shows up on the ECG when it's happening), and that was the end of that. I don't think that doctor had heard of SVT. In fact, it's the ignorance of the condition within the medical profession that makes it all the more stressful for the patient.
In reality, SVT is, in most cases a benign condition. One consultant told me that aside from being a bit of a 'nuisance', it can't cause any lasting damage. It would have been good to know that when I was in A&E on various occasions with nurses and doctors acting as if I was having a heart attack or dying.
When someone gets an attack of SVT, it really does feel like you are going to die. No matter what the doctors or consultants tell you. After all, your heart is beating off the scale and you can't stop it. It's very frightening. The best advice I can give someone who is having the attack is to stay calm and concentrate on your breathing. I found that the calmer I was the less severe an attack would be.
I had SVT once every year-and-a-half or so up until 2007 when I was diagnosed as having the condition. Each time I had an attack I felt sure I would die. That's how it makes you feel. Scary stuff.
When I finally saw a consultant, and he told me what was wrong, I really began to feel relaxed as if I would be more in control of the situation when I had an attack (at that time my attacks were not very frequent). He explained that I was born with two pathways in my heart instead of one, and that whenever I had an ectopic beat I was at risk of having SVT. Ectopic beats are fairly normal and most people have one every 24hrs although people with SVT have more each day. An ectopic beat is an extra heartbeat. My consultant told me about some techniques I could use to stop the SVT. One was to plunge my face in a bucket of freezing water!! Apparently that is the most effective. I was never brave enough to try it. I got as far as filling a bucket with water and ice cubes and then chickened out! The other technique was to take a deep breath, hold your nose, and blow, with your mouth closed. I believe it's called the Valsalva maneuver. This was quite effective for me and I managed to stop my SVT a few times using that. Another method I found on a forum, suggested by a fellow SVT sufferer was to lie down on your right hand side, in a foetal position, relax and concentrate on your breathing. That worked once or twice for me. I was also told to avoid sleeping on your left hand side (i.e. where the heart is situated) as apparently that can trigger an SVT attack. So, for more than 2 years I always slept on my right side!
In 2010, my SVT began to become more frequent and the techniques that had been working to stop it, were no longer working. I began to notice that I would get more ectopic beats when I was premenstrual, and most of my SVT attacks would happen then. I was told by a consultant that this type of heart problem is most common in young women and can be affected by the menstrual cycle.
I have to count myself lucky because as frightening as my SVT was it was benign and there were no other problems with my heart and no other health issues, so the procedure that I had to undergo to 'cure' it, went smoothly.
A catheter ablation is the most effective treatment for this condition and in 95-97% of cases it will cure the SVT. I have not had any attacks since the ablation last year and I am very thankful for that and glad I decided to go through with the ablation. Before my op, I was having one attack every month and having to go to A&E each time to have an injection of Adenosine. Yuck! I once overheard a conversation between a consultant and some trainee doctors, where he told them that the last time he'd injected someone with Adenosine the man had died because it had reacted with another drug he had taken. Not a great thing to hear when you know you would most likely have to have that drug injected again...
Other ways of treating SVT are by long-term medication, but there can be side effects and I am quite 'anti-drugs' of any kind, so it wasn't the route I wanted to take.
I must admit that in the weeks leading up to my ablation I was very frightened. I was again certain that I would die (sometimes having such an over-active imagination can be a burden!). When I was taken to the room where I would have the surgery, I was literally shaking like a leaf. I could not stop myself shaking. I was convinced they would not be able to operate because I was shaking so much. Luckily there is a wonderful drug that they gave me that they described as 'happy juice' and that did the trick. I was under sedation during the op, drifting in and out of consciousness. I had 5 catheters inserted in the large vein on my right leg, and they were positioned in different parts of my heart. Everything was viewed using x-rays, and I could see my heart on a screen up above me where they were doing the treatment.
Radiofrequency waves are used to 'burn' away the extra pathway that causes the SVT.
The op took about 2 hours, and after about 2-3 weeks my heart felt normal again.
I am so glad I have not had any further attacks. The anxiety I used to have has lessened over the year, and as time goes by I'm sure it will go away.
I hope the information in this blog post will help others who are going through this type of thing.
First for the technical stuff, what is SVT? Well, it's a rapid heartbeat that can occur randomly without warning, and the heart begins to palpitate at the rate of between 120-250 bpm. Mine used to go up to 240+. An attack of SVT can last anything from a few seconds to many hours, even days. Typically my SVT used to last for a couple of hours, but towards the end when I decided to go for the operation, it was continuing without stopping and could only be terminated with an injection of a drug called Adenosine. Whenever the doctors would prepare to inject me with the drug, they always warned that I would feel 'impending doom' as the drug took effect! What I actually felt was that I stopped breathing for a second or two, but just as panic was about to set in, my heart would thankfully start beating back in its normal rhythm.
SVT is horrible, and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. It can end up controlling your life. The attacks are random; you never know when you'll get another SVT. You could be sitting down, relaxing and it would start, without warning. That meant that I was always anxious, on edge as if waiting for the next attack... Things like booking holidays, even just travelling on public transport, going to meetings, or events, were always extra stressful.
I started having these rapid palpitations in 2001, but when I had the first attack, I thought it was a panic attack, and people were saying things to me like, 'You shouldn't get stressed about things, try to relax.' SVT doesn't care if you're relaxed. I was once asleep and woken up by SVT.
The next SVT I had was two years later. I knew the feeling, because the heart beats in a different pattern than the normal rhythm, so I knew it was the same thing I'd had a couple of years back, and was worried. It stopped after a couple of hours and I tried to forget about it. When I went to the doctor the next day, she told me to 'get some exercise' because my heart beat was slightly fast. She sent me for an ECG at the local hospital which came back fine (which it would, because SVT only shows up on the ECG when it's happening), and that was the end of that. I don't think that doctor had heard of SVT. In fact, it's the ignorance of the condition within the medical profession that makes it all the more stressful for the patient.
In reality, SVT is, in most cases a benign condition. One consultant told me that aside from being a bit of a 'nuisance', it can't cause any lasting damage. It would have been good to know that when I was in A&E on various occasions with nurses and doctors acting as if I was having a heart attack or dying.
When someone gets an attack of SVT, it really does feel like you are going to die. No matter what the doctors or consultants tell you. After all, your heart is beating off the scale and you can't stop it. It's very frightening. The best advice I can give someone who is having the attack is to stay calm and concentrate on your breathing. I found that the calmer I was the less severe an attack would be.
I had SVT once every year-and-a-half or so up until 2007 when I was diagnosed as having the condition. Each time I had an attack I felt sure I would die. That's how it makes you feel. Scary stuff.
When I finally saw a consultant, and he told me what was wrong, I really began to feel relaxed as if I would be more in control of the situation when I had an attack (at that time my attacks were not very frequent). He explained that I was born with two pathways in my heart instead of one, and that whenever I had an ectopic beat I was at risk of having SVT. Ectopic beats are fairly normal and most people have one every 24hrs although people with SVT have more each day. An ectopic beat is an extra heartbeat. My consultant told me about some techniques I could use to stop the SVT. One was to plunge my face in a bucket of freezing water!! Apparently that is the most effective. I was never brave enough to try it. I got as far as filling a bucket with water and ice cubes and then chickened out! The other technique was to take a deep breath, hold your nose, and blow, with your mouth closed. I believe it's called the Valsalva maneuver. This was quite effective for me and I managed to stop my SVT a few times using that. Another method I found on a forum, suggested by a fellow SVT sufferer was to lie down on your right hand side, in a foetal position, relax and concentrate on your breathing. That worked once or twice for me. I was also told to avoid sleeping on your left hand side (i.e. where the heart is situated) as apparently that can trigger an SVT attack. So, for more than 2 years I always slept on my right side!
In 2010, my SVT began to become more frequent and the techniques that had been working to stop it, were no longer working. I began to notice that I would get more ectopic beats when I was premenstrual, and most of my SVT attacks would happen then. I was told by a consultant that this type of heart problem is most common in young women and can be affected by the menstrual cycle.
I have to count myself lucky because as frightening as my SVT was it was benign and there were no other problems with my heart and no other health issues, so the procedure that I had to undergo to 'cure' it, went smoothly.
A catheter ablation is the most effective treatment for this condition and in 95-97% of cases it will cure the SVT. I have not had any attacks since the ablation last year and I am very thankful for that and glad I decided to go through with the ablation. Before my op, I was having one attack every month and having to go to A&E each time to have an injection of Adenosine. Yuck! I once overheard a conversation between a consultant and some trainee doctors, where he told them that the last time he'd injected someone with Adenosine the man had died because it had reacted with another drug he had taken. Not a great thing to hear when you know you would most likely have to have that drug injected again...
Other ways of treating SVT are by long-term medication, but there can be side effects and I am quite 'anti-drugs' of any kind, so it wasn't the route I wanted to take.
I must admit that in the weeks leading up to my ablation I was very frightened. I was again certain that I would die (sometimes having such an over-active imagination can be a burden!). When I was taken to the room where I would have the surgery, I was literally shaking like a leaf. I could not stop myself shaking. I was convinced they would not be able to operate because I was shaking so much. Luckily there is a wonderful drug that they gave me that they described as 'happy juice' and that did the trick. I was under sedation during the op, drifting in and out of consciousness. I had 5 catheters inserted in the large vein on my right leg, and they were positioned in different parts of my heart. Everything was viewed using x-rays, and I could see my heart on a screen up above me where they were doing the treatment.
Radiofrequency waves are used to 'burn' away the extra pathway that causes the SVT.
The op took about 2 hours, and after about 2-3 weeks my heart felt normal again.
I am so glad I have not had any further attacks. The anxiety I used to have has lessened over the year, and as time goes by I'm sure it will go away.
I hope the information in this blog post will help others who are going through this type of thing.
