Hi everyone,
Over time I've read many posts about tachycardias and whatnot. I can relate to many, but I'm trying to narrow it down a little more.
I'm a 54 yrs old male, otherwise healthy, but when I exercise I seem to inevitably have an episode of tachycardia. This has happened to me as far back as I can remember. I've read about SVT's and CPVT's and such, but I feel that I fall somewhere in between.
Generally, I'll be on the treadmill or playing basketball at a decent level of exertion. HR sustained at around 140-150. Then suddenly I feel something come over me, which always serves as a 3 to 5 second warning that it's going to happen, and sure enough, off to the races.. my heart rate spikes for no apparent reason. nothing that I do at that point keeps the episode from happening. It will follow its course, and I just have to wait it out. Thankfully my episodes don't last more than 2 to 3 minutes but they are nonetheless nerve racking. They always signal the end of exercising for that day, or even for a while as I become afraid it will happen again or in a worse way. Btw, sometimes it also happens in the cool down phase, of say, a 40 minute treadmill exercise.
Unlike an SVT, by what I read, it is not like a switch that turns on and then off.. it's a bit more gradual, both on the way up and also on its way down. I also don't experience the crazy high HR that gets into the 200's. My heart rate will generally go up about 30 to 40 beats from where the episode started and will take about 30 seconds to get there. Once it plateau's it'll stay there for 1 minute or 2 and then start going back down, but a little slower than it went up. Sometimes on the way down it triggers again but milder.
On the other hand a CPVT is triggered by Catecholamines, one of which is adrenaline. The reason this concerns me is that this one is triggered by exercise and is considered deadly. I want to rule this one out but can't help be concerned. Every time I have and episode it is preceded by what I feel to be a surge of something, perhaps adrenaline overload or something. That feeling ALWAYS triggers a tachycardia.
I've been to the cardiologist and have done and EKG, an Echo and a Stress Test... he found nothing particularly wrong with my heart other than Bradycardia (low resting heart rate) and a very mild valve regurgitation. However, he seemed rather dismissive being that I'm overall very healthy and thought perhaps it was in my head. Ironically CPVT patients will present exactly that way, with structurally sound hearts.
Anyway, I'd love to hear back from any of you, particularly about any weird sensation(s) seconds before an episode. Or any diagnosis related to Adrenaline, exercise and your symptoms.
Thank you!