supraventicular tachycardia questions????

[travis487]

.last Thursday...here is Chicago it was like 43 degrees and cold windy..I played outdoor tennis for 3 solid hours at medium/intensity... with only drinking around 30 ounces of water...I came home and I was cold and fatigued...I ate a healthy dinner and then showered...I showered with warm warm water....then I turned it to ice cold on my body for recovery on muscles... for a few minutes. I came out of shower and when I bent over to put lotion on my legs I came back up and my heart went crazy... I called 911 and emergency had my heart rate at 224 per minute. then gave me some iv medicine and slowed it down to normal..in the ER they said I had this and because of cold tennis/ warm house, and hot shower, then cold shower right away..I have to see a cardiologist this thurs. They said everything with my tests were great my entire heart and everything... I do workout a lot and eat very very well...throughout my life I get this racing heartbeat for around 5 to 8 seconds and then back to normal..a few times a year also..but this time was scary. Also, for the last 4 days since ER.. my heart rate is around 55 to 70...athletes heart rate right? I mean I am a huge biker, tennis player, and gym guy...thanks!! happy new year...

[MichelleP_3811]

I am still confused why they asked you to wear one in the first place.  Did you ask them?  Well regardless, if you are not feeling any symptoms it is likely they won't find anything so try not to worry too much.

[travis487]

I just completed wearing the holter monitor for 24 hours... They told me hopefully there will not be anything there they find... what does that mean I am scared now... I mean since Feb 10th ablation day I feel wonderful and no palpitations or nothing..

[tom_h]

I didn't wear one afterwards either.  After a year and a half, I stll get shorts runs of SVT, maybe 5-10 beats.  Yesterday, I have a wierd one that lasted for perhaps 7 or 8 seconds, and I felt a little dizzy for a moment.  But it self converted, and I was fine.  I've no full blown SVT's since my ablation, but I get a lot of PVC's, PAC's and little short runs of SVT.  Still, it's better than it was prior to the ablation; no doubt.......

[MichelleP_3811]

No I did not have to wear a holter after the abaltion.  Were you complaining of symptoms?  Did he give you an EKG while you were there?  A 24 hour holter is really only useful for issues that occur daily since it is only recording a 24 hour time period.  It could catch svts or ectopics or just about any odd heart rhythm issue.  I would ask them why they want you to wear it.    

[travis487]

Thank you for your comments I love reading them... I also read that at UCLA they give patients a 90-95% rate of cure for svt's....just saying.. I have to go back Weds for a Holter monitor and wear it for 24hrs... did any of you have this also and is it common after ablation? what do they look for with this?

[MichelleP_3811]

My doctor gave me a 99% success estimate but my avnrt was incessantly inducible so he was able to map my heart and know exactly where to ablate. That said, there is something in the presence of avnrt patients called dual physiology meaning they can pick up a signal on 2 different paths I think.  I am not totally sure if my science is accurate but I know in my report the doctor mentioned tachycardia being active and dual physiology being active and he didn't complete the procedure until both were no longer active.  So it is possible though your doctor wasn't able to induce tachycardia he was able to pick up the secondary pathway where the signal could jump onto your avnode and get caught in the circle.  That said, since he couldn't induce tachycardia he couldn't test if he was ablating in the correct spot.  So he may have based his prediction on the fact that he stopped any dual physiology activity he found. This, however, is all conjecture on my part.  You really would need to ask him what he ablated to know for sure.  Maybe ask to get a copy of your ablation report and see what it says.  But yes, 90% is pretty good so obviously in his experience he has come across enough markers and clues to give him confidence to know where most people get ablated and he likely ablated at those spots.  He may have ablated more spots on you than he otherwise would have but he obviously feels pretty confident in what he is doing so I would trust he likely got the spot.