Living with SVT Without Worries

Very important: When you are diagnosed with SVT, follow your doctor's orders, but be informed.

I have been diagnosed with SVT and I am living a totally happy life with no worries and I am given a "keep-it-up" clean bill of health at each of my annual Medicare wellness check ups.

It bothers me that it appears that many, many people in this world have SVT and are worried sick about it. Therefore, I wanted to tell my story here. It may not apply to you or someone reading it but it is my story.

Background:

I only recently discovered this Mayo Clinic forum on heart rhythm. Very interesting! Thank you, Mayo Clinic for hosting it.

I was searching for information on a wearable bpm recording device. I then posted a question in a new topic here.

Then, I spent time over the past two days reading dozens of SVT discussions here dating from recent ones and all the way back to 2013.

I have had SVT for 30 years. (randomly occuring , or "Paroxysmal")

Back at the beginning I went to my physician (GP) and he diagnosed it as "skipped beats" or "extra beats" and told me that my condition was benign if my symptoms remained occasional, and if I could control it without tachycardia going on for long periods of time. To control it, he introduced me to the Valsalva maneuver. I was able to perform the maneuver and so for all these many years, I have had few problems in starting the Valsalva maneuver when my rapid heart rate, or tachycardia, began, thereby eliminating the symptoms.

After a few years, my physician referred me to a cardiologist to be sure.
The cardiologist did all his tests and officially diagnosed me with PSVT. He also recommended that same Valsalva maneuver and also pronounced my condition was benign if controlled.

(Note: he said that if Valsalva didn't work or if I could not do Valsalva then oral medication would be needed. If that didn't work then surgery via ablation would be necessary.)

After 15 years in that city we moved across the state for retirement.
My new physician there (GP) did his EKG test on me and said the same thing as my previous doctor in that my SVT was benign if it could be controlled.

So, fully understanding what was happening and being able to stop the SVT almost at will, I have had no worries and lead a carefree, happy life. I realize that my particular condition may be unique. My procedures may not apply to everyone especially if they have heart abnormalities like AFIB or PVC. But if my story applies to even just one other person out there, who is now very worried and distraught over their SVT condition then I will have accomplished some good.

Again, my cardiologist and my regular doctor say my annual checkups are great. While the SVT diagnosis remains in my medical record, I perceive it as no more important than if it was hayfever or an allergy. It certainly doesn’t interfere with my lifestyle and I have no worries when I go to sleep at night or doing normal activities.

I have great sympathy for anyone who has to spend hours looking at the ceiling while their heart races.

That concludes my speech.

Now, I would like to add a couple more things.

When I turned 65 years old, 11 years ago, I was given a free membership in gyms through the Silver Sneakers program with my Medicare advantage health insurance. I embraced going to the gym for the first time in my life. My wife and I still go at least five days a week. I have never been in better shape since high school. Thank goodness that Medicare advantage programs provide Silver Sneakers. My insurance provider is certainly investing in my health (and reducing their costs) by reducing payouts for medical procedures that I might not have to have because I am physically fit. My SVT records don’t perfectly match my exercise programs, but I do feel there is an indication that vigorous cardio exercise reduces my SVT symptoms.

As an engineer, I have kept good records of almost every occurrence over those years. I did this, so I could share the records with my doctor at my annual physical. I recorded the time, the duration, the bpm rate, and my physical symptoms.
At each physical my doctor continued to say my SVT was benign. and he said that was because my EKG annual tests showed that my heart rate was strong and proper, and these extra beats were just interfering a little bit and causing the tachycardia, but my normal heart rate firing mechanism was there all the time and was proper. Plus I had no heart valve or heart abnormalities whatsoever.
If your physician can't say this about you then my story may not apply to you.

Finally,
I have three pictures to attach to this memo. The first one shows when I, in December 2022, had a SPT episode at my gym. I did not have my heart rate monitor chest strap on. So, knowing the onset of my SVT symptoms, the rapid heart rate, etc, I took time putting the Polar H9 strap on, then waited a minute or two to record something for my doctor and then performed the Valsalva maneuver and my BPM dropped immediately. The whole procedure took maybe five minutes.

The second picture is of just this morning at 4:25 am. Of hundreds of my recorded SVT eliminations via my Valsalva maneuver, this graph may be the gold standard and the best I’ve ever done. At 4:25 am you can see my heart rate race over 130 bpm. My heart rate strap through my smart phone triggered a gentle alarm that woke me up from a deep REM sleep, and I, without even getting out of bed, compressed my chest and eliminated the SVT almost immediately as can be seen in the graph. Within 2 minutes I was back asleep. My wife beside of me in bed never even woke up.

The third picture is of my Garmin wrist device for recording of the same event over last night's sleep. However, the Garmin Vivosmart 4 averages bmp readings over a two minute period so it can miss the second-by-second bpm that Polar H9 records. But Garmin tries to measure REM (accurate?), deep sleep and light sleep.

So, during the day I can easily tell when SVT starts. But at night I need a monitor.