@osgilian That's great news! I've had my share of SVTs throughout the years, along with the A-fib and flutter ( multi-talented heart, I guess.....) still get the SVTs so I can attest to how badly they can make you feel. Comparing the "misery" factor between SVT, A-fib and flutter in my opinions, it'd all be a tossup. My symptoms have always been very similar for each of these arrhythmias, none of them are any fun. I still get the same shortness of breeath, lightheadedness and if it goes on for some time, some chest pain that feels to me like a "stitch" in the heart muscle from racing over time ( similar to the stitches in our sides we'd get when we ran for a long time as kids).

My cardiologist, who gets my pacemaker monitor reports, tells me they see both SVT and A-fib on the reports. Interestingly enough, the heart rate during SVTs is higher than it is for A-fib, with the SVT being around 170 BPM and the A-fib around 130.

From what I've been told over the years, having a greatly elevated heart rate over time can cause "tachycardia-related cardiomyopathy" - damage to the cardiac muscle, and that's also an important factor in considering ablation and other treatments to correct the tachycardia. There are a couple of SVTs that involve aberrant electrical pathways, ( ie, AVNRT- AV node re-entry; ) may be genetic in nature ( Wolffson-Parker-White-WPW) where the aberrant pathway is well known and can be ablated which often results in a "cure" for these types of SVT. Far as I know these SVTs are not associated with abnormal clot formation so patients with these arrhythmias don't need to consider taking a blood thinner as they might with A-fib.

As I understand it, A-fib is associated with many factors which must be considered in treatment of this arrhythmia. Ablation can be and often is successful but there are other medical issues that may well make the A-fib recur. Its association with abnormal clotting and stroke risk make it more complicated to treat than another SVT in an otherwise healthy heart. I don't think of A-fib as "worse" or any reason to minimize the symptoms and issues associated with other SVTs, just more complicated to deal with, perhaps. And of course A-fib dominates the literature in the field of cardiac electrophysiology!

Anyway, I'd never ever be one to minimize the symptoms or problems you had with your SVT, I know how lousy it makes you feel, affects your lifestyle, and it can affect your heart adversely if it goes on long enough and your tachy burden is high. So high fives to you and many best wishes that your future will now be SVT-free!