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mitchellynn avatar

SVT and medication

Heart Rhythm Conditions | Last Active: Apr 28 9:29am | Replies (12)

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Profile picture for wcuro @wcuro

I can’t answer your question but relative to my experience with NSVT, I am shocked to learn that one can survive VT at that heart rate for 12 hours! When I experienced NSVT at 180 beats per minute for 7 seconds, I was advised in the strongest terms to get a defibrillator asap to avoid the potential for sudden death.
I wonder if my renowned EP prefers being aggressive in this regard, having learned from experience. Could I have avoided the defibrillator?

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Replies to "I can’t answer your question but relative to my experience with NSVT, I am shocked to..."

@wcuro The answer to that question really depends on your cardiac health in general, and likely the best answers would come from the doctors who know you and your history. Non-sustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT) is defined as 3 or more rapid beats originating from the ventricles, is self-limiting and lasting less than 30 seconds. It can be considered as a benign condition if the NSVT occurs infrequently in a healthy heart, or as a potential indication for other problems if it occurs, especially frequently in people with cardiac conditions ( such as cardiomyopathies, coronary artery disease).

Generally, ventricular tachycardia (VT) is considered significant if it lasts longer than 30 seconds, and from what I've read, seen when patients experience these longer VTs is when there's talk of implanting defibrillators to shock them out of future events of VT and hopefully prevent them going into ventricular fibrillation, which is often fatal if it's not stopped. Here are a couple of links to excellent articles about NSVT:

https://www.cardiovasculardiseasehub.com/archives/25243 ( This looks to be an excellent site for discussions, and information about cardiac issues, including arrhythmias.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/nsvt