I have ventricular tachycardia. I havent found a solution, I do take atenolol for it,seems to help a little.There is an ablation procedure, but at this time Dr. doesn't want to do this yet. It's very frustrating waiting around. This has put my life on hold for 1 year now. Would like to hear more from you. Thanks for the post.

HI, I am assuming you have SVT which is supraventricular tarchycardia. I usually clock in at around 225-250. I am now on a new med after my 4th failed ablation in Sept. I take a beta blocker. But i also struggle with Atrial fib and flutter. I am currently looking into a referral to the Mayo Clinic. The ablation for SVT has a very high success rate so you shouldn't be discouraged by my experience. I know people who had it and never looked back.
Good luck

How long have you had this?

I have had the SVT since i was a little girl but it wasn't diagnosed until I was 24.
And you?

I found out last January a month before I turned 50. May have gotten it from Biaxin for a tooth / sinus infection. Does it scare you?

It used to but I have come to learn that this is NOT going to kill you, just make you feel lousy. I went sailing this summer for 4 months in remote areas and had quite a few problems and dealt with it. I never heard of getting something like this from a drug- or if you do, shouldn't it stop when you stop the drug?

It has quieted down alot since I stopped taking Biaxin, But hasn't completely gone away. It's possible I've always had it. I had genetic testing to see if I carry a gene that would cause this, that was negative. Dr. told me to stop driving for 6 months,I'm starting to drive again, but it makes me nervous, I have a 9 year old and she always wants to go somewhere like we used to.I'm also on a leave of absence from school this semester. I've been pushing for an an ablation, but Doc wants to wait.Last treadmill test was better.There are many drugs that can cause VT, or make it worse if you already have it.

You're a teacher?? I was! I retired....
I never heard of having to stop driving. Do you faint? I have alot of symptoms but haven.t stopped anything- when I am having a problem I prefer not to drive but that's because I get nervous. I know that the first course of action is drugs and if that doesn't work, an ablation. I need two different kinds of ablations- a pulmonary vein ablation for Atrial Fib and an "ablation" for the SVT. On my last one they triggered the SVT but got AF instead and couldn't cardio convert me. If you are pushing for an ablation I'd get a second opinion and check the dr's track record - ask how many he/she has done and how many were successful. Good luck

No I'm a student,decided to go back after my older children grew up. Then we adopted ,she's in fourth grade, thought it was time to go back.I finished my first year. One day I was driving home from school and I felt dizzy, thought my sinuses we're acting up again.Went to the doctor, he sent me to the hospital.went into Vt on the treadmill,I felt that I was going to faint .Ran several tests, they didn't find anything wrong with my heart. Had four treadmills this past year, the first three I felt like I was going to faint, the last one I finished with only every third heartbeat missing. Now when I feel faint they told me to tense up my muscles or cough this helps but its still scary.I'm going back in the fall, I really miss it. At first I thought what am I doing here at 50, then I really started to enjoy it. I think I will get a second opinion. Whats cardio convert mean? Did your ablations help at all?

HI there,
I don't want to mislead you. I have SVT and I don;t know if that is the same as VT. No one ever told me that I was missing every third beat. Also, I was never given a stress test as part of the diagnosis- it was on the ECG/ I have found the advice they gave you to convert yourself into a normal rhythm, very helpful. Basically , there are three things you can do- bear down as if for a BM, immerse your head in a sink full of icy water and press on your eyelids (have to be very careful with this one as you can cause yourself to faint. I think all of these are a type of vagal response. i never heard of "tensing your muscles".
Cardio convert is when they use electricity to put you into a sinus rhythm. When you have an ablation they have to trigger the problem so that they can "map" it and then they can ablate it or use high frequency waves to kill the cells that are causing the problem. THey cardio convert you into a sinus rhythm. You are totally unaware of this during the procedure. I live in Victoria BC and we have a pretty good EP Lab with excellent care. I also have a nurse that I can call to discuss any concerns I have- she is part of the Heart Rhythm Team. I would go to some learning sessions and speak to someone about the procedure to make sure it is good for you.

For a variety of reasons my ablations were never completed. So unfortunately, I didn't have any benefit from them. that is why I am pursuing a second opinion, hopefully at the Mayo Clinic. If you have to pick a heart problem to have this is one of the better ones- benign, doesn't deteriorate. The trick is managing it. I never took time off from work because of it. I usually had my problems on the weekends, evenings, but rarely at work (ha!_
BTW, both of our kids are adopted too!