[sensitiveheart]

Hello,
I just joined this site and am so thankful to find a forum for people who are experiencing similar things as myself. I've been experiencing PVC's and PAC's for the past 1 1/2 yrs (I'm 40 yrs old) and also had a short run of SVT while wearing a 24hr event monitor back in Feb'09 (I didn't feel the SVT at the time). For the past few months I've been experiencing more frequent short bursts of rapid heartbeats. It happens approx. 2-3 times per week, usually during the week before or during my "cycle", and the bursts last for maybe 5-10 seconds. I bear down when they happen and that has been successful in making them stop (or maybe it's just a coincidence that I bear down as they decide to stop). I often feel a hard couple of beats before the rapid rate begins. Sometimes all the rapid beats feel hard (I feel this more when I'm half asleep in the middle of the night). I've been assuming these are short SVT runs, but lately I've been making myself nervous that these could be NSVT. For those who experience NSVT, what does it feel like? My first visit with an electrophysiologist isn't until next month, so until then I'm just trying to remain calm. Oh, and by the way, I had an echo and stress echo in Sept'09 and all was "normal." I've described what I'm feeling to my cardiologist and she doesn't seem overly concerned, but she said I could talk to an electrophysiologist to understand things more and make myself feel better. Any input would be appreciated - thanks!

[Jeff]

Hi sensitiveheart -

Welcome to the site. It can be so frightening not knowing what's going on inside your heart, whether what you're experiencing is something dangerous or not. I was in your exact shoes about a year ago, only you're ahead of where I was mentally - I was so freaked out when these things happened that I wasn't even able to think straight enough to bear down to make them go away.

(By the way, what you did is called a Vasalva maneuver, and is exactly the thing to do to make some forms of tachycardia go away.)

What I'm about to tell you isn't really scientific, and I caution you in advance that I am NOT a doctor, just a guy who's done a lot of reading. If what you were experiencing was NSVT and it was for ten seconds, you probably would have been feeling light-headed from a lack of blood flow to your brain. If it's PSVT, that just means your heart is pumping a lot faster than it's supposed to - but it's still performing it's normal function: atria are contracting, ventricles are contracting, pushing blood to your lungs and throughout your body. And usually, other than a weird sensation in your chest, you feel just fine (unless you're terrified of what's going on, then you don't feel fine at all).

I hope that helps a little. Certainly getting reassurance from an electrophysiologist is going to be good, both for your relative health and your peace of mind.

If you have other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

[sensitiveheart]

Thanks Jeff. It's nice to get a little reassurance. Maybe I sound a little calmer in writing than I really am. When these bursts happen I am just about paralyzed with fear. I probably look like a deer caught in headlights when it happens. They come up so unexpectedly too. I can be just sitting down and relaxed, or as relaxed as a person with a skippy heart can feel, and then BOOM.....the fast heartbeat begins. It's ironic that it doesn't seem to happen when I'm running around stressed out. Looking forward to my electrophysiologist appt next month, but man, 4 weeks seems so long to wait!

[Jeff]

I'm coming to realize that the reaction of the person having these arrhythmia issues is in and of itself confirmation of the symptom of being very stressed, and is probably making you more likely to have more episodes.

I know - so you think "These things scare me to death, but to not have them I need to not think about them? Yeah, right."

Let me preface what I'm about top say with this - I don't think the problem is in your head. If it were your head, your heart wouldn't jump around. There IS something happening in your heart that makes this happen. An accessory pathway, maybe. Some ectopic cells that have a lower threshold for releasing their electrochemical charge. But it IS something. The good news is, in all likelihood it IS NOT something that you'll need to worry about or will change your life or your activities in any way.

Ok, that said, I'm going to suggest you look into the possibility of anti-anxiety or anti-depressant medications. Why? Because I was you a year ago. And I've been on generic Zoloft for about a year now, and it's made all the difference for me. Those things (my PSVT) don't scare me in the least now, and I think it is NOT a coincidence that I hardly ever have them now, either. I was getting to be extremely agitated with everything. I'd wake up with the jitters. I'd overthink everything. I'd worry constantly about my heart, enough that is was beginning to affect my daily life. Not good.

So I recommend it to others who seem like they're in the same boat I was in. Call your family doctor and see if s/he'd consider writing you a prescription. It might be the only thing you need, and might help you cope with waiting 4 weeks to see the electrophysiologist.

[poohbear2026]

Hi,

I have NSVT occasionally(seems to be about every 6 months). I also have PACs and PVCs. Mine too seems to happen the week before my cycle or around ovulation. It is usually only 4 or 5 beats long but when it happens I get a flushed hot feeling and a little dizzy, I can't tell if it my heart causing that or that I panick when it happens. It is very scary when it happens. My last episode was last week, and I had gone so long with my heart doing really well and then I was just sitting on the couch and all the sudden it happened again and now my heart hasn't felt right since. I am finally starting to calm down and am taking Paxil and Ativan. I have had several echos, nuclear stress test and a cardiac MRI. All test show a normal heart, they just say as long as I don't pass out or if it lasts for more then 30 seconds I should be okay.

Anita

[sensitiveheart]

Jeff - yes, I have thought about meds recently. I had been trying to stay away and just exercise instead, but am thinking I may benefit from them. It's funny, when I was working I had some very, very stressful jobs and never experienced arrhythmia. Now that I'm a stay at home mom to 2 little guys, my heart gets all out of wack. I guess it's just a different kind of stress - the 24 hr, 365 days/yr kind - lol!

Anita - during one of my first episodes of rapid heartbeats (happened in the middle of the night), I jumped out of bed and felt a little dizzy/weak. I think it was because I was so panicked. Went to the ER and of course everything was fine while at the hospital. Glad to hear things are calming down for you.

A question for both of you (and I apologize if this has already been discussed) - have either of you considered ablation?

[poohbear2026]

My cardioligist has mentioned it but said its more risk then the arrhythmia for me. My electrophysiologist at Duke didn't recommend it either. I'm just scared that one day its going to be too late for me and this NSVT will turn to something terrible all of the sudden. I keep thinking I need to have a defibrillator but the Drs don't seem to think that. By the way I am a stay at home mom too of a 6 year old boy.

Anita

[Jeff]

The thought has crossed my mind, but honestly, even though the risks of an ablation are very slight, they're still far greater than if I just live with what's going on now.

And re: your feeling light headed when you jumped out of bed - that's something that can happen to anyone, when you go from horizontal to vertical. Your body takes a bit too long to react to the change in position, the vessels in your legs don't constrict fast enough to push blood toward your brain, and you feel light-headed. Totally normal. (unless you're actually passing out and it happens a lot)

Same kind of thing with people reacting to fear or surprise - think of all the people on America's Funniest Home Videos who got a surprise birthday party and passed right out. Or the groom at his wedding who passed out from standing too long with his knees locked.

[jkfrench]

Hey sensitive heart
I have been getting the same thing lately. I get quick runs of a fast beat then a long pause then back to normal. It happens only when I lie down to go to sleep and only when I'm on my back. This isn't something new...I do get that type of episode a few times a year, but as I said, lately it is almost every night. It happens about 3 times before I get to sleep. My doctor doesn't even talk about ablation. He told me that it would have to be happening all the time. It is still a pain isn't it. Nothing messes with your head like your heart not beating right.
Jodie

[sensitiveheart]

Oh gosh Jodie, nothing like dealing with a fast heartbeat just as you're trying to fall asleep. It's a miracle we can all maintain our sanity! Sometimes my heart (or just thinking about it) just drives me crazy. The beats have mellowed out here the past couple of days, so if my usual pattern repeats itself, that means I have almost 2 weeks of "good" heart behavior before I get another 2 weeks of crazy beats. ugh!