Supraventricular Tachycardia / Atrial Flutter
Discussion
Hello all!
I had quite an interesting day yesterday having woken up with a really fast heart rate and palpitations, got into work and went straight to the medical centre where they agreed something wasn't right, so they called the paramedics and got me over to A&E. Diagnosed with Atrial Flutter / supraventricular tachycardia and they decided to treat it there and then in surgery with a DC Cardioversion - and electric shock to my heart to effectively reboot the rogue electrical signals flying around inside it.
Anyway, I'm back home now and all fine but has anyone else had this? Did they give you any indication of triggers or causes? I've been reading up on it and it seems to be just one of things some people have, it's also easily fixed with a minor surgical procedure but if there's something I'm doing that makes it more likely until I have that done then I should probably figure it out!
I had quite an interesting day yesterday having woken up with a really fast heart rate and palpitations, got into work and went straight to the medical centre where they agreed something wasn't right, so they called the paramedics and got me over to A&E. Diagnosed with Atrial Flutter / supraventricular tachycardia and they decided to treat it there and then in surgery with a DC Cardioversion - and electric shock to my heart to effectively reboot the rogue electrical signals flying around inside it.
Anyway, I'm back home now and all fine but has anyone else had this? Did they give you any indication of triggers or causes? I've been reading up on it and it seems to be just one of things some people have, it's also easily fixed with a minor surgical procedure but if there's something I'm doing that makes it more likely until I have that done then I should probably figure it out!
Edited by Chapppers on Friday 21st January 11:16
I've had this for as long as I can remember. I'm 41. My mum took me to the doctor's a few times as a teenager but after being hooked up to an ECG and asked to run on a treadmill for about five minutes with no flutter they said that they could not diagnose me without having me hooked up to one indefinitely until I had a flutter. Needless to say I left it that.
This past week it's been fluttering loads. I was on a course last week and there was free coffee and lots of breaks
so I think that is what has set it off. I was actually thinking of mentioning again to a doctor so given your post (I didn't know what it was called until now) I might just do so.
As for what sets it off, I'm not too sure. Excess caffeine is a real problem. I cannot drink Red Bull as that gives me a racing heart even when resting, to the extent that it will wake me up. I try to stick to one coffee a day. Sometimes I can go a week without a coffee. I think that excess potassium sets it off too. This is unfortunate as I love bananas. I used to have two a day. Excess alcohol is a trigger too.
Glad you got treated quickly and effectively.
This past week it's been fluttering loads. I was on a course last week and there was free coffee and lots of breaks
so I think that is what has set it off. I was actually thinking of mentioning again to a doctor so given your post (I didn't know what it was called until now) I might just do so.As for what sets it off, I'm not too sure. Excess caffeine is a real problem. I cannot drink Red Bull as that gives me a racing heart even when resting, to the extent that it will wake me up. I try to stick to one coffee a day. Sometimes I can go a week without a coffee. I think that excess potassium sets it off too. This is unfortunate as I love bananas. I used to have two a day. Excess alcohol is a trigger too.
Glad you got treated quickly and effectively.
Edited by EmmaP on Friday 21st January 13:10
You're in infamous company.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3205978.stm
Glad to hear all was dealt with easily enough yesterday and things have settled down. Just need to wait now and see if it shows up again. Definite triggers can be caffeine, alcohol, tiredness/stress but to be affected sorry to say you must have a bit of dodgy internal wiring. This can usually be fixed pretty simply these days via a catheter ablation (map then destroy the dodgy electrical pathway with RF energy) but there is a chance it might never bother you again.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3205978.stm
Glad to hear all was dealt with easily enough yesterday and things have settled down. Just need to wait now and see if it shows up again. Definite triggers can be caffeine, alcohol, tiredness/stress but to be affected sorry to say you must have a bit of dodgy internal wiring. This can usually be fixed pretty simply these days via a catheter ablation (map then destroy the dodgy electrical pathway with RF energy) but there is a chance it might never bother you again.
I have had a few SVT attacks, the 'best' one was 3 years ago when I hit 306 bpm! Apparently I hold a local record and still alive to prove it! Had alsorts of treatments, chemical reset but nothing worked so had the full 'Casualty Paddles' as they're called here. Have always had palpatations but thought they were normal, still have episodes now but nowhere near as bad. Have tablets to reset me if it happens properly again but avoid excess alchol, caffeine etc. Along with Tony Blair, one of Dick and Dom (knobbish kids tv presenters) has had one too!
I was 25 when the big one hit but was told age is irrelevant, it will either happen or not, weight, diet, caffiene etc can trigger it if your suseptable but you either have the 'short circuit' or you don't and in most people the 'short' is burnt out during the attack.
306bpm is very strange, you can feel no pulse, even the ambulance machines struggle to pick it up as its beating so fast. It starts, probably similar to the feeling you had, the fluttering in your chest but then becomes a pain going through your spine, almost like the pain of the chemical reset drugs! After a while, your heart just doesn't keep up with oxygenating the blood flow so I started to feel dizzy, loose co-ordination and be more confused than normal, that was when mrXL called the three nines as he realised I was in serious trouble, I was still worrying about it being heartburn or something stupid! Even at the hospital they plugged me in the two heart rate monitors at the same time to check one wasn't faulty! Glad I didn't know what was happening when they mentioned without the cardioversion I would die within the hour and with it, I had a 30% chance of survival and then may heart maybe damaged. Although I was alert enough to swear a lot and answer the 'have you taken any recreational drugs' question with 'does snorting see-saws count?'
306bpm is very strange, you can feel no pulse, even the ambulance machines struggle to pick it up as its beating so fast. It starts, probably similar to the feeling you had, the fluttering in your chest but then becomes a pain going through your spine, almost like the pain of the chemical reset drugs! After a while, your heart just doesn't keep up with oxygenating the blood flow so I started to feel dizzy, loose co-ordination and be more confused than normal, that was when mrXL called the three nines as he realised I was in serious trouble, I was still worrying about it being heartburn or something stupid! Even at the hospital they plugged me in the two heart rate monitors at the same time to check one wasn't faulty! Glad I didn't know what was happening when they mentioned without the cardioversion I would die within the hour and with it, I had a 30% chance of survival and then may heart maybe damaged. Although I was alert enough to swear a lot and answer the 'have you taken any recreational drugs' question with 'does snorting see-saws count?'
I had no pain with mine, I felt tip top in fact, perhaps a little dizzy. Will have to see how it goes, good job on keeping going then!
The cardiologist gave me some Bisoprolol tablets but didn't seem that fussed about me taking them, he seemed to think it might never return, so I'm going to cut down my caffeine intake and start on the tablets if I get another flutter. I think from the sounds of things, mine is probably the mildest of the mild cases of it.
The cardiologist gave me some Bisoprolol tablets but didn't seem that fussed about me taking them, he seemed to think it might never return, so I'm going to cut down my caffeine intake and start on the tablets if I get another flutter. I think from the sounds of things, mine is probably the mildest of the mild cases of it.
Had this a few times , still not worked out the trigger. First time , lots of travel , stress and alcohol and had felt under the weather for a week. Went to the docs and saw a locum; who suggested I go to A&E but didn't drive ; WTF ??
A&E gave me some drugs but had no effect so admitted me and hooked me up to monitors ; I kept setting off alarms all night as my heart rate kept varying between 50 one minute and 240 the next. By the time the Consultant got to me heart rate was back to normal; in the end discharged myself as they were unable to scan the heart for a week as the dept was busy.
Had keyhole surgery to investigate the problem but not able to find anything; although has to be the worst experience as they induced the heart and felt like a heart attack (or atleast what I imagine a heart attack feels like).
Get reoccurances every 9-12 months; and now just relax until it clears; normally takes 5 hours or so. Gave up talking to docs as they seem uninterested unless it's happening when I speak to them.
A&E gave me some drugs but had no effect so admitted me and hooked me up to monitors ; I kept setting off alarms all night as my heart rate kept varying between 50 one minute and 240 the next. By the time the Consultant got to me heart rate was back to normal; in the end discharged myself as they were unable to scan the heart for a week as the dept was busy.
Had keyhole surgery to investigate the problem but not able to find anything; although has to be the worst experience as they induced the heart and felt like a heart attack (or atleast what I imagine a heart attack feels like).
Get reoccurances every 9-12 months; and now just relax until it clears; normally takes 5 hours or so. Gave up talking to docs as they seem uninterested unless it's happening when I speak to them.
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