SVT

Hi,

A family member was tested for AF after my diagnosis and wore a Zio patch that revealed incidents of Supraventricular tachycardia. Her PCP indicated that it was nothing to worry about. She has a follow up appointment with a cardiologist. I'm wondering if anyone has any knowledge about SVT and are they something that she should be worried about.

Kind regards,
Que

[en.wikipedia.org]
This page was last modified on 31 May 2015

[excerpts:]

Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is a cardiac arrhythmia arising from improper electrical activity of the heart. It is a type of tachycardia (rapid heart rhythm) originating at or above the atrioventricular node. It can be contrasted with the potentially more dangerous ventricular tachycardias -- rapid rhythms that originate within the ventricular tissue.

.Types

The following types of supraventricular tachycardias are more precisely classified by their specific site of origin. While each belongs to the broad classification of SVT, the specific term/diagnosis is preferred when possible:

Sinoatrial origin:

-- Sinoatrial nodal reentrant tachycardia (SNRT)

Atrial origin:

-- Ectopic (unifocal) atrial tachycardia (EAT)
-- Multifocal atrial tachycardia (MAT)
-- Atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response
-- Atrial flutter with rapid ventricular response
(Without rapid ventricular response, fibrillation and flutter are usually not classified as SVT)

Atrioventricular origin (junctional tachycardia):

-- AV nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) or junctional reciprocating tachycardia (JRT)
-- Permanent (or persistent) junctional reciprocating tachycardia (PJRT), a form of JRT that occurs predominantly in infants and children but can occasionally occur in adults.
-- AV reciprocating tachycardia (AVRT) – visible or concealed (including Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome)
-- Junctional ectopic tachycardia (JET)

"Her PCP indicated that it was nothing to worry about"

Over the past 6 months, two of my son's best friends were diagnosed and ablated. The first one ablated late last year had what was thought to be SVT that turned out to be AF. The second one had episodes while overseas studying and diagnosed there. He was on a surf trip with my family in January when he couldn't get up to surf with us one morning. (needless to say, that put an end to his appetite for anymore surfing for the rest of the trip). I talked with him after I got back to the hotel and he explained what happened the night before. I told him and his parents that he needs to have it fixed. He plays soccer competitively and surfs. Same for the first boy. So it depends and I would not agree with your relatives PCP. The probability is small that it will end up being dangerous and the chance of it cascading into VT, VF and SCD like some of the well publicized professional soccer examples is super low. I told my son's friends' parents that this needs to be FIXED as the success rate for curing this with ablation at experienced centers is in the 90s to high 90s percentile, way better than living with drugs. The emphasis is still EXPERIENCED centers as there are horror stories out there even for these simpler procedures. Both the boys are doing well post ablation.

If your family member is more sedentary and have short life expectancy, then you can make an argument that SVT ablation may not be worth the risk. At an experienced center, the risk are minimal compare to AF ablation. If the PCP says try medication, then I would definitely say forget it and go with ablation.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 06/02/2015 11:27AM by researcher.

Hello,

Thank you for your advice. My relative's PCP did not recommend medications. The recommendation is to do nothing because it isn't a problem. My relative is in her late 60s and is quite active to answer your question.

Kind regards,
Que

Pill-in-the-pocket beta (or calcium blocker)) or flecainide (or other anti-arrhythmic) may also help.

Good luck!

/L

Hello,

My relative has met with an EP at the New Mexico Heart Institute, who coincidentally was trained by Natale at the Cleveland Clinic, who confirmed what the PCP said. Her SVT wasn't serious and no action needs to be taken. He said that perhaps it was due to stress or a cold but there nonetheless wasn't a stroke risk. She is also asymptomatic. She will continue to monitor her heart rate using her new iWatch and leave it at that.

Kind regards,
Que