Nov. 6th 2008 What happened and what's next with SVT

Some of you have asked questions regarding my diagnosis regarding Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT.) To help anyone who is interested in understanding it a little more, I am including a few links. 

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/supraventricular_tachycardia/article_em.htm

http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/tc/supraventricular-tachycardia-overview

While prowling around online, I’ve seen a lot of explanations regarding SVT, with diagrams and such. I’ve also read blogs from people with their personal experiences with SVT, including two women around my age…. they had the surgical procedure performed and are now free from SVT. It is important to understand that many people have SVT (some not even realizing it.) Also, there are different extremes of it and how it effects ones body. I have the kind that, when the episode starts, it eventually causes me to pass out. Mine is on the end of extreme. Yah, for me! 

The differences among those that have SVT are that some are not as serious as others. Some are able to live with it and not have it effect their daily lives. Some are able to rest to bring their pulse back down. Some never even realize an episode is happening because it doesn’t effect their normal activity. Anyway, all who “suffer” from SVT have their differences.

As most of you know I was diagnosed four years ago with SupraVentricular Tachycardia. That episode landed me in the ER with a pulse of 240 BPM. (Beats per minute.) A normal rate is between 50-100 bpm. Mine usually runs around 70. So to have it 3&1/2 times its norm was not good for me. After passing out, scaring Matt, my husband, out of his britches, going to the ER, then having a medication administered through an IV (adenosine) to “stop and restart my heart,” (kinda like that) I went home feeling “great.” I made a follow up appointment with a cardiologist and at that time was told that I may never have another episode again OR, it could happen again, and again, and again, and again, until finally I would end up with having to have a procedure called catheter ablation.... www.aral.org.uk/html/catheter_ablation_info.html

... are you still reading this???.........

Over the course of the four year period, I have had a few (maybe 10-20) episodes of SVT that I put off as nothing. As soon as I felt them coming on I was able to correct it with a few simple vagal maneuvers. (One being a purposeful cough, and the other, splashing cold ice water on my face.) These maneuvers interrupt the hearts pulses which in turn puts the electrical pulses in the heart back on the correct pathways. (A quick biology lesson…The heart is the only organ in the body, aside from the brain, that has its own electrical system.) Neato! 

So now, four years later, on October 4^{th 2008}, I  had another episode of SVT that caused me to pass out again. Thankfully, just as last time, Matt was with me. (I know this makes him uneasy because he said my eyes are open and as big as saucers, they roll to the back of my head, I turn white as a ghost and I look like I am dead……. His reaction to this is to slap me back and fourth on the face and pound on my chest. (don’t laugh… he did the best he could….bless his heart….) I eventually woke, (my heart still racing away)…..in Matt’s arms, which was very comforting….…. Next, same as last time, I heard what sounded like a waterfall IN my head… it was painful. I was told that this is the blood rushing back through my head. After sitting (on the toilet…because this is where I passed out after urinating…) for what seemed to be an eternity, listening to the waterfall inside my head, and trying to get my wits about me… very weak and nauseated, I then had excruciating pain all over my body… under my finger nails and even feeling it in places unmentionable…well o.k. my butt crack…..(I am laughing now…) … feeling extreme heat all over……this also was the blood rushing back through my veins. Obviously, if your heart stops or slows down really, really sloooooooow, the blood stops running through your veins…..wow! And then when your heart starts back again, the blood begins to rush back through your veins.....good thing, but I was extremely nauseated and felt like death was near. I can’t explain how much it hurt. Matt helped me to the bed and said I was sweating all over and got a cold-pack. My clothing and sheets were getting damp and I was feeling very nauseous. Matt was pretty quick to retrieve the garbage can and I vomited right as he set it down. That was a good thing! Because my heart rate immediately went back to its normal rate. The convulsion of vomiting "jolted" the electrical pathways in my heart and caused it to turn to its normal rhythm. So I took it easy the rest of the day but was feeling some chest and neck tightness which I continued to feel after three weeks. 

After that day, I made an appointment to see my Primary Care Physician on Oct. 20th. That Dr referred me to see a cardiologist. But two days later, before I could make it to the cardiologist, I had another episode of SVT. This time it landed me in the ER again.

That episode is as follows.....I was here at home,a blessing, but had just driven up in the driveway with three of the children and no adults. As I exited the vehicle, I immediately  thought I was going to pass out and sat down on the ground trying to direct the girls as to how to help me. A quick call to my mother-n-law, Carol, and she was over in a jiffy. Thank goodness for family! She took care of me like  I was a princess, propping my legs up to the ceiling (we were trying to keep the blood flow to my brain so that I would not pass out) and making sure I was comfy all over with pillows under my head and a warm blanket across my body. Taking me back and fourth to the bathroom… bless her heart… scary moments.....blacking out but not totally passing out. While all of this was going on, my daughters Julie and Marianah, were the bravest little girls ever and they took care of not only me but their little brother Samuel too. (The other brother, Matthew was in Pre-K this time of day.) Julie ran around washing dishes, sweeping floors and folding laundry. She made phone calls and answered phone calls. Marianah went with Carol to pick up Matthew from Pre-K and they returned with McDonalds. This made the kids happy which eased me a bit. When Matt was able to make it home he relieved Carol and took care of me…… I was very thankful that Matt had returned home but I missed Carol for a few reasons. (It's just that she is so good at what she does.) I then took a medication (that was prescribed four years ago,“Propranolol”) that is supposed to cause the heart to slow. I wanted to try it in hopes I could get the heart to correct itself but after a total of  10 hours, 1:45pm -11:45pm, Matt said “NO MORE” and took me to the ER at the Newnan hospital because the local hospital, Tanner, doesn’t accept our insurance. This ended up just as the visit to the ER had four years ago. A shot of adenosine through an IV to stop and restart my heart, and within seconds my heart rate went from the 190's down to the 90's. We got home safe and sound and everything was fine except I was really weak and had chest tightness. 

Two days later, I made it to the scheduled cardiologist appointment. He referred me to have a electrocardiogram of my heart and to see an Electro-physiologist. My electrocardiogram/ultrasound came back normal…..

That made me happy because it helped to rule out other ailments that “could have been.” 

After seeing the electro-physiologist, and speaking with him about the inevitable, he suggested a catheter ablation. After ruling out all other cures, such as, moving to Hawaii, living without any stress… such as; without my children, without my husband,... having a maid and a cook 24-7… eating more healthy and or staying away from anything that could possibly make my heart race, I realized that my problem would not go away with any of those things and that I would have to have a surgery to make it go away. 

So, now I understand after reading about the diagnosis of SVT, speaking with a cardiologist four years ago and a handful of dr’s in the last few weeks, there is a specific problem in my heart that keeps causing the episodes to happen. And, it is not caused by stress.

I obviously have some extra tissue in my heart that is in the way of the normal electrical pathways. (An extra piece of tissue in my heart has nothing to do with stress as some of the "causes" of SVT are described in the online information I looked up.) The extra tissue gets in the way of the normal circuit and causes the electrical pathways to short circuit and ends up allowing the pulses to perform a “merry-go-round” in my heart. Not allowing the pulses to complete their normal circuit causes the heart to race. After these episodes start, the blood is able to enter the heart but not at its usual amount and then the pulsating that is taking place at a rapid speed does not allow it to “exit” the heart to take on its natural course of reaching the brain and other extremities. Therefore, I pass out. 

The procedure, that takes place to correct this is done by freezing, also known as cryo, or by heating the extra tissue and destroying it with a catheter ablation procedure. My Surgeon will be using cryo. He’s going to freeze a piece of tissue in my heart! COOL! 

Now for a disclosure, .....I realize that I am not a Dr. and that my explanations may not be exactly correct, but that is why I gave the links to have it explained.Matt and I have had it explained to us a few different ways so I hope I haven’t confused anyone. 

The procedure I will be having is a catheter ablation. It is said to be “non-invasive.” Ha! I beg to differ. Anything inserted into my vein in my “groin” area and fed up through my veins and into my heart… one in each leg, is invasive to ME. But I understand that this procedure is much less invasive than having to go through the breast plate and chest cavity. I am trying to be thankful that there is a procedure that is “non-invasive.” 

Thank you to all who have helped my family and I out while all of this has taken place. Earlier, I mentioned my mother-n-law, Carol helping to take care of things as they came up. She even spent the night on our sofa  while Matt took me to the ER.

I must thank my sister Nici who has not only been the caregiver of our children, day and night, while I’ve been in and out of  Dr. appointments, but also my shoulder to lean on and cry on when things are to much for me to continue. Nici, God bless her, took in four extra children to her home, overnight, twice, and without a care in the world at that. I never had to worry even once while they were with her family. Bryan, her husband must be thanked too! And Allison and Benjamin, her two children, are helping out and are the bestest cousins ever to our children. 

I realize that there are times in all of our lives when we are called on to help out one another. In saying this, I also realize that there are times in our lives when we cannot help out, because of distance, or other  obligations such as work or caring for others that are sick…….. Please know that your prayers are just as good and your phone calls and emails work wonders on the spirit. Many of you have asked how you can help out and I think the biggest help is to first say a prayer of thankfulness, with and for your own family, and then a prayer for my family that God will be glorified in all that is to come. A short phone call or letter directly addressed to Julie and Marianah would lift their spirits. That is my main concern right now... their sweet little hearts have shown a bit of concern with all that is going on. Mine can be fixed with surgery but theirs are fixed with prayer love and support. blessings.....