Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is a family of cardiac arrhythmias that cause an inappropriately rapid heart rate.
SVTs originate in the atria, theupper chambers of the heart.
SVT Symptoms
SVT commonly producespalpitationsa feeling of having extra heartbeats or a racing heart.
Hinterhaus Productions / DigitalVision / Getty Images
These episodes often begin suddenly and stop suddenly.
They can last anywhere from a few seconds to several hours.
Fortunately, SVT is only rarely life-threatening.
Causes
SVT occurs due to a problem with theelectrical connections in the heart.
Usually, the electricity of the heart flows along a set pathway in a specific order.
Adequate treatment usually requires aggressively treating the underlying medical problem.
Arrhythmias are common both in people who have heart disease and people who have a structurally normal heart.
According to Braunwald’s Heart Disease, arrhythmias can be harmless.
But they can also be a sign of a life-threatening, underlying condition.
Infants with SVT may breathe faster than normal, or seem extra fussy or sleepy.
Others may utilize a variety of treatments to deal with acute episodes and prevent others from occurring.
Acute Episodes
Acute episodes of SVT almost always stop spontaneously.
However, many people have learned to slow or stop their episodes through a technique called theValsalva maneuver.
A healthcare provider can almost always stop an SVT episode within seconds by giving an intravenous dose ofadenosineor verapamil.
Preventive Therapies
You may also want to consider continuous therapy aimed at preventing recurrent SVT.
Most SVTs are triggered by extra electrical pathways.
Usually, those extra pathways can be eliminated with a procedure known asablation.
This can cure a large majority of SVT cases once and for all.
Antiarrhythmic drugs can also be used in an attempt to prevent SVT.
Fortunately, almost all varieties of SVT can be successfully treated and prevented.
Helton M.Diagnosis and management of common types of supraventricular tachycardia.Am Fam Physician.
2015 Nov;92(9):793-802.
Bibas L, Levi M, Essebag V.Diagnosis and management of supraventricular tachycardias.CMAJ.
2016 Dec;188(17-18):1-8. doi:10.1503/cmaj.160079
Mercy Health.Tachycardia arrhythmia (fast heartbeat).
Philadelphia: Elsevier;2015.
Abo Hadeed H.Diagnosis and treatment of supraventricular tachyarrhythmia in pediatric population: A review article.AJPN.
2017 Sep;10(9):e005396.
doi:10.1161/CIRCEP.117.005396
Hayes DD.Teaching the modified Valsalva maneuver to terminate SVT.Nursing.
2017 Oct;10(10):1-33. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD005154.pub4
American Heart Association.Ablation for arrhythmias.
Link MS.Evaluation and initial treatment of supraventricular tachycardia.N Engl J Med.
