What are the symptoms of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT)?
Symptoms last as long as the episode of supraventricular tachycardia lasts. This may be seconds, minutes, hours or, rarely, longer. Symptoms include the following. Your pulse rate becomes 140 - 180 per minute, sometimes faster. Palpitations (feeling your heart beat), dizziness, or 'feeling funny'. You may become breathless. If you have angina, then an angina pain may be triggered by an episode of SVT. You may have no symptoms, or are just 'aware' that your heart is beating fast.
Sometimes your blood pressure may become low with too fast a heart rate, especially if it persists for several hours. Rarely, this may cause you to faint or collapse. This is more likely if you are older and have other heart or lung problems.
It is not uncommon for people to feel their hearts race or skip a beat, every once in a while. Caffeine, stress, and certain medications (such as cold medicines or diet and herbal supplements) can cause arrhythmias. Arrhythmias that occur often or cause symptoms may be more serious and need to be discussed with your doctor.
Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia can cause a number of symptoms, depending on your overall health and how fast your heart is beating. People with heart damage or other coexisting medical problems experience a greater degree of discomfort and complications than those who are healthy. Some people have no symptoms at all.
Symptoms can come on suddenly and may go away by themselves. They can last a few minutes or as long as 1-2 days. The rapid beating of the heart during PSVT can make your heart a less effective pump so that your body organs do not receive enough blood to work normally. |
