Supra-ventricular Tachycardia (SVT) is a condition where heart beats extremely fast, in some cases over 200 beats per minute.
My mother who is diagnosed with ovarian cancer has now experienced SVT four times in two weeks.
Each time, her heart rate was over 200 beats per minute, with the highest recorded rate chiming in at 247 beats per minute. A normal heart rate is considered to be 70-80 beats per minute.
The condition is not a result of the cancer and anyone can suffer from it.
It seems that the hear has a special electrical system that controls the heartbeat. In some cases SVT is caused by a problem in that system that the person is born with. A valve problem or blocked arteries can also cause SVT.
Other causes cited are: thyroid disease, heart failure, low blood pressure from bleeding or dehydration, or anemia and drug abuse.
The cause of SVT can be difficult to pinpoint. In my mother's case, the first episode occurred three days after chemotherapy.
The second episode occurred several days later and she had to spend the night in the hospital.
As she was being prepared to be released, the nurses were running late. And that was a good thing. Shortly after they unhooked her from the wires, SVT struck again. This time the doctor was there and was able to treat the episode from start to finish.
She spent another night in the ICU as a result.
The next day she was home by noon with a new prescription.
However, by 2:30 p.m. the ambulance was back and we were back in the emergency room awaiting admittance to the ICU.
This time a drug called Cardiem was prescribed and so far it has worked.
Information given to us by the hospital list things that can be done when SVT hits. It includes a vagal maneuver where the patient bears down like they are having a bowl movement.
Surgical procedures can also be done.
In the end my mother had an ablation. This is where small wires are fed through a blood vessel in the patient's arm or groin to the heart. Heat energy is applied to the area causing the electrical impulse problem.
In my mother's case it worked and she was cured of SVT.
