Supra Ventricular Tachycardia
(SVT)
What is SVT?
SVT is a heart disorder where electrical currents in your heart do not function correctly. That means that from time to time your heart beats very fast for a reason other than exercise, high fever, or stress. A normal heart rate for SVT is anywhere between 140-180. It's fairly common with 20,000 to 3 million reportes cases per year in the U.S. alone. For most people that are diagnosed with SVT, their hearts still pump blood normally.
What causes it?
SVT is cause by improper electrical pulses through the heart. Some types of SVT, such as Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, is genetic. Other causes include extremely high levels of the heart medicine digoxin or the bronchodilator theophylline, other serious health problems, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure, pneumonia, or metabolic problems, Heart surgery in the upper chambers of the heart, such as surgery for a congenital heart defect.
Symptoms of SVT
There are not many symptoms of SVT and many people never know they have it. Those who do suffer from SVT experience light headedness, dizziness, fatigue, fainting, chest pain, shortness of breath and racing heart.