SVT 3 and 1/2 half months after AVR...has this happened to anyone else?

[Barb62]

My surgery was January 19th and I have been progressing nicely. I have been doing cardiac rehab. My cardiologist said that I have no limitations. I have and Edwards Bovine valve. Last Friday, as I was walking into cardiac rehab I just felt "off". I told them as soon as I arrived and they took my blood pressure and that was normal. Then they hooked my up to my EKG and my heart was beating over 150 beats per minute. They had me sit and luckily, my heart went back to normal sinus rhythm in about 15 minutes. Luckily, the cardiologist group that my doctor is in is right across the hallway. They showed the tape of my EKG to the cardiologist on call. He said it was an arrythmia in the upper heart. He was not sure why it happened but he had me do bloodwork to have my thyroid checked and I am supposed to be hooked up to a holter monitor tomorrow for 24 hours.
I am trying not to worry. It has not happened again, but I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this.
Other than that, I seem to be doing fairly well.
Thanks for listening,
Barb

 

[Bill B]

Not usually a serious issue - not nearly as bad as ventricular tachycardia. So, be happy about that. Did they tell you to hold your breath and try to exhale against your closed mouth while it was happening? That (Valsalva) maneuver often will end an SVT episode. I get them every so often (twice a month) for just a few seconds, especially if I am very tired and wired. I can stop them very easily. So, you didn't feel the increased heart rate - just felt off? If I am sitting or lying, mine are obvious (rapid thump, thump) - of course it helps that I have a mechanical valve, but I could feel them even before the surgery. Your cadiologist will try to identify any treatable cause. Unless the episodes are frequent, long and compromising, probably there will be no specific investigation (electrophysiologic studies) or treatment.

Good luck with the rest of your recovery, although it seems you are pretty well through it.

 

[Julian]

Oh God does this happen to many. The crappy thing is that some people deal with it for the rest of their lives. Some kind of arrhythmia after surgery is not uncommon. Most just settle out and are rare occurrences after awhile but the first 3 months and up to the first year can be full of these. Some people don't have any issues with these the first year and then 3 years later out of the blue here "they" come. I work at a hospital and see this all the time. Most docs just shrug their shoulders and offer meds or procedures that might help.

I personally think this is one thing people don't consider before surgery. People are more concerned with tissue or mechanical to think that they may need a pacemaker or deal with some kind of arrhythmia. But in the end its not like you can do anything about it before surgery because you don't know if it will be an issue for you. You could not have the surgery but then that might not be a good idea...

I guess like you said, don't worry about it because whatever it is it's probably not very dangerous. More of an annoyance. Cool thing is there are options whatever it is.

 

[Barb62]

Thanks,
I feel much better knowing that this is not an uncommon event and not something to worry about. I did feel symptomatic, almost like my heart was beating out of my chest. I will definitely try the Valsava maneuver if it happens again. Hopefully it is a one time event, but if it happens again I will not worry.
This forum has been a huge source of knowledge and comfort to me.