Anyone had SVT and been pregnant??

[dpind]

Hi all

I have an irregular heart beat and have had episodes of SVT in the past. I have managed to wean myself off my medication since xmas but am worried things will flare up as my pregancy progresses or when I am in labour. My cardiologist said it was ok to get pregnant but I just wondered if anyone else has the same problem as me....would love to hear from you.

[Highlander]

yep. SVT generally gets worse in pregnancy but I didn't have a single attack last time - most probably due to abstinance from booze and caffeine!!

I've had a few episodes this time round in the first trimester but everything is fine now. I was probably just overtired with a DS and pregnancy to deal with!

If your episodes are prolonged (180bpm for more than 2-3 mins) you can get your doctor to show your partner how to do carotid sinus massage - it will bring the SVT to a complete halt there and then.

What medication are you on? Didn't know SVT required anything.

[Littlefish]

Hi dpind. I used to have SVT quite severely - episodes most days. However, about 6 years ago they discovered that I had an extra nerve circuit in my heart which was causing the SVT. I had the extra bit burned away using radio waves under local anaesthetic. I haven't had a single attack since, not even during pregnancy. Do you know what causes yours?

I know it's not really what you were asking, but perhaps it's something you could look into once you've had your baby.

I also discovered that if I held my breath and sort of pushed the air (like you used to do as a child to make your face go red!), mine used to stop. Highlander is also right about the carotid sinus massage - I just wasn't ever very good at it!

[lucykate]

i have svt due to an extra nerve too. not on any medication other than verapamil to stop an attack when one occurs. it didn't get any worse during both my pregnancies, in fact during my first, the svt was the least of the problems, and i didn't have any problems during either labours (only had gas and air for pain relief). but, as a precaution, i don't think i would have ever considered a home birth. it relaxed me more being in hospital and knowing that if anything happened with the svt, i could get treatment for it.

good luck with your pregnancy , i'm sure everything will be fine.

[dpind]

Good to hear from you all. Mine is caused by an extra node in my heart creating an electrical circuit. I have had 2 attempts at cardiac ablation but both failed. Having said that my symptoms are few and far between and only have attacks about every 3-4 months. I was on atenolol but a very low dose and my cardiologist was keen to wean me off it before pregnancy. I wasn't sure and still decided to keep taking it. After suffering a miscarriage last june I was determined to get myself off it incase this had had any effect on the miscarriage. I have been off my meds since xmas and so far(touch wood) I have only had x1 attack. I had a c-section with my ds(failed induction) but would be very scared about having a 'normal' labour with this baby incase it set something off. Did you all have c-section or natural birth??

[noddyholder]

I have a different heart condition but it causes episodes of tachycardia and I stayed on beta blockers throughout the pregnancy with no problems xx

[Littlefish]

I had a wonderful natural waterbirth.

[bechill]

When I was pregnant I had quite bad SVT attacks! I previously had SVT's anyway but whilst being pregnant I had 5 attacks which ended up with me in A&E as I couldn't get them to stop by themselves (normally they would just stop). When in A&E the docs gave me an injection called Adenosin (prob not right spelling!) to stop the SVT. Each time the baby was monitored. I was under a heart/obstrician specialist team who were very good. I was also on a beta blocker called Sotalol all the way through my pregnancy - to try & stop the attacks. Anyway that was 10 months ago & now have a fit, healthy & very active 10 month old baby girl! She seems to be absolutely fine despite all the problems and drugs I had.

Since then I've had an ablation and now off medication and had no more attacks!