SVT in pregnancy

Christinacoleman · June 2013

I am currently 14 weeks in my first pregnancy. I have has SVT all my life, I have had an ablation but I still have a few episodes. Now that I am pregnant I am scared that it is going to cause me trouble because of the rise of my heart rate. Does anyone have SVT?? What can I expect?

Eggerkr · June 2013

What is stv? Sorry I'm just not familiar with this illness.

Christinacoleman · June 2013

SVT is a heart condition that makes the heat beat too fast and palputate. Very uncomfortable and scary as it can beat up to and over 200 bpm

dbaranski · June 2013

I have also had an ablation which seems to have corrected mine, however I have another arrythmia present so my cardiologist has me on lopressor once daily which seems to help keep my heart in check! Are you taking any medications to help with the SVT? Maybe talk with your cardiologist, as I know it can be such a badddd feeling!!

Eggerkr · June 2013

Sorry to hear this. Is your doc treating you as a high risk pregnancy patient? If not I wouldn't worry but if it happens again between now and your next appt I would call after the episode to let them know what's going on. Just to be on the safe side...

Christinacoleman · June 2013

I'm not on any medication at the moment. Haven't really had any trouble since I had the ablation. But now I have a small palputation every day. I'm just worried that it is going to get worse. They haven't really said I am high risk. But because my resting heart beat is so high110bpm it can get higher just because of being pregnant and cause problems.

ScarlettV · June 2013

I would let your dr know you're uncomfortable and concerned. I imagine there is something they can prescribe you to help it stay in check.

Christinacoleman · June 2013

I will I have midwife appointment next week so I will ask about it

Mommy128 · June 2013

I would say you need a physician, rather than a midwife, given your history. Midwives just are not trained on this and do not have the proper education when it comes to things other than a straightforward normal pregnancy. You need an ob and a cardiologist.

LaurenR1311 · June 2013

I have also had SVT my whole life. I had an ablation and haven't had any true episodes since. That being said, the past few weeks I have felt like I was going to start having an episode several times. I am seeing my doctor today so I plan on talking to her about it. I definitely know how you feel!

malamutemommy · June 2013

Christinacoleman:
I'm not on any medication at the moment. Haven't really had any trouble since I had the ablation. But now I have a small palputation every day. I'm just worried that it is going to get worse. They haven't really said I am high risk. But because my resting heart beat is so high110bpm it can get higher just because of being pregnant and cause problems.

If you are currently using a midwife instead of a high risk OB, I would make the switch. Midwives can be very good during pregnancy and a great alternative, however they do not have the medical experience needed for a high risk pregnancy such as yourself. Just with what you have stated in your initial post, your condition definitely would be under the category of high risk. I would advise you to get in touch with an OB that has experience or specializes in high risk pregnancy, as well as working with a cardiologist. You need to keep your heart rate steady to keep both yourself and your baby safe. Essentially, they usually don't want your target heart rate to exceed 140 bpm while pregnant. Since you are already at 110 bpm at a resting heart rate, a high risk OB and cardiologist might recommend trying a medicine, or even recommending bed rest.
This is definitely something you don't want to wait on or take lightly. I really hope you find an OB that can help you. Also, if you have a high risk OB, that doesn't necessarily mean that you can't also use a midwife. But in this case, I'd leave the medical advice and directions up to the OB.

ETA: There is a high risk pregnancy board that I would recommend posting this on as well. You might be able to find more ladies in a similar situation over there.

CaityA83 · June 2013

I actually had pregnancy induced SVT with DS. I don't normally have it and never had issues until I was pregnant last time. Once my pregnancy was over I was ok. I have had some episodes of tachycardia this time but so far not SVT. I try to keep myself hydrated. I notice that my heart picks up if I'm not drinking enough. With DS it didn't kick in until later in pregnancy. I am really hoping this time that it won't happen, but since I've already noticed some issues I don't think that'll be the case. Have you had issues since the ablation? I don't know if you are at an increased risk of SVT since you had it prepregnancy or not. Sorry I'm not more help. Just thought I would lend my experiences.

Eta: after I posted I went back and re read some things. Looks like you haven't had issues which is good. I am not considered high risk this pregnancy even though I had the SVT last time. My dr is just going to keep a closer eye on it and on me. Mine was more of a POTS thing postural orthoatatic tachycardia syndrome... Meaning I had SVT when I would go from sitting to standing. It definitely sucked and I'm not looking forward to it. I hope yours stays good and you don't have problems!

golfingdarwinfish · June 2013

I think you should see a cardiologist to have a full cardiac workup done so that you have some sort of baseline that can be tested against as your pregnancy progresses.

snickersforeveryone · June 2013

I've also had SVT all my life and had two ablations done. During my first pregnancy it definitely picked up a notch, which my OB said wasn't uncommon. I was sent to my cardiologist for baseline tests, and when it started getting really bad I was put on a blood pressure medication that helped regulate my heart rate, even though my BP was perfect. My OB recommended that I get an epidural to save my heart the stress from pain and I was monitored very closely during labor.

I would highly recommend going to your cardiologist and getting an OB. They can work together to make sure you go through pregnancy and labor with as few problems as possible.

Oh, and make sure you stay hydrated. Not drinking enough makes the SVT much worse.

Christinacoleman · June 2013

Thankyou all very much. I will definitely be going to see an OB and a cardiologist. I don't want to be bed resting!! Hopefully it's all fine!

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