Supraventricular Tacycardia
British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has now been treated twice for a relatively common heart condition called supraventricular tachycardia. Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is a term to describe any rapid heart rate that happens when your heart's electrical impulses go into an abnormal pattern. The electrical impulses, originating above the lower chambers of the heart (the ventricles), can be caused by a number of conditions or can occur spontaniously. As a result the heart beats abnormally fast and the oxygen supply to the brain is reduced.
Signs and Symptoms of SVT
These depend on the severity of the condition. If the supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is caused by an underlying disease then the signs and symptoms may
be more severe. Duration of SVT can be anything from a few minutes up to 1 to 2 days. Some people experience no symptoms, others:
Types of Supraventricular Tachycardia
Atrial fibrillation
AV nodal re-entrant tachycardia
Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome
Causes of SVT
Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) may be associated with a number of medical conditions. These include:
Speculation about the causes of Prime Minister Tony Blair's SVT is, of course, subject to many column inches in the press. Interviewed after his first public aknowledment of the condition he put his condition down to drinking too much strong coffee. Coffee, and for that matter stress, do have an association with some heart conditions, but it is likely that he was simply born with the condition and it has emerged during later life. Cardiologist say that up to 20% of us experience SVT as some point in our lives and that treatment is very sucessful, especiaslly where there is no underlying disease or condition.
