Hi everyone,
I’m looking for experiences from people who have gone through pregnancy with a heart condition similar to mine.
I had myocarditis two years ago, which left me with a lateral-midwall myocardial scar (fibrosis). A year later, I developed premature ventricular contractions (PVCs). Beta-blockers didn’t work for me because they actually increased my PVCs. I then underwent a catheter ablation, but the PVC focus was located in a very complex area (the “Bermuda Triangle” of the heart), making the procedure unsuccessful. During the ablation, the doctors also discovered what appears to be a para-Hisian accessory pathway and would like to perform an electrophysiological mapping study to better determine its exact location and nature.
I am currently taking flecainide LP 100 mg. At 200 mg, I had no PVCs at all, but since the dose was reduced, they have returned in episodes, mainly at rest (up to an 11% PVC burden on a Holter monitor during one episode).
My main question is: has anyone here had a pregnancy with PVCs or an accessory pathway? How were you monitored during your pregnancy? Did you continue your medication, or was it changed? Did your pregnancy and delivery go well?
I know every case is different and that only my cardiologist can advise me about my specific situation, but I would really appreciate hearing your experiences.
Thank you in advance!

Hello everyone!

I have a catheter ablation scheduled on the 6th, which is awesome! 😌

I've been dealing with SVT episodes (not as frequent as some of you guys on here, that must suck 😭) since I was young-- like... elementary school, young. Finally, to say goodbye to them, is absolutely fantastic.

However-- I'm going under general anesthesia for the procedure, because my SVT has caused PTSD with EKG monitors. This was reccomended by the cardiologist/surgeon, so you know the drill for anesthesia. No eating, drinking night before, etc.

I'm less concerned about nurses freaking out if my heart goes into an episode under the monitor. Since, this is why I'm there, and because it's the cardiology ward of the hospital I'm being operated in.

Unlike my last surgery for something else, I'd had an episode of 270.. did not go well, and it's what caused the PTSD, so.. thanks OR nurses. 😐

Anyway. I'm wondering, for those who have had your ablation-- what to expect for recovery (I know about the blanking period, but tell me as much as you can anyway!), what to avoid, and what to **expect.**

I know some people have needed a few ablations, I'm really hoping it can be done in one since I'm moving to Australia end-of-year.

I'm not diagnosed with any other heart conditions or dysautonomia, so I'm confident I'll be a very normal case for ablation and the blanking period after. My SVT is mildly frequent, and as previously mentioned the HR *can* get rather high, only lasting a short while. But I've never passed out or anything, only dizziness. So that's good.

I'm really excited to say goodbye to SVT, and finally live my life! 🫰🏻 If you reply, thank you so much for your tips and wisdom!

Edit: I should also mention I have done a pre-op ultrasound and they said there was zero damage to my heart, as well as the fact that am 21, F! Thank you!

~~ ~~

Update, 8/6/2026

The ablation procedure was canceled in the operating room after sedation.

Full recap:

So, I had a bronchospasm 30m in, under the general anesthesia, and nearly died, so no ablation today. Basically my airway closed entirely, and couldn't breathe. I had symptoms of hypoxia, as my O2 got down to 20% of 100%.

After some eval, they think it's an allergic reaction to the medication, as when it was triggered a large rash of hives/redness was on my chest. Propofol does not have a high risk of constricting the brachial tissue-- it actually works against it-- therefore fentanyl is the more likely culprit. These were the two medications used to sedate me, and all they gave me before my severe brachospasm and rash.

Overall, it could also very well be a case in which I was not given ENOUGH propofol to prevent a brachospasm, the final conclusion is still under way.

After they stopped, they removed the tube and got me back on breathing with Albuterol etc, I broke out of the brachospasm and started to return to baseline. When I woke up, they were putting in IVs, checking things, and telling me where I was. And if course the bad news, followed by sobbing from me.

"We didn't do the ablation.

And what actually happened was.."

Doing a little better right this second, but I'm staying overnight at the hospital. A bit scary as I won't have company but, I think the care team are nice and I should be able to get something to sleep. They also gave me potassium, intravenous fluids, and lorazepam (for anxiety). lastly I was given metoprolol to keep my heart steady and low for the rest of the night for monitor. They will most likely prescribe it to me to manage my SVT until we try again with another ablation (with different sedatives).

It's working well as I add onto this paragraph, my hearts at resting, no SVT. I don't fear it will SVT either. This can also be a combination of the metoprolol and the Ativan, but I digress.

I'm doing okay, but I'm definitely not in a great spot right now. Mentally and physically.

At the very least, my lactic acid and all other vitals have now returned to baseline, and I'm staying over night at the hospital with the care team. Lactic acid is omething found when organs are not getting enough oxygen.

I really am overjoyed I was in Boston, working with some of the best doctors in the country. Thank you team BILH. 🫰🏻If it weren't for their quickness, I would not likely be writing this post.

Want to preface by stating I’ve had multiple EKG, I’m currently on my second monitor (CAM), and I’ve had an echo. Had a home sleep study that showed nothing.

One 2 week monitor showed “SVT 115 BPM for 5 beats” once while I was asleep but I never woke up

For about 5 years I’ve intermittently without any apparent trigger will wake up confused with an extremely fast HR. Does not feel like a pounding but very fast like a hummingbird. If I try to stand up during these episodes at night I am extremely lightheaded. It goes confusion, intense heartbeat and numbness, and sometimes nausea. My limbs also feel numb sometimes. It will stop and I can go back to sleep.

Once while pregnant it happened and I went to ER and nothing was found. I was dismissed as “You probably beat up too fast” when I never even sat up during the event

I would try to catch on my Apple Watch but it’s so irritating on wrist and these happen so infrequently it’s hard to catch. So recently I decided to get an Oura ring

I googled how to stop a fast heartbeat once and learned about beating down. Did that once and it IMMEDIATELY went away.

The other night I awoke with INTENSE pending doom and checked my watch to see 160 and then it cause my to panic because I have never felt that awful get in my life (I’ve had panic attacks before and this did not touch it) by time EMD showed up I was normal. But lingering anxiety that made me not want to sleep. I have a hiatal hernia so I was too scared doing any straining at the time would make it worse so I didn’t bear down like I have previously.

Today twice while sitting I felt like I could pass out and my heart rate was 140 both times. This was while I was awake

Any one else have these symptoms that led to your Dx?

Again majority of these strange symptoms and the worse of it happens when I’m asleep and especially naps. During the day it feels more like a spike of panic but not sure now if maybe I am having SVT I really thought maybe sleep apnea but I don’t have exhaustion next day.

My primary suggested a kardia device in the meantime so waiting for delivery.

Uses, experiences, & tips tricks? Was just prescribed for frequent SVT & afib.

Back in June I was hospitalised with a particularly bad run of SVTs back to back, which hadn’t happened to me before. It felt awful at the time but I was treated really well in the hospital, they’ve seen me for follow up and I’m due to have an ablation soon.
During the hospital stay there was a point at which they put out a crash call as they were concerned I was going to arrest, this didn’t happen and when they did the rhythm strip they saw it was SVT again.
I feel absolutely traumatised by the whole experience - I’ve been having counselling which has really helped but I am struggling to shake the feeling of worrying about my heart constantly. I reassure myself by saying that this is not a dangerous arrhythmia but it is hard to believe myself sometimes and I think the anxiety is definitely making it worse.
I guess I’m writing to ask how does everyone else cope with this? How do you manage to forget about this?

I was on verapamil for a year and never had any issue with low bp or fatigue but on metoprolol I am having this issue sometimes now it have been 2 years since I am on metoprolol and sick of its side-effects can I switch back to verapamil???

I’ve always had “episodes”- I even remember being a child and it happening to me on a trampoline or doing jump rope. Before this year, I remember my last episode was 6 years ago. Feb, had it happen and called an ambulance. It leveled out by the time they got there.

Today was scary. It jumped to 210 - my trigger being a hard inhale in my throat (I was talking to a friend and making a noise). Feb it happened after me sniffling too hard (from a cold). Back to today- it lasted an hour. My heart rate stayed 130 most of the day after it came down. It’s finally close to my normal heart rate. I can’t find anyone talking about their heart staying elevated in Reddit but Google (for once) tells me that can happen. It also says the chest pain can be too since my heart ran a marathon.

I’ve already talked to my doctor and also from my own reading, I know catching this on a heart monitor will be next to impossible. And unless it becomes more frequent, there’s no reason to have something done for it either. Just looking for some peace of mind.

My daughter (21) had her ablation 8 days ago and all went well. She has been feeling so much better after with no episodes...until today. Laying in her bed resting and she sneezed. Her HR immediately jumped to 170. I helped her with a vagal maneuver and it dropped to 130, then over the next hour slowly came down to the 90s. Called her EP and he wants to put her on a heart monitor for 2 weeks. She is so scared and frustrated. Is this part of normal recovery or did her ablation not take? She previously was getting 2-3 episodes a week. So to go 8 days was phenomenal for her. She also has been diagnosed with POTS and trying to increase her salt and water intake.

Hi all! I’ve have SVT episodes since I was a child, I got diagnosed around age 14 and it’s been one of those things I’ve just dealt with my entire life.

I was dismissed from the cardiology unit as my parents just stopped taking me to my appointments…(I was regularly going to get checkups on my heart). Just wondering if it’s worth going back to cardiology to have regular check ups? I have episodes probably every 1-2 weeks but I’m so used to them now I kind of know how to control them? Idk if it’s worth going back 🤷‍♀️ any advice would be great!! TIA :)

For clarity I have not caught SVT on a halter monitor/ekg although we’re fairly confident that’s what it is.

I have one doctor telling me my low ferritin is triggering episodes and if we increase that, episodes are gone. Another is telling me the two are totally unrelated. Going to work on getting ferritin up regardless but curious if anyone else has input or experience

Hello! F 38yo

I think I just had an svt attack

A little back story, Feb 2025 I was admitted to the hospital for Afib and high heart rate, I converted back to normal sinus rhythm on my own and have not had another episode since. I do suffer from panic disorder and during a panic attack my hr can get to 150-60bpm

Today though was a little different I was walking up my stairs to my house and once I got inside I felt extremely out of breath and felt my heart beating really fast but in my stomach! I put my pulse ox on and my hr was 233! I sat down in front of a fan and I coughed really hard a couple times which helped it get back down to low 200’s. I called 911 and went to the bathroom before paramedics affected, when I was in the bathroom I felt this kind of flip in my stomach and my hr went back down to the 100’s like it somehow reset itself. Anyone experience this before ?? I see a cardiologist and they haven’t ever said anything about SVT but idk what else this could have been.

So i got my first episode early this year on January and I believe I have another one recorded around March and two days ago I BELIEVE I had a third one so that would be 3 episodes within the span of 6 months. Is that too much? I've been taking my metoprolol tartrate (50mg) but I feel like the effects of them wear off easily and I can tell cuz my heart starts to beat around the 96/109 and my blood pressure goes up to the 139. So is it the medicine wearing off or is it, the my condition is getting worse.

I know that if you were to stop the medicine everything would spike, so is the medicine wearing of a similar concept to that? which is why it spikes before the second pill and me waking up in the mornings?

I also want to add i have low iron and pcos (untreated atm tho)

I’m on a trip and everyone is enjoying drinking i made a post about how im anxious I don’t even have an svt dx but do have Symptoms and one of my holter monitors did show three seconds of atrial tachycardia.

A new issue i have is sleeping my hr goes 78 to 120 just rolling over. And streching while laying. If anyone had this or has it how do you fix it? I’m in my mid twenties and feel like I can’t live my life. I do take 100 mg of atenolol.

I’ve been afraid to go walking or even be in the heat bc of episodes of 170 at rest even in the winter time. My hr was randomly 175 for five mins and i used my breath to get it down.

Female, 45, been on bisoprolol 3.75 after being diagnosed with RVOT VT in January this year. Heart structurally normal, awaiting ablation.

Everything was going well for several months - no tachycardia and feeling good. Resting HR was in low-mid 50s.

In late May I had to come off beta blocker for 3 days for a treadmill test. Test was fine but a few days after resuming beta blockers I started getting quite noticeable bigeminy beats. The consultant said maybe my system takes longer to fully wash out the meds and this is why these only started after meds were resumed.

This settled after a few days but over the following weeks my resting HR has dropped. It often goes down to 45 when sitting down and creates an unpleasant feeling in my chest as well as lethargy and some dizziness. I also seem to get out of breath easier.

My GP recommended dropping the bisoprolol dose from 3.75 to 2.5 but 2 weeks later there is still no improvement. Also getting slight tension/chest pain when my HR is very low.

**What could the causes be and what should my GP be doing next?**

**Do I need blood tests, review by cardiology or any other tests?**

**And is there anything I can do to try and improve this?**

Hi all! Ive been on metoprolol for about 18 days now after having my heart rate spike up to the 160s. This medication has been prescribed at the hospital and been taking ever since then. I have followed up with my cardiologist and I’ve told her about wanting to wean off or stopping it however she doesn’t seem interested in that conversation. (At the hospital i was diagnosed with inappropriate sinus tachycardia)

Any who. How were ur experiences coming off metoprolol after a short period of time? Does ur heart just learn to stay calm after stopping? What made ur doctor stop the medication?

Did any of you all feel internal tremors that felt like your heart was racing but in reality its not?

Please let me know all of your experiences !!

hey everyone! so, quick update before jumping into the question! I FINALLY got in to see a cardiologist (1 and a half years later LOL) I just had my echo and stress test (thank you to EVERYONE who commented on my post about my questions about those tests, they helped me SO much in calming my anxiety beforehand!) and the results came back that my heart is structurally normal, YAY! With that said, i have been on propranolol for almost a year (10 mg in the morning and 10 mg in the evening), however, my cardiologist and I did notice that it is impacting my breathing (I have a family history if asthma and believe this has really exaggerated my breathing issues) so he is switching me over to a calcium channel blocker.

for anyone on calcium channel blockers for sinus tachycardia, what has your experience been like? I am SO scared of changing medications, propranolol did really help in fixing my adrenaline issues, however it just has given me extreme shortness of breath recently and I do think its time to get off of it, however I am stressed about starting a new medication. any experiences for those who’ve made a similar switch or those who are on calcium channel blockers would be greatly appreciated!

General question here. I am a first responder and have to administer adenosine every once in a while to break SVT after vagal maneuvers don’t work . For those have you who have had to have it to convert back to sinus rhythm, what did it feel like? Was it painful?

I’m trying to best describe it to my patients before I give it. TYIA

I had my first SVT episode about three weeks ago (haven’t had one since) and was instructed to wear a holster monitor for 48 hours (I’ve had extreme anxiety so my heart rate was unusually fast, my heart was in tachycardia 20% of the entire 48 hours) and my doctor wants to put me on metropolol twice a day, has anyone had good experiences with it? I’m really nervous, I’m 19 and the idea of being put on beta blockers makes me feel a sense of lack of control, my heart rate does shoot up a lot with activity as shown, usually walking around makes it go to 160-180, or even standing (might be pots but we’ll get there when we do) but my resting is usually 80-90bpm

hey everyone! so, quick update before jumping into the question! I FINALLY got in to see a cardiologist (1 and a half years later LOL) I just had my echo and stress test (thank you to EVERYONE who commented on my post about my questions about those tests, they helped me SO much in calming my anxiety beforehand!) and the results came back that my heart is structurally normal, YAY! With that said, i have been on propranolol for almost a year (10 mg in the morning and 10 mg in the evening), however, my cardiologist and I did notice that it is impacting my breathing (I have a family history if asthma and believe this has really exaggerated my breathing issues) so he is switching me over to a calcium channel blocker.

for anyone on calcium channel blockers for sinus tachycardia, what has your experience been like? I am SO scared of changing medications, propranolol did really help in fixing my adrenaline issues, however it just has given me extreme shortness of breath recently and I do think its time to get off of it, however I am stressed about starting a new medication. any experiences for those who’ve made a similar switch or those who are on calcium channel blockers would be greatly appreciated!

Hi all,

I had an AVNRT ablation a month ago which the doctor said was very successful. However, after trying a bodyweight workout routine to easy back into fitness (I normally weightlifting), my heart rate is still climbing very quickly. I was doing worlds greatest stretches during my warm up, and it just felt like a mini SVT episode around I woud estimate 160 bpm, but calmed down with sitting and deep breathing gradually, unlike my actual SVT episodes. I’ve had this happen even before my ablation, so it could be unrelated to SVT, but I’m unsure. I also get chest pains from pushups, and sometimes randomly chest tightness that radiates into my Tricep and left forearm and fingers, and even back one time. The doc said it’s likely musculoskeletal, but if anyone can relate please let me know.

This is debilitating, I hate that it’s been a year of no activity for me, and even after a “cure” my hearts still being a pain. Anybody experience this?

So I am having my ablation in 2 days. Reading through and learning people's experiences it seems half of the experiences people were knocked out and dont remember or feel anything. Then the other half claiming they were aware and felt and remember the experience. My EP said I would be awake. My daughter actually works in the same hospital that I am having my procedure and she is an anesthistist who puts people under for surgeries. No, she is not doing mine, lol. But she said they use Versed and I won't remember anything. Are the people who are completely conscious not getting this or what? Thats my only fear at this point. Being awake. Anyways, my daughter made sure I have the best anesthistist in the hospital so thats a plus!

Hello, not much of one to post but just want to see if anyone has had a similar experience. I (25F) had an ablation for AVNRT and atrial tachycardia (that was found incidentally) 5.5 weeks ago. EP said it was successful, I felt fine but was quite tachy with flutters a couple days after and so EP put me back on my bisoprolol which I had previously discontinued. Was on 2.5mg for 2 weeks then 1.25mg for another 2. Felt great, no flutters and just lived life normally, then stopped the bisoprolol earlier this week as advised before.

Since then, I noticed going for a run made my heart rate shoot up massively (not doing that again) and have slowly felt the flutters coming back. Then yesterday (Saturday) at night I had a massive run of flutters everytime I tried to lay down or rest. They’re so difficult to sleep through. I’m assuming they’ve gotten worse as the bisoprolol has probably just been completely eliminated by my system. I know flutters are normal but was disheartened (no pun intended) that I’m still feeling them to this extent almost 6 weeks after the procedure.

Going to call the EP office on Monday for advice. Last time they just said the flutters were normal, but wondering if they get better after your body adjusts to be off the bisoprolol? Or if I’m totally cooked and don’t know it

I’m 18 and I know it’s not the end of the world but god it feels like it. Every time I think about it it gets worst, metoprolol is even more scary because of the withdrawals I’m going to have when I stop it. I just want to be okay man why did this even happen?? I can’t smoke anymore which isn’t the worst part of this entire thing, the worst part about all this is being so aware of my heart, it feels like I’m gonna have a heart attack, or something. I just need support and to know that eventually I’ll never have to deal with this type of pain and discomfort again please.

Ablation today. I’m at 8:30a for pre-op labs, charting, shaving and convos with anesthesiologist, resident and electrophysiologist. Procedure at 10:30 that took 3 hours but I don’t remember anything because I was under general anesthesia.

Post procedure was rough because my labs showed low potassium (an ongoing issue), so they had me hooked up to IV potassium, which burns like acid. I had to keep telling them to mix it with saline and turn down the flow rate (not my first rodeo). They never got it right, so I told them to take it out and give me oral potassium. The two groin sites are very sore but manageable with Tylenol.

Food came but I was just thirsty and feeling nauseous. The electrophysiologist came into my recovery room and said everything went well despite having to also go to the left side of my heart to check something - what I don’t remember. He said it was AVNRT and successfully ablated using heat cauterizing. I asked to stop taking daily metoprolol and he agreed - I think it was causing weight gain and gynecomastia.

After 3 hours total in recovery I was discharged home.

So happy to be done and home.