Understanding Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT)

This video contains an explanation of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), aimed at helping students of medicine and healthcare professionals prepare for exams.

Written notes and diagrams about supraventricular tachycardia are available on the website at:

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[acousticreflections]

I have been a nurse for over 30 years and I’ve worked in internal medicine the majority of them. This is probably one of the best descriptions of SVT I’ve ever heard.

[victorialoy]

Was diagnosed with SVT at 11 years old and had ablation surgery. Resting heart rate was 180 and had symptoms of closing throat and difficulty breathing. So grateful for the wonderful doctors who helped me! Thank you for explaining these heart conditions and teaching others!!

[therambler]

Spent years in medical school struggling to understand SVT and you just made it super easy for me to understand in a few minutes. 😎

[barbarauridge]

It took 4 coronary specialists in 4 countries over 50 years before I got correctly diagnosed as having SVT. I was usually given sedatives being regarded as an anxious female, then adenosine intravenously to correct heart rate. A brilliant doctor visiting Monterey hospital diagnosed my SVT as an electrical problem and gave me a catheter Ablation all done in 10 minutes!

[milkymommyz]

I'm watching this because I had SVT, the atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia kind, when I was younger and want to understand it better. After my surgery at age 11, I haven't had any more episodes, but it was terrifying. This video explained a lot. Thank god for medicine and its practitioners. Great video!

[MegaSkills]

This is by far the BEST explained SVT video on You Tube. Thank you very much.

[elizabethwager]

this helped me understand what i have so much better. im 12 years old and four weeks ago had a terrible episode. i had two before that, but we didnt know it was SVT. i had 250 bpm for an hour and a half to two hours. my school nurse wouldnt call an ambulance for me when many doctors said i needed one. i arrived at the hospital unstable and had to be dropped off and brought into the room alone because my mom couldnt find parking. currently im on a beta blocker and havent had an episode since. all i am now is scared ofhaving another one. i had three in one year which isnt common. wishing all people who are going through this the best of luck. here are so tips i got from my cardiologist that helped.


If you are in an episode, start acting like you are trying to poop and pushing really hard.

In an episode, bending over and violently coughing can help get you out of it

If you are in it for more then 20 minutes and these techniques haven’t worked to get you out, go to the hospital. If you dont have someone to drive you call an ambulance. driving can be stressful and you dont want to faint while driving.

[rehababdelbagi]

u have no idea how much i struggled to understand SVT and in just 13 minutes u latterly saved my life, i cant ever thank u enough

[syedzainulabideen]

For 2 years I'm hearing about SVTs, but never knew what it meant. And finally you explained the causes, types and management in a simple and great way.
Thank
<3

[fengtube]

This is the best explanation of SVT whatsoever! Greatly appreciated!

[tominnis]

I have suffered from bouts of SVT since I was 26 years old. Initially they only lasted between about 2 and 5 minutes. Later, when they lasted for hours, I had to be treated by adenosine. I never fully understood it, but I do now. Thank you!

[urqcymc]

You taught it so well I actually started loving what I’m studying .. I’ve never found cardio this interesting .. legit wanna be a cardiologist now …

[geraldfrieberg]

Wonderful video, and extremely well explained. I had a case of atrial flutter (HR about 120 to 130 BPM). This was very alarming, as my resting rate is normally in the high 50's. My cardiologist performed catheter ablation, and thus far (after 2 years), the flutter has NOT returned. I am reasonably sure that this was caused by fibrous tissue in my heart as a result of alcohol use (2-3 IPA's per day for several years). I think alcohol, even in moderate amounts on a regular basis, causes heart damage. Needless to say, it has altered my view of moderate alcohol use "being good" for the heart. That belief, IMHO, is perpetrated by the alcohol industry itself.
So, hopefully others can learn from my own experience. I am very fortunate to still be here, and had a great physician who helped me with this issue. I was 66 years old when this ablation occurred, and in otherwise good physical condition (not obese, 5'8", 145 lbs, and a regular exerciser). Be VERY careful in buying into the idea that small amounts of alcohol, regularly, are good for you. Not everybody !! Do some reading up on this subject in documented medical literature and you will see that I am correct.

[robertmiller]

I’m a victim of Pulseless Ventricular Tachycardia where my heart is beating so fast, you can’t feel a heartbeat. It’s been caught at 197bpm but that’s only the beginning. They discovered I have a very rare heart defect I was born with, known as Wolff, Parkinson, White Syndrome. That’s only part of the problem since I also get bradycardia and A-fib plus spontaneous blackouts. I’m so rare because I have a short circuit between the SA node and the AV node besides the normal pathway. So my poor heart gets two different signals and messing everything up. I now have an expensive loop heart monitor implanted in me that checks my heart 24/7. That’s so my Electrophysiologist can find each heart cell involved in the short circuit. In a rare procedure, he will have to destroy each rogue heart cell one cell at a time to stop the short circuit from happening again. That could take up to 10 hours and I cannot move, so I’ll be strapped to the table unconscious. Btw, I’ve now lived with this heart defect for 78 years, an accomplishment for this poor heart still beating in my chest.

[birdsforbrains]

You explained SVT better than my diagnosing doctor. I appreciated the amount of detail that went into the explanation of SVT's causes!

[tanimowosunkanmi]

What a comprehensive package this teaching was! I toiled all night to find this!!

[baijunair]

I must tell u
This s the best explanation I've ever heard...and exactly to the point which even includes how to administer the drug....u truly deserve a thumbs up and a subscription

[carolinehanna]

I spent over 2 years trying to understand all of these, and you made everything clearer in just 13 mins!!
You are phenomenal!! Thank you so much!

[Misbah]

I must say this is the most easily explained SVT. Video.I understood more by watching your video then any others

[wholeNwon]

When I was a senior student, I met an elderly man with a history of rare SVT episodes. He was first treated by Dr. Wenckebach himself with digitalis. It was very effective and he required only a minor dose adjustment. The pt. became a celebrity in the hospital.