Treatment

In most cases, if you experience short episodes of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) with no symptoms, your health care professional may recommend no therapy. However, if you do have symptoms, frequent episodes, or both, then you will likely require treatment.

What treatment is best for you depends on the type of SVT you have, how often it occurs, and the degree and length of symptoms. The goal is to prevent these abnormal heart rhythms and to limit your symptoms.

Your treatment might include:

Vagal maneuvers: For a sudden episode of SVT, actions such as bearing down, coughing, or holding your breath may stop the abnormal rhythm. These actions can slow the electrical impulses in your heart. 

Medications: Patients may be prescribed daily medications to help prevent SVT episodes from occurring or to slow heart rates during SVT episodes. Commonly prescribed medications are beta-blockers, verapamil, and digoxin. Occasionally, other medications called antiarrhythmic drugs (such as amiodarone or sotalol) may be given to prevent SVT episodes from occurring.

Cardioversion: In rare cases, you might require an electrical shock to get your heart back into a normal rhythm.

Catheter ablation: Ablation can be considered as a primary, first-line therapy for certain types of SVT, and it may also be considered if you often have symptoms despite being on medical therapy. During an ablation, a catheter is placed through a vein typically in your leg, then guided to your heart. An electrical study is done to find the area in your heart causing the electrical problems that trigger SVT. Your doctor then destroys this area either by burning or freezing that part of the heart.

Ablation is effective in treating specific forms of SVT. However, it does have some rare, but serious procedural risks. Be sure to talk about the procedure, and its risks and benefits, with your physician. Together with your health care team, you will find a treatment that is right for you.