Treadmill stress test for Afib/SVT

I had an arrhythmia (Wolfe Parkinson White) diagnosed and treated (ablation) about ten years ago. It was diagnosed by a stress test, a 24 Holter monitor and an event monitor which entails you pressing a button when you sense an arrhythmia and the monitor recalls and records the event. Between one or all of those tests, you should get an answer. And some motherly advice, don't do any more of those workouts until you get this sorted out.

Oh, and I forgot the basic diagnostic test, the EKG, which easily diagnoses what I had but not the severity.

Did the ablation solve the problem for you and were you able to get back into running after getting it done?

Yes, totally cured and EKG now normal with no more palpitations and completely back to running. The knees however, are not cooperating. Seriously though, just go to a cardiologist who specializes in arrhythymias and get it checked out.

Yup already moving forward with that. I waited around for a while because I figured if it was lethal it would've killed me already. I had a normal EKG a while ago, so I'm guessing it is not WPW. We'll see if anything comes up on the stress test tomorrow.

Hope you find the solution. Treadmill test did not work for me...ran me too slow. 24-hour monitor discovered SVT. Ablation years ago. Fixed. Never another episode. Best of luck!

runnermama wrote:

Oh, and I forgot the basic diagnostic test, the EKG, which easily diagnoses what I had but not the severity.

I went through all the tests a couple of years ago also, treadmill stress test, 24 hr monitor, ekg etc...

For me, nothing was found and my heart looked very healthy. In reviewing my 24 monitor, where I recorded the 'episodes', my cardiologist simply said I had an extra heart beat and said it was no big deal.

It felt like a big deal when it happens. At the time I was training for the mile and doing short workouts. I haven't had an episode in quite some time now.

I was 42 at the time and it was scary.

I would request from your doctor an Event Monitor. Most cardiology offices have them, you keep them for about 2 weeks, you can take it on and off, it's not too bad to wear and you could wear it while you are running. It doesn't record anything until you tell it too and you transmit it through the telephone. You could wear it during a track workout and when you start feeling your symptoms, you can record what is going on. Sometimes a stress test won't provoke what you are having due to it being pretty short in duration. The cardiologist really needs to see what your rhythm is to actually treat you.

Thanks for this advice, I am trying to get the event monitor now as the stress test didn't show anything (wasn't the intensity needed to produce an episode). Hopefully I can get one soon, because I could definitely produce a recording within a day or two.

For those who have gotten an ablation, how much time off were you forced to take? And did it resolve the problem for you?

I had an ablation three years ago - right atrium. Afib / A flutter has returned and I'm wearing an event monitor right now. I don't want a second ablation and I'm trying to figure out what the "trigger" is. I'm looking at my diet, food allergies and gastric upset. I usually can bring myself back to normal heart rate through meditation and taking antacids.

whatever123 wrote:

Thanks for this advice, I am trying to get the event monitor now as the stress test didn't show anything (wasn't the intensity needed to produce an episode). Hopefully I can get one soon, because I could definitely produce a recording within a day or two.

For those who have gotten an ablation, how much time off were you forced to take? And did it resolve the problem for you?

How long did you last on the stress test?

I'm pretty sure they hate to see runners come in for the treadmill stress test. When the technician saw how I was dressed (t-shirt, running pants and running shoes) he said 'Crap, this is gonna take awhile isn't it?' and then went and grabbed a snack that he had been eating.

The event monitor is what I had. When you felt and event and pushed the button, an operator would call within a few minutes to make sure you were OK.

I think the test ended up being like 15(?)minutes, it was actually pretty damn tough, close to a race type effort, but just not quite fast/short enough to go into an episode. One of the technician's I guess ran track in hs, and actually asked me what my times were and what kind of shape I was in before the test.

They pushed the incline and pace up pretty fast, I think the treadmill maxed at like 6min pace but they were able to put it up at a significant incline so I was definitely working really hard.

The thing is that these episodes only seem to happen after running basically sprint paces for 25sec-2min, so the tmill wasn't really able to replicate that. The only non-running time I've had an episode is after swimming hard in a freezing lake and being pretty close to hypothermia.

I'm hoping to get an event monitor asap now so I can get this process moving forward.

Event monitor should give you all the answers. It's pretty unusual to be able to induce SVT like you can. However you're low risk for anything really bad if your baseline EKG is normal.

Update - got the monitor and went out to the track today and recorded an episode. Have a follow up with my PCP next week and then probably speaking with a cardiologist after that. For those of you who chose the ablation route, did you try other options first (drugs?) and what was your time frame like from diagnosis to surgery.

I'm obviously looking to get this dealt with asap, since I want to salvage my last track season if I can. I can't help shake the feelings of uneasiness about the ablation though. The thought of heart surgery-like procedure, or some variation there-of, is terrifying at the age of 22. Unfortunately I don't really see much else on the table given what I've heard about the drugs hurting performance, and lifestyle changes being irrelevant in my case (already cut out caffeine/alcohol).

If I was dealing with 1 episode or so a month I'd just deal with it, but at this point it's happening pretty much every workout (at least when doing reps at 800-mile pace).

bump

Had an ablation for SVT in the fall of 07. Ablation was done on a Monday morning. I was cleared to run easy on Thursday of the same week and at my follow up the next Monday was cleared to resume full training. Havent had any episodes since and am still training.

Your heart heals very quickly from the procedure. The only thing they are really worried about with recovery is bleeding from your incisions. They obviously have to go into your heart through the major arteries. So, if one of the cuts opens up before it heals you'd be bleeding like crazy.

I chose ablation over drugs because drugs basically mean you'll never run fast again whereas an ablation is a procedure where you can return to normal very quickly. The chances of something going wrong with an ablation for SVT are very slim. So, either you go with the very small risk of ending up with a pacemaker from a botched ablation or you take beta blockers to prevent the SVT episodes from happening. Pace maker and bet blockers both mean your running career is basically over (though there have been a couple of instances of people still running fast with either).

I think I was pretty much back to normal after about a week. Keep in mind, they give you general anesthesia which wonks you out for a day or two and the other poster is correct that you want to make sure the insertion sites are healed fully before you start exercising again. I do remember being exceptionally nervous prior to the surgery but the wonderful anesthesiologists gave me some cocktail that knocked me out quickly. It was also weird sitting in the pre-op waiting room and being the youngest patient by several decades.

if you're not able to catch it with an event monitor, there are implantable devices, smaller than a pen cap, they you can "wear" for up to 5 years. download the info electronically.

ablations are pretty damn easy to recover from. if you haven't seen an EP cardiologist yet, then you should, since that's who would be doing your ablation.

and finally, ablations don't require anesthesiologists, because typically it is performed under conscious to deep sedation.

whatever123,

Your symptoms sound almost exactly what I have been dealing with for the past year or so. I'm a 36 old male and didn't have any issues that I could recall until around May 2014. I would find that when I would do hill intervals or track sessions that sometimes during the rest my heart would spike to around 220 and remain there for 5 minutes or longer. Eventually I was diagnosed with SVT but the doctor never actually had any record of it. I guess he ruled out some things and made the diagnosis based on my recollections of the incidents.

I tried to live with it for a time, as my episodes were usually 6 weeks if I avoided certain workouts. I actually PR'd the 5K (broke 19 minutes for the first time) and the 50K this past fall. But this year I started training for marathon with the hope of BQing and that's when the shit hit the fan. My episodes became more frequent and on even occurred on my long run (had to call my wife to pick me up as it would not correct).

My doctor had given me the option to ablate some time back and I finally took him up on it. I had my procedure 3 weeks ago. My doctor says it was a success and that there's a 99% chance that I'm cured. I ran after one week but was still pretty sore at the entry point of the catheters. Since then I've got back to training but I've gotta say. It sorta feels like starting over. My cardio is definitely been reduced by about 30%.

Hopefully you get your ablation done and are back sooner rather than later. Good luck.