48 y/o male, no significant medical history, healthy BMI, non smoker, light drinker, active physically. Since I was a teenager I had occasional bouts of tachycardia. Typically once or twice per year and typically resolved within 10 minutes or so. Heard rate exceeding 180bpm but no lose of consciousness or dizziness. You wouldn’t even know it was happening talking to me but the feeling is a bit uncomfortable, not painful. Hard to say what triggers it, if anything, but relaxing and deep breathing, valsalva maneuver helps stop it. My mother had the same symptoms developed late in life so I was a bit familiar when it first happened and knew that it was basically no big deal so never reported. They initially put her on beta blockers but they made her tired so she stopped and lived the rest of her life. It wasn’t her heart that got her in the end, it was cancer. Lately the attacks have been more frequent, averaging once per month, and lasting longer, longest one 2 hours. Again, I maintain full consciousness and can function normally physically and mentally during the attacks. (Probably wouldn’t want to go for a jog…) I wear a watch that captures a single lead ECG and during the attacks it shows 190bpm but the pattern seems normal from what I can tell looking at internet ECG guides, just too fast, which meets the definition of superventricular tachycardia. Question for the group: Do I need to seek treatment? I have read about various drugs (beta blockers) as well as surgical procedures. It’s unclear to me if this condition represents a serious risk to my health. And if I seek diagnosis and treatment, what is the process and how difficult will it be for me to satisfy the FAA? (1st class med?)
1st seek treatment and get this issue under control. The FAA will seek records and will instruct you how to comply.
Get to an electrophysiologist- cardiologist, for the sake of your well-being and not for your medical certification (One day it will run away and you'll get the bejabbers scared out of you as your lungs fill up......!) All you will have to do is demonstrate good control - meds/ablation/ whatever.
Our doctors have weighed in, so I can go off topic… a bit My brain must be tired from the flying with students today. I saw the thread title and I couldn’t help adding “…expialidocious”
I ain't a doc but me thinks this is something that should have been done long ago! Take care of that ticker ...
Meh, I know a few people that go get by without having any heart. and more than a few, without any brain.
My 16 yr old son (athlete) has it, seems to be triggered by adrenaline. Doing the ablation this summer. Was told if he was a couch potato probably wouldn’t have even known it was there. Doing the surgery vs drugs for life. Apparently the surgery (Cincy Childrens) is a non-event and he can play baseball in a day or two. Sounds crazy. I have wondered what that would do to a medical.
>90 days after successful ablation: Admission note Procedure note Discharge summary (if >24 hour stay) 24-48 hour rhythm monitor Echocardiogram.
