WHY do I have SVT?
One of the questions that I get asked all the time, (and that I used to ask myself over and over again), was WHY do I have SVT?
My experience with my own SVT suffering and healing journey, helps me to understand that SVT is a multi-layered condition (just like most health issues are) and that to figure out “WHY you have SVT,” you have to view Supra-ventricular Tachycardia from a much more integrative perspective.
Understanding why you have SVT from an Integrative Perspective…
If you have SVT, then YES you have an accessory pathway present, but WHY do you have electrical mis-fires on some days vs. others? Why are you more susceptible to an SVT when you are stressed out, didn’t get enough sleep, are dehydrated or over-ate (and for women when you are menstruating)? WHY do so many people with SVT also have POTS, Anxiety, Adrenal fatigue, Digestive issues, or even Autoimmune diseases along with their SVT condition? These are the questions that I posed for myself, and found answers using an integrative perspective.
I do not personally believe that SVT is a stand alone condition, nor do I think that SVT is as “random” as traditional cardiology suggests, (which is also why I do not believe that pharmaceuticals are the solution for it.)
Therefore, to answer the question “WHY do I have SVT”, you simply must look for the root causes.
A root cause medicine approach, (the premise of integrative medicine) is an integrative or functional term that suggests that there are “factors/reasons” that contribute to why we are experiencing a health issue; and that we have to search deeply to find those causes to get to the real root of the problem to find lasting healing. It means treating the ROOT vs. the SYMPTOM.
Root causes (and even triggers) can be thought of as the circumstances that can weaken your health or restore it depending on lifestyle choices, diet, emotional well-being, environment, and other influencers. They represent the vast and complex internal tapestry that requires our attention.
This is where the source of our illness and disharmony resides and where we also find opportunity to restore balance and rebuild health.
These are the key areas that impact your health and planted the seeds for your susceptibility to SVT, and are also the points of power of where you can exercise action steps to take back control of your health and destiny.
The “CORE FOUR” is a term that I use to encompass 4 major areas to examine to find the root causes. The Core Four are central to the discussion about what you can tangibly do to help yourself. Once we understand our root causes and triggers, we can apply lifestyle changes, food and dietary changes, and many more healing modalities as the “remedies” to support ourselves. Once again, it is the combination of healing approaches that will serve to help us, and usually not just “one” thing that needs to be “fixed” to find lasting relief.
Below is a brief re-cap of the healing layers, as I see them, that I embraced as part of my own Heal SVT Naturally Protocol and that I encourage you to do the same. It’s up to each of us to explore these topics further to find the ones that resonate with you. I have several resources to help take you further within each layer, such as e-guides, classes, and eventually a course, coming soon!
My role, is to share self-healing suggestions with the intention to empower you…to not only take the steps that feel comfortable for you to look at your own health circumstance from a more integrative perspective, but to realize that healing is a journey, and that there are many aspects that contributed to the rise of our health issues, and that many of them can be restored through shifts in our thinking, behavior, and dietary and lifestyle choices.
Part of the integrative approach is taking both action steps + responsibility to help yourself where you can, to do what is within your control. That is all we can do. I share ways to help people feel more empowered and do the essential self-healing work to facilitate the process.
Here are some of the areas that contributed to my SVT condition and along with some resources for each…
The Physical+ Nutritional Layer:
The SVT-Gut Connection, which is a foundational component of my Heal SVT Naturally approach, is the belief that several key physical and nutritional components impact our propensity for SVT; Gut health, Inflammation and the vagus nerve. The physical and nutritional layer include things like depletion, hormone imbalance,
inflammation, leaky gut syndrome, malabsorption of essential vitamins and minerals (which can stem from undiagnosed food sensitivities), overtaxed liver, high body burden, drained nervous system, and more. In my case, my SVT was often accompanied by feeling exhausted, adrenal fatigue, headaches, constipation and digestive disturbances. One example of how using an Integrative perspective helped me connect my SVT to my Gut was that I could see that my SVT often occurred whenever I was constipated. If I did NOT have a bowel movement I was far more likely to have an SVT that day. While my Cardiologist found zero interest in that discovery, I USED that information to draw an important connection to the relationship between my gut health and my propensity for SVT. I was then able to take steps to improve my Diet, eat more fiber, identify what was constipating me, address long standing emotional eating issues, and poor eating habits that stemmed from a lack of desire to take proper care of myself and more. I went to a health coach, performed a stool sample to identify food sensitivities, stopped eating white sugar and processed foods, went gluten (and sometimes) dairy free, increased greens and water and saw vast improvements! The impact that Diet and lifestyle changes had on my SVT was profound. I KNEW that this was just the tip of the iceberg and a under-researched avenue to help people manage their SVT and so I spent two years writing The SVT Prevention Diet, an e-guide to share this vast topic with you, along with how to use food, and your relationship to food and self care as a a supportive tool to assist you in your healing efforts. Learn more HERE
The Emotional Layer:
We all have emotional stressors both current and past. Some of us have 
years of unresolved issues, childhood wounds, old grief, heartache and trauma. Trauma, especially unhealed childhood traumas, are part of why we develop a heart chakra condition such as SVT. The emotional layer of healing SVT involves being really honest about what issues are coming up for healing and to address those wounds with new perspective. The more we can do release work, learn to hold space for ourselves, develop self-love and compassion and dive in things like inner child healing, re-parenting, forgiveness work and more, the more we can develop the nurturing side of ourselves that is an essential piece of listening to our hearts and living a heart based life. Part of this, is deepening our relationship with our intuition so that we can not only listen to our hearts, but create a life we love that is build on following our true path and purpose. I wrote a FREE e-guide called Journaling with your Intuition, to help people explore their relationship with their Intuition as part of the process, and also to encourage journaling as an amazing form of emotional release work. Learn more HERE
The other layers to explore include the energetic and spiritual which I will explore in an upcoming post.
. Thank you for being here and for taking the time to read this!
More Heal SVT Naturally RESOURCES for You:
- Get my FREE TOP TEN TIPS to HEAL SVT NATURALLY a free 14 page e-guide when you sign up for my email list for FREE HERE
- The SVT Prevention Diet e-guide, GET IT HERE
- Heal SVT Naturally INSTAGRAM page HERE
- Join The Heal SVT Naturally Private Facebook Group HERE
- Journaling TOOLS: SVT Journaling Page HERE
- Learn more about The Heal SVT Naturally Self Empowerment E-guide series HERE
- Like and follow my personal Heal SVT Naturally FB Page HERE
- Please comment below with any questions. I LOVE to hear from you and try to answer as many q’s as possible!
Your article is so very spot on! My story one, that when I tell people what my hearts been up to, the stare with their mouths open. Electrophysiologist Docs haven’t been able to explain it so I dug in and found so many issues related to hormones that the average Cardio Doc doesn’t want to listen or believe! Thank you for all you do and I’ll continue reading and researching! ( I have SVT, Bradycardia, SSS, POTS etc)
Hi Rosalie,
For you, it sounds really important to look at your diet! Are you vegetarian or vegan or do you eat meat and dairy? I think a diet of mostly plants, some fish, is best. I rarely consume any meat at all and have also reduced all my dairy in the last 2 years. I maybe have cheese 1 x per month if that. Your system sounds overwhelmed. Read my SVT Prevention Diet to learn about the possibilities of an overburdened lymphatic system and undiagnosed food sensitivities. You have to reduce your sugar as well. its ALL CONNECTED! Plus take your magnesium and drink tons of water, electrolytes etc.
Thought I was having a heart attack. A full day in the EMERGENCY room. Ten days of wearing a monitor. Multiple expensive tests. My arrogant cardiologist prescribed ELIQUIS and diagnosed me with A-FIB. He told me to get used to seeing him every three months. He scheduled a surgery to install a pace maker. I refused to take ELIQUIS. I got a second opinion from another cardiologist. He said I had SVT. I tried to determine the trigger as I had enjoyed great health up to this point. I connected the first symtoms to long work days in the hot sun at the farm. Tons of muscle cramps. My niece reminded me that my heart was a muscle and was probably cramping as well. Started eating foods that were high in magnesium and potassium. Drank cranberry juice with coconut water and two drops of iodine daily. Included fasting 2X’s a week. Adding fresh ground ginger to my coffee. I went from not being able to put more than three regular heart beats together to running strings of 500 perfect heartbeats together. I’m 64. My heart rate is 57 bpm. My bp is 110/70. Last checkup said I have zero evidence of SVT. Went from having no energy and forced to sit on the couch for weeks to cutting down hundreds of trees with my chainsaw for weeks on end. Four mile hikes on rugged trails and twenty mile daily bike rides are part of my weekly routine. I want to thank you for encouraging me to take steps to heal myself. Both “cardiologists” offered me no natural healing. Dangerous pills and lifetime doctor visits were the best they could do. They both said I’d have my heart condition for life. So appreciate the encouragement and alternatives you offer.
Hi Harley!
I’m so glad to hear that the dietary changes are helping you. I ALWAYS noticed that I had leg craps for 1-2 days prior to an SVT. I realized it was my body’s way to telling me that I was low in magnesium and iron. I take magnesium daily along with many other vitamins. I am glad that you listened to your intuition. Keep taking great care of yourself!
Laura
Reading this comment has given me so much hope x
THANK YOU FOR YOUR E/MAIL AND INFORMATION LAURA.
Your welcome!
I’m facing whatever heart treatment at John’s Hopkins in Baltimore within the near future.I’ve been trying for 3 years to fix this. It is bad Bradycardia SVT A-Fib Syncope Atherosclerosis with a Naturopath 2 1/2 years.I was doing pretty good until COVID vaccine in may.I lost 40 lbs., cut out sugar and caffeine as walking 2 miles a day. Whole Foods Plant based nutrition. Worked with my Vagus nerve. I have always struggled handling stress.I’ve really struggled emotionally.I lost my only Brother 3 1/2 years ago. I had to handle his affairs then 4 months later my only son walked out of our lives because he wanted his inheritance at that time and we did not agree to that. He has no contact we have 2 grandchildren we are not able to see.
Hi Cindy,
Im so sorry for the difficulties that you are facing with the loss of your brother and trouble with your son. These are absolutely some of the things that impact our heart and SVT. The best advice I can give on this is to treat yourself with as much self-compassion and gentleness as possible. Keep telling yourself that you set a boundary with your son and that is was really hard to do so, but that is what you felt was the right thing at the time. Always remember that rejection is Gods protection. Think about other times in your life where you did or did not set boundaries and there were harsh consequences. Make sure you hold space for yourself to grieve these looses and challenges are bringing up for you and let your heart express itself and whatever it needs. Only you can be there for yourself. Give yourself lots of love and compassion, and always be there for yourself. Sending you lots of love and support, and keep up the amazing work with your Diet! Let me know how else I can help. Laura
Thanks so much for this article, Laura. I first experienced “irregularities” when I was a teen in the 1980s. I was diagnosed with “Arrythmia” in my 30s and then finally, I was diagnosed with “SVT” in my late 40s. The doctors had me try four different blood pressure medications, all with bad side effects.
Hi Stacy,
Try to start with some dietary shifts and lower your animal consumption and replace with legumes, veggies and whole grains. Also drink more water, take magnesium, and layer in tons of self care! Massage, gentle yoga, journaling, emotional release work, and loving self-care! What ares of live do you need support with? Is it diet, or emotional healing or self-care? Thanks for your comment!
Laura
After being in excellent health for 63 years, I was recently diagnosed with SVT. I passed out and was taken to the hospital and admitted for observation. I wore a heart monitor for 30 days and then met with a cardiologist who immediately wanted to schedule an ablation. I was too afraid to have that procedure, so I opted for the medication route. I’m still experiencing mild symptoms, which are unsettling but tolerable. The only issue that I feel wasn’t addressed is that my SVT is most often triggered by swallowing. I feel dizzy and as if I might faint sometimes while having a meal. Is that common for people who have SVT?
I just got back my results of the heart monitor and it shows SVT but I had already figured out that my problem was the muli vitamins and other vitamins I was taking. I am a vegetarian and took vitamins because I thought I needed them but every morning after taking my vitamins and medication I felt awful, dizzy. nauseas , heart pounding. this went on for months and they said I had vertigo. I ended up stop taking my vitamins, I read that some have titanium dioxide in them and I read mine they had that in them so I gave them up and have been feeling fine ever since.
OK well increase your water intake, make sure to massage your vagus nerve and take magnesium as beginner steps. Also read The SVT Prevention Diet!