1. Heart Disease (Coronary Artery Disease) Slideshow Pictures
2. Slideshow: Atrial Fibrillation Causes, Tests, and Treatment
3. Take the Heart Disease Quiz!

Medical Author:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

View Full Profile

Medical Editor:

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.

View Full Profile

PSVT can cause a number of symptoms, depending on a person's overall health and how fast their heart is beating. People with heart damage or other coexisting medical problems experience a greater degree of discomfort and complications than those who are healthy. Some people have no symptoms at all.

Symptoms can come on suddenly and may go away by themselves; they can last a few minutes or as long as 1-2 days. The rapid beating of the heart during PSVT can make the heart a less effective pump so that the body organs do not receive enough blood to work normally. The following symptoms are typical with a rapid pulse of 140-250 beats per minute:

• Palpitations (the sensation of the heart pounding in the chest)
• Dizziness, light-headedness (near-faint), or fainting
• Shortness of breath
• Anxiety
• Chest pain or tightness

In infants and very young children, symptoms are sometimes difficult to discern. However, those infants with irritability, poor feeding, sweating, poor coloration of skin, and who exhibit a pulse rate of 200-250 beats per minute may have PSVT.

Must Read Articles Related to Supraventricular Tachycardia

Atrial Fibrillation Atrial fibrillation (A fib) describes a rapid, irregular heart rhythm. The irregular rhythm, or arrhythmia, results from abnormal electrical impulses in the hea...learn more >>

Atrial Flutter Atrial flutter is an abnormality in the beating of the heart. Such abnormalities, whether in rhythm of heartbeat or speed of heartbeat, are known as arrhythmias...learn more >>

Chest Pain Chest pain has many causes. Life-threatening causes include heart attack, angina, aortic dissection, perforated viscus, pulmonary embolism, collapsed lung, and ...learn more >>

See the Entire Supraventricular Tachycardia Topic Guide »