MANY things in life cause our hearts to race — a near-death experience, seeing your crush, or running a marathon.

When the fluttering or pounding in our chests start, we barely give it a second thought, chalking the experience up to our emotions once again taking over. What happens, though, when you experience that popular skip of a heartbeat when simply sitting on the couch? Or when your heart rate increases and all you did was type an e-mail?

At this point, it stops being an appropriate and normal body function. Now, you may have SVT.

Supraventricular tachycardias (SVT) is just a very technical, medical way of saying you have an abnormally fast heart rate caused by electrical activity in the upper/top part of the heart.

If you’ve never heard of SVT, you aren’t alone. Most Jamaicans are unfamiliar with the term and yet, SVT is a common condition locally.

About two in every 1,000 people have it, which translates to nearly 90,000 new cases each year. However, most people will live their entire lives unaware of this heart condition, mainly because we’re so used to our heart racing in other situations, we don’t give much attention when the familiar extra beats start.

Generally, SVT is non-life-threatening, however, just like every other heart condition, without the proper treatment and care, this simple abnormality can become more problematic and dangerous

The dedicated doctors at cardiac care centre, Partners Interventional Centre of Jamaica (PICJ), teamed up with Dr Mahendra Carpen, head of Internal Medicine and Cardiology at the Georgetown Public Hospital in Guyana, to provide the Jamaica Observer with a crash course in SVTs and how to treat it.

It can happen to anyone

Nothing specific causes someone to be diagnosed with SVT — from young to old, male or female — anyone could have the condition.

However, there are several factors that can cause someone with SVT to have an “episode” where the heart rate increases. These risk factors include drinking too much caffeine or alcohol, smoking, using illegal drugs or energy pills, leaving thyroid disorders untreated, and stress.

The way forward

SVT is far from a death sentence. You can live a full life and manage your risk factors. During an episode, you can even return your heart rate to normal by using simple tricks like coughing, holding your breath and bearing down, splashing cold water on your face or even doing a headstand.

Not all manoeuvres work for everyone, but finding the right one will make the world of a difference.

Eat well

A well-balanced diet with whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and lean protein is always smart.

Certain foods that are full of minerals help keep your heart in rhythm. Put potassium and magnesium on your grocery list with bananas, cantaloupe, oranges, spinach, almonds, avocados, brown rice, sweet potato and yogurt, to name a few.

Also, try to cut back on those foods that trigger fast heartbeats, like chocolate, very spicy food and very cold drinks.

Exercise

Exercise is key. Yes, you read that right. It might sound like a contradiction since working out is sure to increase your heart rate, but exercise is important to keep your heart muscles strong so it doesn’t fail when you do have an episode of SVT.

Also, you put an extra strain on your heart if you’re overweight, so stay in shape with low cardio workouts. Start any new exercise programme slowly, with much consultation from your doctor, and monitor your heart rate throughout.

See a doctor

Anything to do with the heart should not be taken lightly. If you have SVT or think you might, your first step should be to talk to a cardiologist.

They may provide medication to manage the episodes or recommend a quick, minimally invasive procedure called cathetary ablation. This safe and effective procedure is the most common to treat and cure SVT and PICJ is the only facility that offers this service to Jamaicans.

To make an appointment, visit www.pic-jm.com/ or call (876) 926-1400.