----- Original Message -----
From: "Jennifer Bradley" <[log in to unmask]>
>
> I started the buspar and two weeks later developed chest pains and a
rapid
> heartbeat.  I already have been diagnosed with an underlying heart
problem
> called superventricular tachycardia and I take atenolol for that.
During
> one of the episodes I became sick to my stomach and was admitted to
the
> hospital through the ER.  I was admitted to the cardiac care unit for
a 24
> hour observation and several tests were run.

SVT or the term you used is a broad classification of tachycardia (fast
heart rate) that points to causes other than from the ventricles (lower
chambers of the heart). Atrial Fibrillation which is a common cardiac
manifestation of excess thyroid is a form of SVT. Your response to
Atenolol (e.g. Tenormin) supports your physician's hunch that it is
indeed SVT probably secondary to excess thyroid. Beta-Blockers like
Atenolol attach their molecules to what is called Beta receptors  (there
are 3 types) in the heart. Apart from this primary effect, they slow
down the conduction time between the heart's pacemaker (the sino-atrial
node) located in the atrium (the right upper chamber) and the AV Node
(atrio-ventricular node). Hence, a super-fast atrium is brought more in
sync to a level the ventricles could handle. In some, this conduction
between the upper chambers and the ventricles become chaotic, with
forward and backward flow of electrical impulse, and the patient suffers
episodes of abnormal rhythm of tachycardia and the opposite
(bradycardia), such as in the case of what is called WPW
(Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome). You could be in reality hypothyroid,
but in the presence of an underlying rhythm abnormality, it is best that
the heart concern is addressed properly in order for you to accomodate
the further increase of heart rate during thyroid medication. There are
options if the cause is due to extraneous conducting tissue in the
heart -- this is handled by cardiologists specialized in the area of
ElectroPhysiology. They zap the excess tissue (radio-frequency ablation)
and try to sync the impulses. Now, if your tachycardia is purely atrial
in origin and related to excess thyroid, beta-blockers work beautifully
on the symptoms. Of course the hormone level has to come down to address
the root of the problem whether the cause is endogenous or from too much
medication.

Hope this helps.

Greg




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