Supraventricular Tachycardia

Medications

If you have symptoms, medicines may be used to treat supraventricular tachycardia.

Medication Choices

For severe symptoms, such as chest pain, shortness of breath, or feeling faint, you may be given fast-acting antiarrhythmic medicines by health professionals in the hospital emergency department, where your heart can be monitored. Fast-acting antiarrhythmic medicines commonly used to slow the heart rate during an episode include:

• Adenosine.
• Calcium channel blockers(specifically verapamil and diltiazem).
• Beta-blockers (specifically propranolol, metoprolol, or esmolol).

Long-term use of an antiarrhythmic medicine may also be needed to reduce the chance of having more episodes of supraventricular tachycardia or to reduce the heart rate during these episodes. Common medicines used for this purpose include:

• Beta-blockers.
• Calcium channel blockers.
• Digoxin.
• Other antiarrhythmic medicines.

What to Think About

All medicines have side effects. See a table of medicines that may interact with other medicines and with pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs).

More information What are the limitations and side effects of antiarrhythmic medicines?

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Author:	Robin Parks, MS	Last Updated: September 17, 2008
Medical Review:	Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine Stephen Fort, MD, MRCP, FRCPC - Interventional Cardiology
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