Supraventricular tachycardia causes

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Ayokunle Olubaniyi, M.B,B.S [2] Ogheneochuko Ajari, MB.BS, MS [3]

Overview

Supraventricular tachycardia is a collective term used to describe all the tachycardias originating from the SA node, atrium and AV node. Therefore, the causes depend on the source of the pathology, and they are as follows:

Causes

Life Threatening Causes

Life-threatening causes include conditions which may result in death or permanent disability within 24 hours if left untreated.

2

Common Causes

2

Causes by Organ System

Cardiovascular	Air embolism, amyloidosis, aortic regurgitation, aortic stenosis, arteriovenous fistula, atrial ischemia, atrial myxoma, atrial septal defect, cardiac tamponade, cardiac tumors, cardiomyopathy, Chagas heart disease, congestive heart failure, constrictive pericarditis, coronary artery bypass graft surgery, coronary artery disease, dilated cardiomyopathy, Ebstein’s anomaly, endocarditis, familial atrial fibrillation, familial atrioventricular nodal reentry tachycardia, heart bypass surgery, heart failure, hemochromatosis, holiday heart syndrome, hypertensive heart disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, hypokalemia, hypotension, hypoxia, ischemic heart disease, Kawasaki disease, left ventricular hypertrophy, Lown-Ganong-Levine syndrome, LQT type 4, Lutembacher syndrome, mahaim fiber tachycardia, mitral regurgitation, mitral valve stenosis, myocardial infarction, myocarditis, neonatal coxsackie myocarditis, open heart surgery, pericarditis, peripartum cardiomyopathy, post cardiac surgery, pulmonary embolism, pulmonary hypertension, rheumatic heart disease, shock, sick sinus syndrome, stroke, temporary cardiac pacing, tricuspid regurgitation, tricuspid stenosis, unstable angina, uremic pericarditis, valvular heart disease, Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome
Chemical/Poisoning	Breath spray, carbon monoxide poisoning, cyanide, grayanotoxin, mercury poisoning
Dental	No underlying causes
Dermatologic	Psoriatic arthritis
Drug Side Effect	Albuterol, alprazolam, amiodarone, amphetamines, amrinone, atomoxetine, atropine, beta blockers, caffeine, carbamazepine poisoning, cimetidine, clonidine, conivaptan, diazoxide, dicobalt edetate, diltiazem, disopyramide, dobutamine, docetaxel, dopexamine, doxapram, doxorubicin, ephedrine, epirubicin, fentanyl, flecainide, flumazenil, fluvoxamine, guanethidine, hexamethonium, hydralazine, ibutilide, isoprenaline, isoproterenol infusion, lithium, methamphetamines, methyldopa, methylphenidate, methysergide, minoxidil, nelarabine, nicotine, orlistat, palonosetron, paroxetine, phenoxybenzamine, phentolamine, porfimer sodium, pramipexole, procainamide, propafenone, quinidine, ramucirumab, reserpine, ritodrine, romidepsin, salbutamol, salmeterol, sargramostim, sibutramine, theophylline, trimethaphan, type Ia antiarrhythmic agents, type Ic antiarrhythmic agents, type III antiarrhythmic agents, verapamil
Ear Nose Throat	No underlying causes
Endocrine	Amyloidosis, diabetes mellitus, fatigue, hemochromatosis, hyperthyroidism, hypoglycemia, hypothyroidism, pheochromocytoma, thyrotoxicosis
Environmental	No underlying causes
Gastroenterologic	Crohn’s disease, hemochromatosis, ulcerative colitis
Genetic	Channelopaties, Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy, hemochromatosis, LQT type 4, muscular dystrophy, myotonic dystrophy
Hematologic	Anemia, fat embolism, fatigue, hemochromatosis
Iatrogenic	Cardiac surgery, cardiac transplantation, incomplete ablation procedures, post cardiac surgery, postoperative complication, surgery
Infectious Disease	Amoebiasis, chagas heart disease, diphtheria, fever, leptospirosis, Lyme disease, myocarditis, myotonic dystrophy, neonatal coxsackie myocarditis, rheumatic fever, salmonella typhosa, sepsis, trichinosis, viral infections
Musculoskeletal/Orthopedic	Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy, fat embolism, hemochromatosis, muscular dystrophy
Neurologic	Diabetic autonomic neuropathy, fat embolism, fatigue, Guillain-Barré syndrome, obstructive sleep apnea, stroke, subarachnoid hemorrhage
Nutritional/Metabolic	Dehydration, hypercapnia, hypervitaminosis D, hypokalemia, hypomagnesemia
Obstetric/Gynecologic	nonimmune hydrops fetalis, peripartum cardiomyopathy, pregnancy
Oncologic	atrial myxoma, bronchogenic carcinoma, cardiac tumors, fatigue, lung cancer, pheochromocytoma
Ophthalmologic	No underlying causes
Overdose/Toxicity	Alcohol overdose, alcohol withdrawal, aminophylline toxicity, binge drinking, carbamazepine poisoning, cocaine overdose, digitalis toxicity, salicylate poisoning, tricyclic antidepressant overdose
Psychiatric	Anxiety, bulimia nervosa, fatigue, panic disorder, psychological stress
Pulmonary	Air embolism, bronchogenic carcinoma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, fat embolism, hypoxia, lung cancer, pneumonia, sarcoidosis, tension pneumothorax
Renal/Electrolyte	Chronic kidney disease, chronic renal failure, dehydration, electrolyte disturbance, renal insufficiency
Rheumatology/Immunology/Allergy	Amyloidosis, ankylosing spondylitis, collagen vascular disease, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis, rheumatic fever, rheumatic heart disease, sarcoidosis, scleroderma, spondyloarthritis
Sexual	No underlying causes
Trauma	Cardiac injury from blunt trauma, drowning, electric shock
Urologic	No underlying causes
Miscellaneous	Binge drinking, drowning, fever, hypothermia, malignant hyperthermia, pain, stress

Combined List of Causes in Alphabetical Order

Causes Based on Pathophysiologic Origin

SVTs from a Sinoatrial Source

Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia

The cause of inappropriate sinus tachycardia is unknown. It is a diagnosis of exclusion after all the specific physiological and psychological triggers of sinus tachycardia have been excluded. The diagnosis of IST is based on the presence of a persistent and recurrent sinus tachycardia on EKG that is otherwise unexplainable.

Supraventricular tachycardia causes

Overview

Causes

Life Threatening Causes

Common Causes

Causes by Organ System

Combined List of Causes in Alphabetical Order

Causes Based on Pathophysiologic Origin

SVTs from a Sinoatrial Source

Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia

Sinus Tachycardia

Sinoatrial Nodal Reentry Tachycardia

SVTs from an Atrial Source

Focal Atrial Tachycardia

Atrial Flutter

Atrial Fibrillation

Multifocal Atrial Tachycardia

SVTs from an Atrioventricular Source

AV Nodal Reentrant Tachycardia

AV Reentrant Tachycardia

Junctional Tachycardia

References

Looking for the patient version?