av node), widening the application of curative ablation to young patients with relatively mild but still troublesome symptoms who might not have accepted the risk of requiring a pacemaker. treatment most svts are unpleasant rather than life-threatening, although very fast heart rates can be problematic for those with underlying ischemic heart disease, or the elderly. episodes can be treated when they occur by valsalva maneuver, adenosine injection or taking a av node blocking agent as pill-in-pocket, but regular medication may also be used to prevent or reduce recurrence. while some treatment modalities can be applied to all svts, there are specific therapies available to treat some sub-types. effective treatment consequently requires knowledge of how and where the arrhythmia is initiated and its mode of spread. lifestyle changes, medication and heart procedures may be needed to control or eliminate the rapid heartbeats and related symptoms. svts can be categorised by whether the av node is involved in maintaining the rhythm. if it is, manoeuvres slowing conduction through the av node will terminate it. if it is not, av nodal blocking maneuvers will not terminate it, but resulting temporary suppression of the av node is still useful to unmask the underlying abnormal rhythm. acute attacks of supraventricular tachycardia are treated with esmolol (i.v.). society and culture notable cases of svt: bobby julich, american professional road cyclist, third-place finisher in the 1998 tour de france, bronze medalist in the 2004 summer olympics tayyiba haneef-park, american volleyball competitor in the 2008 summer olympics tony blair, former prime minister of the united kingdom anastacia lyn newkirk, american singer-songwriter. rebecca soni, american gold medal olympic swimmer dana vollmer, american gold medal olympic swimmer neville fields, australian football player paul bearer, wrestling manager nathan cohen, new zealand's two-time world champion and olympic champion rower, was diagnosed with svt in 2013 when he was 27 years old. miley cyrus, american singer and actress george plimpton, notable author, sportswriter, and literary personality