Episodes of rapid heartbeats happened so many times throughout Dato’ Shafie Mat Zain’s life. As a student, he would often experience rapid palpitations while playing football. During these episodes, he would lie down until it stopped. He was not particularly worried at that time and did not seek medical advice.
About 6 years ago, Dato’ Shafie experienced increasingly frequent palpitations with each episode lasting much longer than usual. “I had enough of this trouble!” He then decided to to seek medical attention for his condition and was diagnosed with supraventricular tachycardia (SVT).
An Electrophysiologist (“EP” or heart-rhythm specialist) diagnoses and treats patients with irregular heartbeats or arrhythmias. Dato’ Shafie consulted Dr Ernest Ng, a Consultant Interventional Cardiologist and Electrophysiologist and was recommended to undergo electrophysiology studies or EPS. He went through the 45 minutes EPS procedure and that was the day he had his last palpitation. “Most people may not realise they have SVT. They should not delay seeking medical advice from specialists like Dr Ernest, who can diagnose and treat it.” commented Dato’ Shafie. Now, he experiences no more episodes of palpitation and he can enjoy his favourite sports with no worries. He believes Malaysians need to be aware of SVT and get it treated.