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Ryan was diagnosed with Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT) at birth. SVT is one type of heart rhythm disorder; the heart beats faster than normal. It is located above the ventricles and originates from the atria, which is the upper chambers of the heart. Within the heart, we have one node that speeds up the heart rate and then another node that slows down the heart rate. In this case, the best description is that our heart works like a clock. A continuous cycle of speeding up and the next node slowing it down, which creates a rhythm. In Ryan’s particular case, he has an extra passageway and by taking Sotolol since birth, this keeps the extra passageway dormant. By monitoring his intake of caffeine, such as soft drinks and chocolate, as well as, certain cold medications, we have been able to keep his attacks down to a minimum. Although the attacks are few, there is always the possibility of an attack at any time. My mother has found that once an attack begins, if talking calmly to Ryan and having him to take deep breathes and breath out slowly does not help slow it down, then a bag of ice from the freezer laid across his eyes will drop the heart rate enough to get him to the hospital before going into cardiac arrest. Within our family, several relatives have found out in their forties and fifties that they have this same heart condition, but it has remained dormant until that stage in their life. They never understood why they were so tired and out of breath so easily. With modern technology, more people are finding out earlier, which means it could save their lives.