Chloé Dygert undergoes heart procedure to treat tachycardia

Chloé Dygert revealed that she recently underwent a procedure to treat heart arrhythmia.

The U.S. Olympic medalist confirmed doctors carried out a cardiac ablation to treat supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). She posted a message on social media overnight.

“My most recent episode happened while I was out on an easy basic endurance ride, my heart rate peaked at 219, then sat at 205 for five minutes and 195 for another 10 minutes,” Dygert said. “It would jump between 180 to 205 in the remainder of the episode lasting 35 minutes.”

Dygert — who is making a comeback from her horrific 2020 crash during the UCI world time trial race in Italy — said she began having arrhythmia episodes in 2015.

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Arrhythmia causes the heart rate to accelerate to unnatural levels. The condition is generally not life-threatening, but in extreme cases, an episode of SVT may cause unconsciousness or cardiac arrest, according to the Mayo Clinic website.

Dygert said she would occasionally suffer from episodes once or twice a year, but saw a spike of five episodes within the past two months. That prompted her to seek medical treatment.

Dygert did not reveal exactly when the intervention was carried out, but she posted a video overnight of her laying in a hospital bed.

She recently returned to training for intense sessions on the U.S. Olympic velodrome in Colorado Springs with coach Gary Sutton.

This fall, she also underwent another operation to remove scar tissue from her injured leg dating back to her 2020 worlds crash. She also battled through Epstein-Barr that reduced her road racing calendar in 2022.

Dygert had expressed optimism that the worse is behind her, and hopes she can return to racing in 2023 with her Canyon-Sram road team as well as continue preparation for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Dygert confirms she’s already returned to training following the procedure.

“My fear is having one during a race and needing to stop, so we made the decision to go in and get it fixed with the frequency increase. I was awake and lightly sedated during the procedure,” Dygert said.

“Definitely one of the most unique kinds of pains I’ve ever felt,” she said. “In the recovery, I wasn’t allowed to move for four hours giving the artery time to heal from the catheter ablation. I was back on my bike within five days after the procedure with only one minor hiccup happening on day 5.”

Heart ablation for SVT tachycardia (Supraventricular tachycardia)

My SVT was annoying but not life-threatening, (as long as I stopped immediately if I was training). pic.twitter.com/wjz6QcRYgw

— Chloé Dygert (@chloedygert30) November 30, 2022