AIBU to go to a&e?

[Dagenhamdeb]

I’ve had bad dizziness, nausea and indigestion type symptoms and cold sweats (not prone to any of this) for an hour, I just really don’t feel right at all.

I googled the symptoms and am now worried it’s heart issues. I took an aspirin and called nhs24 in Scotland. They asked if my neck was hot cold wet or dry and I said normal
And they asked if my lips were blue and I said I wasn’t sure I didn’t think so.

They’ve said they will refer me to out of hours doctor and someone will call me back later today.

As I was googling all I kept reading was how womens heart attacks are missed because their symptoms are different.

I’m not a malingerer or dramatic, I tend to just get in with stuff, but something really doesn’t feel right, maybe it’s just vertigo or something but I’m considering just going to a&e, can’t decide if that’s over the top!

I took an aspirin before I called nhs 24 and am sitting on my floor knees bent just now (if I move I’m too dizzy)

I really hope you are OK, OP

I am in the south of England and went to a+e a couple of months ago. I was stopped at the door and asked why I was attending. I was I was told I needed to phone 111 and get an appointment. Once 111 made the appointment a+e would get notification of the appointment and I would be allowed entry at that appointment time to be trained, but then the wait would be the usual lucky dip.

Unless you were brought in by ambulance or having symptoms of anything that required immediate medical attention, you were not allowed entry without an appointment, and weren't allowed in before that appointment time.

Was frustrating as my issue was simple and easily dealt with, but did absolutely need dealing with that night. But on the other hand it did seem a good way to prevent so many time wasters

The wait for an ambulance is currently 14 hours

@EleanorOlephantisjustfine Was this an attempt at a joke or something?

@Xmassprout We haven't had anything like that where I am, I don't think. Like you said, maybe not a bad idea, but annoying. Hope you're doing ok.

Bloody hell. Well I would have missed those symptoms.

Glad you got sorted.

Hope you’re feeling better @Dagenhamdeb x Glad you trusted your gut and got checked out x

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women. Women get undertreated and die more frequently from heart disease than men. The symptoms can be very different from men and where there is a 5 stone overweight 51 year old woman having symptoms there shouldn't have been any question that she should be seen asap. I am just aghast at people who know nothing about heart attacks in women who were advising the OP not to got to A & E. I'm pretty shocked too at the advice to drive herself when possibly having a cardiac event.

People just can't seem to shake the idea that it is men having heart attacks. I am not a medical practitioner of any sort but my family has had a history of heart disease which has not spared the women in the family.

Here is a link to the Mayo clinic and their discussion of women's heart attack symptoms:
newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-q-and-a-heart-attack-symptoms-in-women/

OP - glad to hear it's not cardiac but you should have your cholesterol levels checked and if they are high you should take seriously the need to reduce them whether through diet or statins. Similarly, for blood pressure.

Just to let you all know about my own heart attack which had NOTHING to do with cholesterol: I have very low cholesterol and no ischemic heart disease. I had what they call a SCAD heart attack which predominantly strikes menopausal women or women who've given birth. A SCAD is an arterial tear. It seems to affect women in 'hormonal flux' and they don't know what the link is yet. They are rare events and I am part of an ongoing study. There are different reasons for SCADS (sudden coronary artery dissection) and they don't always cause heart attacks but often do. Mine created a skin flap/tear that blocked my artery 100%. I went into cardiac arrest and was resuscitated. It's kind of crazy that I'm alive, but here I am.

My point is, cholesterol checks are REALLY important. But I'd just had a Well Woman check at the GP a week beforehand and my cholesterol was beautifully low. Picture of heart health. The nurse's words to me, upon receiving my results, were, "You'll NEVER be a candidate for a heart attack." Well, life had other plans.

How do you know if you're having a SCAD heart attack? My symptoms were: Tight heavy chest, dizziness, nausea, upper arm pain, difficulty breathing, cold sweat, total body weakness. I collapsed on a road as I was heading back from a dog walk. Some Good Samaritan called the ambulance and the rest is history.
An ECG in the ambulance was obviously abnormal. But the paramedics said it was fine. A neighbour had found my husband who got in the ambulance with us and he took one look at the ECG and said, "That is anything BUT a normal ECG. It's totally abnormal." My husband has been a GP for 33 years. Imagine if he weren't there and the paramedics stayed with the 'that's a normal ECG' school of thought. I'd be dead. This is not a paramedic-bashing opinion, it's just a fact of life. They screwed up and misread the ECG. Lots of incredibly well-trained, experienced clinicians misread ECGs. The paramedics dithered and wondered whether I was a candidate for A&E or not. My husband pushed hard.

I was taken to A&E where I arrested upon arrival. I woke up with fractured ribs from the shocks and chest compressions. But here I am, thanks to that amazing team of lifesavers.

How was my SCAD diagnosed? A coronary angiogram is the only way you'll know.
So if you have low cholesterol but have the symptoms of a heart attack, don't hesitate for a second to go to A&E. Troponin levels and an ECG will confirm a heart attack. But an angiogram will confirm an arterial dissection (SCAD). If you are a menopausal woman, keep SCAD in the back of your mind.
I hope you're on the mend OP.

@TheVanguardSix Thank you so much for sharing that information, it is so important and I personally really appreciate you sharing your experience. Would love to see any research links if you've any to share.

Can I ask, do they mend the tear through surgery once you've had a SCAD?

I'm glad you're here and it all turned out okay in the end!

I absolutely hate these threads, because on every single one, without fail there will be posters who say the op is totally fine, or it’s probably nothing to worry about, or that they’re just being dramatic etc.

It’s a shame because this thread has been educational despite all that, by highlighting some of the symptoms women can suffer with a heart attack with some reputable links.

I just think giving out medical advice online is so irresponsible unless trained and even then, no one on the internet can automatically be trusted anyway.

@Dagenhamdeb has the patient been back um no. So I guess she's reet poorly

Ah you're so kind TrueRefuge! I hope my post wasn't too 'listen to MY tale of woe!' But it was SUCH a revelation to me. And it was such a close call. Even the cardiology team that treated me at Hammersmith Hospital (one of the best places to be in if you're a heart patient) were a bit thrown by it because it is a rare event. And most people who have SCAD heart attacks die because they don't think they're having a heart attack. If you're a woman with good cholesterol readings and no real lifestyle choices that put you at risk of a heart attack, you're not going to go to A&E or ring for an ambulance because you're, in your mind, not a typical heart attack candidate. But this isn't a typical heart attack. So as women, we don't approach it typically. I kept telling myself, "I feel like I'm having a heart attack... but there's no way I'm having a heart attack. That can't be." I was talking myself out of the obvious because I was not an obvious heart attack candidate. And this is what has many women dying of heart attacks.

Some SCAD patients get stents put in. In the States, this tends to be the default approach, alongside medication. But here in the UK, they tend to see if stents can be avoided in the first instance. Blood thinners and beta-blockers, aspirin, are the main medications used in conjunction with the healing process of the arterial tear. I didn't have any stents put in. I was treated with traditional post-heart attack meds (statins, beta-blockers, blood thinners, BP meds, etc.) and then after one year, I was down to a beta-blocker and aspirin. I will stay on the beta-blocker for life because I have an arrhythmia. The electrics in my heart have always been off. But the actual arterial tear heals on its own between 6-12 months. They scan you a couple of times to see how the tear is doing, how it's healing, and then you're plugged in as a cardiac patient for annual check-ups.

There are two SCAD clinics in the UK:
One is run here in London by Dr. Abtehale Al-Hussaini, a (this is the clinic I attend) who is beyond amazing and specialises in women's cardiac health and SCAD. www.rbhh-specialistcare.co.uk/specialists/abtehale-al-hussaini
The other is run by academic cardiologist Dr. Adlam in Leicester.
They're THE clinicians you want to see if you're a SCAD patient and if you google one or both doctors, you'll find a wealth of their research information online.

@TheVanguardSix it's shocking about ECG misreading, similar happened to my dad earlier this year (though 81 and a prime heart attack candidate). Collapsed at home. ECG v mildly abnormal, paramedic 1 erring on side of not bothering bringing him in. Less experienced paramedic 2 said hmm no I think he should go in, I don't like this ecg. Even in hospital they were fairly blasé about it, said it would probably need just a little stent. Until scan showed evidence of massive heart attack. 4 hours surgery, one coronary artery hemorrhage and 16cm of stents later, he's still here, but only because a guardian angel in paramedic uniform was there for him that day.