Should I call an ambulance for this?

[MisunderstoodNettles]

i unfortunately take SVT attacks which can be very nasty and stubborn to convert out of. I’m very familiar with the symptoms when it starts and know exactly when I’m in SVT.

usually I just make my own way to a&e- I’ve previously walked over, called a taxi, got a bus etc. it feels awful, absolutely awful, but my logic has always been that SVT isn’t life threatening so it’s never occurred to me to call an ambulance no matter how bad it feels

Unfortunately I had an episode recently whilst in a different unrelated medical setting and they insisted on calling an ambulance, despite me saying I was more than happy to make my own way to a&e. I understand thought they were helping and im NOT complaining about that. The ambulance came, took me to hospital- the paramedics were lovely but I deep down was mortified that they had been called out to help me for something that isn’t life threatening

Usually I just make my own way to hospital, but after a recent attack a few months ago a nurse told me I categorically must call an ambulance next time and if I’m in SVT then I should never risk going on a bus or taxi to hospital myself etc. But I’ve got this inbuilt fear of being a time waster and wasting resources especially when people wait 10+ hours for ambulances already. And I’ve also been told by other staff before that it’s fine to make my own way to hospital so it’s a bit confusing

just wondered if any paramedics etc on here could advise- is this something that would warrant an ambulance call in future? Or is it something I should make my own way to a&e with if I can and deep down you’d be thinking I’m a bit of a timewaster if you got called out to it since it’s not immediately life threatening? I don’t want to waste anyone’s time but equally if it’s unwise to make my own way to hospital then I don’t want to do that either! And I’ve always felt so, so guilty about that ambulance which was called out to me and potentially someone else had to wait longer because of it x

I have had this for thirty years and the only time I went to A&E was to get it diagnosed. Some of these posts are a bit concerning although @SleepyRich is reassuring. I even had a job interview once with SVT! I do get it more 'mildly' I guess, pulse about 140 but it carries on for several hours before going away. I do think stress/caffeine/alcohol make it come on so have tried to reduce those but not completely successfully obviously.

Jumping on a relatively old thread as I have been diagnosed with SVT recently so just did a search.
I’ve been having short episodes for a year or so now but put it down to perimenopause. The episode that got me diagnosed lasted an hour and heart rate was over 200bpm
FWIW the dr at the hospital said if an episode lasts more than 20 mins to call an ambulance.

Yes I would call an ambulance Not likely but they can give you Adenosine to slow your heart rate on the way if necessary
My friend had an ICD fitted for SVT

Adenosine isn't carried by UK ambulance services. We try the typical things like drink some ice cold water, hand stand, blow into a syringe... If those don't work drop you off to see the Drs.

Personally I'd only recommend ambulance if you feel very unwell in episode/like you might collapse/short of breath etc. Our response times are typically 2-3 hours for cat2 which chest pain/palpitations with dizzy/collapse/sob will code as - so if someone can run you upto a&e you'll be seen by the Drs much earlier than by 999.

It's really telling how different medical advice can be (I'm guessing you're a paramedic?)

I have SVT and prolonged QT. By heart rate has seen 300bpm and my cardiologist always said any episodes with pulse rate 180 and over 3 mins or over call 999.

I've had adenosine and I've had adenosine that didn't work and I had to be cardioverted. If I left it 20 minutes I would (and have) collapsed. I couldnt drive for a year until it was under control.

im on meds for life and have an implant in my heart but will occasionally get spikes roughly once a year which my verapramil won't touch and it does not go away until I'm in hospital so waiting the 20 minutes wouldn't do a thing for me.

I guess the advice is different for each patient and perhaps the type of SVT maybe?

This is where chat forums aren't always a good thing.

A verified health professional has told you face to face...."You categorically must call an ambulance next time and if you're in SVT then you should never risk going on a bus or taxi to hospital yourself etc."

And here you are on the internet asking random strangers if you should make your own way to A&E 😑

What's the point? What makes you think the advice here will be better than the advice you were given face to face?

DS has had some episodes of this. The purpose of calling an ambulance is mainly to try and get an ECG whilst it's still happening, although this does presuppose that an ambulance will arrive in a few minutes. You do still need to go to hospital though.

OP, I truly think it's not only inadvisable but also thoroughly irresponsible to make your own way to hospital. What if you collapsed in some poor taxi driver's car, or next to someone on the bus, or someone found you lying in the street? What do you think the effect on them would be? My mother used to do things like this because she "didn't want to make a fuss" (she said) and inevitably caused far more fuss and stress for others (and got far more attention) because she'd left it too late etc.
You've been told very clearly by a medical professional that you must call an ambulance and that you must not make your own way to hospital. Why did you expect anyone on here to tell you different? And why won't you just take the advice you've already been given?

The advice about making your own way if you can do, which I think most who work for the ambulance service would probably give - is that you'll arrive at hospital with the Drs that can give the medications/cardiovert the SVT much earlier - than you do by calling 999.

If you book in at A&E reception with a heart rate of 180 youre not going to be queueing very long at all. If you call 999 with a heart rate of 180 then realistically these days the fastest well get to you is about 30minutes, typically more like 1-2 hours, in busy periods not uncommon to see people waiting 4+ hours.

I work in a major city in England for UK ambulance service. As a reference for how bad it is now this week I was sent to attend an epileptic small child having a seizure. They waited for 50minutes for the ambulance still seizing. They lived about 8 minutes from hospital and could have easily have picked her up and put on back seat of the car. But they didn't because the bottom of every triage tool says to call for an ambulance -but none of them recognise the extreme waits for ambulances now. It's hidden in the statistics - because the family kept calling back (as all people waiting for very long periods will quite rightly do with actual emergencies) the service can put down the time from the last call made so it the job notes response time is just a few minutes!

If the family had been given an accurate estimate that at the time they called there was a period of extreme demand in the area and response times for cat1s were over 30minutes they might have made a different choice and might have had a better outcome - signs of a brain injury with us. Absolutely you should be able to call 999 in an emergency but unfortunately we're all tied up either queuing at hospital, with the worried well/the check ups/the chronic symptoms already seen Dr but think we can expedite their referral, and the regulars that absorb out entire capacity to respond in an emergencies - literally calling back again the second the ambulance crew leaves and the service is so risk adverse they will eventually send again - multiple houses getting 4-5 ambulance visits, every day - despite already having convictions for wasting emergency service time - each attendance can take up 1-2 hours generally - with no benefit to anyone.

I mention this a lot on here, but it's just because I've been a witness to so much avoidable harm. It's the best public service advice I can give - if you think you or someone youre with is having a life threatening emergency - and you can make your way to hospital, then can you really afford to wait for an ambulance?

It really is a such a common occurrence for me to personally witness, or colleague on station to have a story that essentially is " if they hadn't waited for the ambulance they would have had a much better outcome". And you hear that story thinking - today I've been sent to an infected toe, a sore throat, an anxiety attack, migraine, a cough... Not issued any treatment to anyone at all just given advice - yet someone was out their waiting having a seizure, had a stroke, chest pain barely breathing.

I had WPW and would have episodes of SVT at least once a week, usually around 280-300 bpm but sometimes higher. I only ever went to A&E with it a couple of times for adenosine when I couldn't get it to stop after 12 hours, and in those cases I took a taxi. I've just looked at the NHS guidance for my condition specifically and it says:

Dial 999 for an ambulance if:

• your heartbeat doesn't go back to normal in a few minutes
• you have chest pain that lasts more than 15 minutes – you may also have pain in your arms, back or jaw

That was me during pretty much every episode. Oops

I was diagnosed in childhood so don't remember exactly what advice the cardiologists gave, other than that it wasn't life-threatening and the list they gave me of things to do to try and get my heart back into its normal rhythm. Whenever I'd go into SVT I'd have to stop what I was doing obviously, and if I was with anyone I'd have to try to explain with them what was happening. They'd always freak out and start talking about ambulances and I'd bat them off and tell them it was fine, I just needed some time to try to stop it.

I had an ablation when I was 25 and wish I hadn't waited so long. I didn't realise how restricted my life was until I didn't have to deal with it anymore. I lost so much to that condition. I'm so grateful to the wonderful cardiologist who did it. I still have phantom sensations sometimes, such as when I do something like bend down to pick something up off the floor, which is the sort of thing that would trigger it, and my brain tells me I'm going into SVT even though I'm not.

Very sad what our ambulance service has become. I don't think cat 1 really exists anymore, the drama queen's have won, its their ambulance service now.

That would be all very well if an ambulance could be trusted to arrive quickly. Those days are gone.