Posted 8/10/2014 9:31 PM (GMT 0)
I have PSVT, and it is steadily and rapidly getting worse. During attacks I have alot of trouble moving, being upright, breathing. So far they resolve but often take a long time. The day is coming when I will need emergency cardioversion.
Local EMTs carry adenosine but not verapamil. I have asthma. What is more my PSVT often sets off asthma attacks, especially when it occurs during exercise. I want to know what to specifically put on my medic alert ID to tell paramedics that if I need emergency cardioversion to use electric and not adenosine.
Local EMTs carry adenosine but not verapamil. I have asthma. What is more my PSVT often sets off asthma attacks, especially when it occurs during exercise. I want to know what to specifically put on my medic alert ID to tell paramedics that if I need emergency cardioversion to use electric and not adenosine. Trust me, if these guys only know not to use adenosine, they are going to sit there and stare at me.
Not helping is that evidently two very different electrical shock procedures are used to stop arrhythmia, the "cardioversion" procedure is evidently only done by appointment after you already couldn't move or breathe for atleast four weeks, and it is not clear if standard defibrillation is appropriate for PSVT, or if paramedics can do the low energy form of shock that is used for PSVT in a real emergency.
One way or another they can't treat the asthma if my heart is beating too fast. In an emergency they could need to stop the PSVT fast.
EMT head captain said it greatly matters exactly how I word "use electrical" or "prefer to use electrical", or WHEN to use electrical, or if the correct term is even electrical, on my medic alert bracelet. He told me to ask my cardiologist - which I already did. I got blank looks and "I guess you'd better get ablation". Of course, but I wnat to live long enough to get there.
Can anyone tell me exactly what to put on my medic alert tag about using shock to stop a PSVT attack. (They'd only be looking at it if I wasn't able to talk.)
Thanks!
Dora