Danniella Westbrook claims she has ‘Strep A’ as she’s rushed to hospital in ambulance

She said she was close to suffering a cardiac arrest

Danniella Westbrook has shared a worrying clip of her in hospital on Thursday night claiming she has Strep A.

The former EastEnders star, 49, shared a selfie shared on Instagram in which she said that she was "hours away from a cardiac arrest", before thanking medics from Whipps Cross Hospital for "saving her life".

Earlier, she had shared a now-deleted clip of her in the back of an ambulance inhaling what appeared to gas an air, the MailOnline reports.

In her latest post, Danniella uploaded a clip to her Instagram stories of herself lying in bed in a hospital gown alongside the caption: "Septics, Strep A and constant temperature of 39.8."

[caption id="attachment_370161" align="alignnone" width="948"] (Danniella Westbrook/Instagram)[/caption]

The camera then panned across her looking distressed in bed before focusing on a cannula in her arm.

[caption id="attachment_370160" align="alignnone" width="948"] (Danniella Westbrook/Instagram)[/caption]

On her next story, she posted a message which read: "Huge thank you to whipps cross and the nhs. Who have managed to get me stabilized.

"They informed me that if i'd left it till morning I would of [sic] had a heart attack the pressure on my chest was so bad."

[caption id="attachment_370164" align="alignnone" width="946"] Westbrook's post came after she shared a now-deleted video from the back of an ambulance silently inhaling what appeared to be gas and air (Danniella Westbrook/Instagram)[/caption] She later shared a selfie, where she gave a further update on her condition, telling fans she was close to having a cardiac arrest and was now resting after her ordeal.

She wrote: "Whips cross just saved my life and I am forever grateful. If you have this flu bug and tight chest ring an ambulance I was hours away from a cardiac arrest my chest was so tight. Now I need complete bed rest for a few days #blessed."

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl8FfbUMcl4/

Strep A, medically known as Group A Streptococcus or Group A Strep, are bacteria that cause a range of infections.

Most infections cause mild illnesses such as "strep throat" or skin infections. It can also cause scarlet fever but in the majority of cases this clears up with antibiotics

However, on rare occasions the bacteria can get deeper into the body - including infecting the lungs and bloodstream. This is known as invasive GAS (iGAS) and needs urgent treatment as this can be serious and life-threatening

The bacteria, which can cause no symptoms, can be found in the throat, skin and respiratory tract of those infected.

At the time of writing, 15 children in the UK have died since September after invasive strep A infections. You can find out more information about strep A on the NHS website here. Related links:

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