Emergency Rooms Fail To Diagnose Heart Attacks

Every year, thousands of people are seen and treated for myocardial infarction (heart attack symptoms) in emergency rooms across the country. A growing number of patients, who have been discharged without proper diagnosis, could suffer permanent damage and even death.

Recent studies have suggested that anywhere between 2% and 5% of patients are being allowed to go home with undiagnosed heart attacks. Careful consideration for each patient's symptoms should be the first step to ensuring there is an accurate diagnosis.

Patients whose symptoms are overlooked or ignored usually include young women and nonwhite patients. A recent study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in an effort to bring attention to this phenomenon, hoping to reduce the incidences of missed heart attack diagnoses.

Patients who believed they were experiencing heat attacks typically presented a wide range of symptoms. Their general complaints encompassed chest pain, or discomfort, pain radiating to the jaw or arm, nausea, sweating and shortness of breath. Other reported symptoms were also reported including fatigue, dizziness, fainting, and various gastrointestinal complaints such as indigestion, gas and abdominal pain.

According to the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), doctors should conduct a thorough examination of adults exhibiting chest pains. If a heart attack is suspected, the patient should be immediately placed on oxygen which stimulates the heart muscle.

The standard of care also mandates that an electrocardiogram or EKG be conducted within less than twenty minutes after the patient's arrival, and that medications such as nitroglycerin and morphine be administered to help dilate the heart blood vessels and decrease pain and anxiety.

Unfortunately, EKG readings can be easily misinterpreted by Emergency Room doctors. Independent reviews of EKG interpretations have shown that nearly half of all patients where heart attacks were not could found should have been, but for physician failure and lack of knowledge regarding their ability to interpret the test results.

In fact, a leading factor in the rising rates of missed diagnosed heart attacks in emergency departments is physician inexperience. In cases where physicians failed to diagnose heart attacks, patients were typically seen by inexperience doctors who had an average of two to three years of experience. Additionally, most of the physicians who missed the correct diagnosis were not Board Certified in any speciality area of practice. The less experienced physicians failed to take thorough histories and were unable to interpret the EKG testing results properly. Therefore, it is important that patients speak up to protect themselves. Do not be afraid to request a cardiologist or a more senior doctor. Your life may be at risk if you do not.

The lack of experience is more important if you are a women or a person of color and are experiencing chest pains. More mistakes were made regarding women and people of color cases. Before leaving hospitals after experiencing chest pains, make sure that the doctors that you saw conducted the proper testing and that they were experienced in that regard.

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