Failure to Diagnose Heart Attacks

In the United States, for both men and women, heart disease is the number one cause of death among most ethnicities.

The initial sign of heart disease may be a heart attack.

About 15% of individuals annually who suffer a heart attack will die. However, heart attacks don’t always have to be fatal.

People in the thousands, as a reality, will survive a heart attack. Many of them return to enjoy normal lives.

While heart attacks can entail sharp pain and be sudden, most begin slowly with discomfort that is merely mild.

The most typical warning indications to prove a heart attack is occurring include the following: profuse sweating; shortness of breath; feelings of being lightheaded and/or nausea; discomfort or pain in the chest; and discomfort or pain in various parts of the upper body, namely the stomach, neck, jaw, back, and/or arms.

There are times when a physician may fail to diagnose a heart attack.

Along with completing blood testing, a physical examination, and/or achieving an electrocardiogram, or EKG, to record any heart electrical activity, physicians can diagnose heart attacks through an assessment of the medical history of a patient.

At times, unfortunately, physicians neglect to diagnose a heart attack.

The physician may merely fail to take action on the diagnosis or symptoms of a heart attack as another condition, such as indigestion or heartburn.

Research has even proven that physicians misdiagnose heart attacks more in women than in men.

Several of the more typical reasons of a misdiagnosis of heart attacks are:

Patient with mild symptoms. Not every patient will endure similar symptoms.

For example, some individuals may not experience any pain in the chest.

It is more likely a physician may dismiss a heart attack as the main cause for a patient who endures merely mild symptoms, such as stomach pain and nausea.

The symptoms in a patient are the same as another medical condition. Many heart attack symptoms can be similar to symptoms of various medical conditions.

Nausea and chest pain could be a condition called angina.

Sweating, chest pain, and shortness of breath are typical symptoms of anxiety attack.

A patient may not fit the profile of a typical heart attack. Especially females, young patients and patients who seem healthy can be misdiagnosed by physicians.

It is more likely for women to have improperly diagnosed symptoms as anxiety, which means they are less probable, as well, to receive treatment for various symptoms.

If a patient is asymptomatic, the patient doesn’t possess any of the usual symptoms of a heart attack, in other words.

Physicians, in some instances, may misdiagnose even after a review of a medical diagnostic test to indicate the occurrence of a heart attack.

If you or a member of the family sustained injuries due to neglect from a medical professional to diagnose any heart attack, you may be able to receive compensation.

Personal injury attorneys have the skill and experience necessary to investigate and prosecute aggressively your malpractice lawsuit.

Contact us for a free consultation or call Anzalone Law Firm PLLC, at: 603.548.3797