What Happens When Emergency Room Doctors Confuse Heart Attack Symptoms with Other Illnesses

By Thomas Greer | September 6, 2014

Many of us are at least somewhat aware of the warning signs of a heart attack. The list of heart attack symptoms commonly includes chest pains, upper body and stomach pain, difficulty breathing, sweating, lightheadedness, and even nausea and vomiting. Health magazines, new articles, television news stories, and other media often talk about heart attack symptoms so that the public will know that they should take those symptoms seriously and seek medical attention. The degree of awareness about heart attack symptoms has undoubtedly led to many lives being saved. Despite the overall increase in awareness of heart attack symptoms, some patients who report to emergency rooms complaining of heart attack symptoms are diagnosed with another condition, such as a stomach ailment, and sent along their way. Unfortunately, when an incorrect diagnosis is made and a person who is suffering a heart attack does not get the treatment that they need, they often die.

One such situation happened in Alabama. A man felt sick to his stomach after eating breakfast one morning. The nausea did not subside, and over the next couple of days he began experiencing additional symptoms, including chest pain. He went to the emergency room of a local hospital, where he stayed for a few hours before doctors released him. During the time that he was in the emergency room, doctors assessed his condition, looking for a cause for his symptoms. They did not perform any blood tests or other diagnostics which could have revealed that he was experiencing a heart attack. At the time that the man was released, he still felt ill. A day or so later, he collapsed. As he fell to the ground clutching his chest, he cried out to his wife to call an ambulance. She called 911, and an ambulance came to transport him to the hospital. Unfortunately, he could not be revived. His wife recently recovered on the medical malpractice claim that she brought on his behalf.

The aforementioned situation in Alabama was not an isolated incident. Estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that approximately one out of every fifty heart attack victims is misdiagnosed in the emergency room and then sent home. This places heart attack misdiagnosis near the top of the list of the most common medical malpractice claims.

While men are occasionally misdiagnosed when they are suffering from heart attacks, as indicated by the story above, misdiagnosis happens much more often with women. Women experience similar heart attack symptoms as men, but they may not be quite as drastic. Because the pain that a woman describes when she is suffering from a heart attack might not fit the “classic” definition of a heart attack, doctors may not place cardiac issues at the top of the list of things that they suspect to be causing her discomfort. When a heart condition is not suspected, tests that could show evidence of cardiac problems are not likely to be ordered. The results can be devastating, and, all too often, deadly.

If you or someone that you love has been injured or killed after their heart attack was misdiagnosed, it is essential that you get help from a Tennessee Medical Malpractice Attorney right away. The knowledgeable Tennessee Medical Malpractice Attorneys at Bailey & Greer, PLLC are here to help you. We believe that the victims of medical negligence deserve top quality legal representation. To learn more about how we can help you, please call us at 901-680-9777 to schedule a time to discuss your case.  At Bailey & Greer, PLLC, we are small enough to care, big enough to fight, and experienced enough to win.

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