Heart Attack Misdiagnosis

Heart Attack Misdiagnosis or Failure to Diagnose

Much like a stroke, a heart attack requires immediate medical attention. Heart attacks often happen when blood clots suddenly form on top of plaque and obstruct the flow of blood to the heart. More than a million Americans have heart attacks annually. Heart attacks are also known as myocardial infarctions – “myo” meaning muscle, “cardial” meaning heart, and “infarction” meaning the death of tissue due to lack of blood flow. Heart tissue death can cause long-lasting damage to your heart muscle, which is why immediate, appropriate treatment is critical. Heart attacks don’t always come with the usual symptoms of chest pain and tightening of the left arm, which can be why they are often left undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.

What Causes a Heart Attack?

There are a variety of ways in which a heart attack can be caused. One common cause is coronary artery disease. Your heart requires a constant supply of oxygen-rich blood to function properly and maintain muscle tissue. The coronary arteries supply the heart with blood, but if the patient has coronary artery disease, their arteries may become narrow, keeping blood from reaching the heart as it should. When the blood supply is blocked, a heart attack occurs.

Another common way blood flow to the heart can be blocked – which causes a heart attack – is through the formation of plaque deposits in your arteries. Plaque deposits are composed of fats, calcium, proteins, and other cells that build up and create a hard shell. If a plaque deposit ruptures, blood platelets will come to the area and form a blood clot around the plaque. This can block the artery and prevent blood from providing oxygen to the heart.

While these are not the only causes, they are the most common. Spasms in the coronary artery are a less common heart attack cause. These spasms cause the artery to contract and can cut off the blood supply to the heart muscle quickly. It can happen even at rest and/or if you do not have coronary artery disease.

What are the Symptoms of a Heart Attack?

Patients who are having a heart attack can experience a wide array of symptoms. Some patients will experience many symptoms, and others will only experience a few.

Some of the most common symptoms of a heart attack include:

• Pain in the chest that is crushing, squeezing, or burning pain, in addition to pressure or feeling of fullness
• Discomfort or pain from the chest radiating to the neck, shoulders, one or both arms, or even the jaw
• Aches that last for at least a few minutes and may reduce in intensity and return
• Shortness of breath
• Dizziness and / or fainting
• Nausea, heartburn (acid reflux), or upset stomach
• Sweating, “cold sweats,” or feeling chilly
• A weak, yet fast pulse
• Irregular heartbeat
• Cold or clammy skin
• Gray color in the face
• Fatigue

And these are just the standard symptoms. Some patients experience none of these symptoms when having a heart attack, a condition called silent ischemia.

Heart Attacks in Women

In women, often heart attacks are misdiagnosed. The symptoms they experience have been attributed to acid reflux, normal signs of aging, or the flu. Knowing the signs of a heart attack in females can save your life or someone else’s.

Call 911 if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms:

• If you notice an uncomfortable pressure, fullness or pain, or a squeezing sensation in the center of your chest that lasts for more than a few minutes or that comes and goes, you may be experiencing a heart attack.
• If either arm, or both arms, your back, stomach, jaw, or neck is painful or if you are experiencing discomfort, you should see a doctor as soon as possible.
• Experiencing shortness of breath can also signal a heart attack. This may be accompanied by chest discomfort but does not have to be.
• Nausea, lightheadedness, and experiencing a cold sweat can also be symptoms of a heart attack.
• Women more often experience these heart attack symptoms, and sometimes, their heart attacks are misdiagnosed because both physicians and patients have mostly been taught to look for the typical symptoms that men experience. Though women’s heart attack symptoms might be less obvious, they are no less dangerous. Their more subtle nature can be confusing.
• Pressure in the upper back that is similar to a clinching, squeezing sensation or being tied with a rope can signal a heart attack. Watch out for fainting, dizziness, and lightheadedness.

Heart Attacks are Common and Should be Diagnosed with Proper Care

One-fifth of deaths in the United States are attributed to heart conditions such as heart attacks. Sadly, heart attacks are very common, but often medical professionals overlook key signs that could be crucial if a person is actively having a heart attack. If a heart attack is misdiagnosed, it can end tragically, in death, or in life-altering damage. By applying proper standards of care, doctors can avoid this.

What Happens if a Heart Attack is Misdiagnosed?

If a heart attack is misdiagnosed, the consequences can be life-altering, fatal at worst. A misdiagnosis can lead to the following injuries:

• Brain damage
• Muscle damage
• The heart can sustain scarring
• Valve problems can be created within the heart
• Heart failure
• A misdiagnosis can be fatal

Filing a Lawsuit if a Heart Attack is Misdiagnosed

Medical professionals are held to a stringent standard of care for their patients. So, if the standard of care was not met for you or your loved one, the doctor or the medical team caring for you could be responsible for the damages resulting from the misdiagnosis.

Recovering financial compensation for your damages following a misdiagnosed heart attack will depend upon various factors, including how your life was impacted. Listed below are some of the common damages that you or your loved one may be entitled:

• Temporary and permanent disabilities
• The cost of your medical care, which is often very expensive in incidents of cardiac arrest.
• If you suffer a heart attack, it is likely that you will miss work, and therefore, miss wages. This missed income will be factored into your damages.
• Rehabilitation is often necessary to make a comeback after a heart attack. The cost of this is considered economic damage.
• Loss of enjoyment of life is a non-economic damage that affects people who have had their lives disrupted and can no longer enjoy the things they once enjoyed prior to their heart attack misdiagnosis.
• Pain and suffering can have a tremendously negative impact on those who have experienced a heart attack. Some of this pain could have potentially been avoided had the medical professional practiced an adequate standard of care.
• If the person whose heart attack was misdiagnosed passes away, wrongful death could occur, and the family may be entitled to those damages, which include burial expenses and more.
• Loss of consortium is damage suffered by the spouse or partner of the medical misdiagnosis victim.

Medical malpractice lawsuits often lead to an insurance settlement. The amounts can range from a few thousand dollars to multi-million-dollar settlements. The level of liability and how severe the damages are will determine the amount of the offer.

Treatment for a Heart Attack

There are lifesaving treatments available for heart attacks. Listed below are some of the factors considered when determining the appropriate way to treat a heart attack:

• The seriousness of the heart attack
• The patient’s age
• The patient’s health

Typically, an angiogram will be performed to get information about blood flow to the heart and to determine how the heart is functioning. Some of the treatments the patient might receive are as follows:

• Often blockages are treated using cardiac catheterization
• Medication may be useful, such as blood thinners or drugs that work to dissolve clots
• Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) may be used to open up the heart’s blood vessels
• Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), commonly known as heart bypass surgery, uses healthy blood vessels to reroute and improve the flow of blood

If your heart attack was not diagnosed properly, you inevitably missed out on effective and timely medical treatment. The medical malpractice attorneys with Lopez McHugh, LLP have experience investigating misdiagnosed heart attacks and proving when a medical team’s actions fell short, and the treatment that should have been administered was not.

Hospital Liability

When a person with chest pain arrives at the hospital, the staff is required to investigate to determine if they are having a heart attack. Improper diagnosis could mean the patient will be left suffering from life-long issues or could even die.

The staff at the hospital should ask the correct questions and administer appropriate testing to rule out a heart attack. If this is not done, they could be liable because of their negligence.

In an effort to avoid misdiagnoses, hospitals should be well-staffed, should pay close attention to patients’ symptoms and their medical histories, be well-versed in the signs of a heart attack, and not violate the legally required standards of care.

How Do Doctors Diagnose Heart Attacks?

Many patients come to the ER each year with the symptoms above but are sent home without the proper diagnosis. This especially includes women who don’t present with typical heart attack symptoms and those considered too young to have this type of adverse health event. Heart attacks can only be diagnosed with special tests like an EKG, heart imaging, blood work, or a thorough exam by a cardiologist. If a heart attack goes misdiagnosed or undiagnosed, it is likely to occur again, and the consequences can be severe for patients. They can suffer permanent heart damage, brain damage, and even death.

The tests a doctor orders will be critical to properly diagnosing a heart attack:

• An electrocardiogram, known as an EKG, can show where the heart has been damaged and how severe the damage is. This test can also monitor your heart rate and look for an irregular heart rhythm.
• An echocardiogram is an imaging test that can be used during a heart attack and after to show how the heart is pumping and if there are any areas to which blood is not pumping. This test can also locate any tissue injuries that happened during the heart attack.
• The doctors should also perform a variety of blood tests to determine the level of cardiac enzymes and tropins in the blood. This can be an indicator of heart muscle damage.

If a doctor chooses not to run one of these tests, they could be putting their patient at risk by failing to review all applicable information available to diagnose a heart attack properly.

Philadelphia Heart Attack Misdiagnosis Attorneys

Having a heart attack is a very scary and stressful experience. You have to put your faith in the doctor treating you. If you or someone you know in the Philadelphia area had a heart attack and was not timely diagnosed, you have legal options. The Philadelphia heart attack misdiagnosis attorneys at Lopez McHugh LLP can explain your legal options and pursue compensation on your behalf. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation to discuss your case.