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Many doctors in clinics misjudge serious signs of heart attack
In a heart attack, it is particularly important that early warning signs are recognized as quickly as possible. So it is then possible that the affected person receives an optimal treatment. However, English researchers have now found out that the early warning signs for such a disease are unfortunately not recognized by many doctors and hospital staff.
Researchers at Imperial College London found in an investigation that many people do not recognize the early warning signs of a heart attack in hospitals. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "The Lancet".
Again and again people die as a result of a heart attack. It seems that many of these deaths are avoidable. The problem is that many early warning signs are not recognized. (Image: hriana / fotolia.com) In hospitals, important early warning signs are not recognized correctly
It seems that doctors often do not recognize the signs of a heart attack. As a result, about one in ten patients in English hospitals will die of a fatal heart attack, explain the authors of the study. For their investigation, the physicians analyzed the heart attacks and related deaths in hospitals between the year 2006 and the year 2010.
16 percent of the deceased had previously visited a hospital
Imperial College London experts found that about 16 percent of the deceased had visited a hospital within the last 28 days. Some of them already had warning signs, such as chest pain. More research on this topic is urgently needed, the scientists explain.
Physicians are investigating 135,950 deaths from a heart attack
Overall, the researchers looked at the hospital records of all 135,950 deaths in England over a four-year period due to heart attacks. The records showed whether the affected individuals had been admitted to hospital in the last four weeks prior to their death, and whether signs of a heart attack were the primary reason for admission, as a secondary reason or even not recorded at all, explain the scientists.
In 21,677 patients, there was no mention of symptoms of myocardial infarction
Examination of available data revealed that 21677 patients had no record of heart attack symptoms in their hospital records. Doctors are very good at treating heart attacks when these are the main cause of hospitalization, the researchers say. However, the situation looks quite different when a heart attack is not the main cause of hospitalization. Doctors and hospital staff find it difficult to detect a heart attack due to subtle signs, says author Dr. Perviz Asaria from Imperial College London.
What are typical symptoms of a heart attack?
If more of such signs were detected early, it would be possible to avoid many unnecessary deaths as a result of heart attacks, explain the doctors. Typical symptoms include:
- Chest pain (a feeling of pressure or tightness in the middle of the chest)
- Pain in other parts of the body (for example, a pain that spreads from the chest into the arms, usually affecting the left arm, but can also affect the jaw, neck, back, and abdomen)
- dizziness
- sweat
- shortness of breath
- Nausea and vomiting
- Overwhelming anxiety (similar to panic attacks)
- Cough and wheezing
Breast pain is not always dominant
The occurring pain in the chest are usually very strong, but there are also some cases in which only minor pain, similar to indigestion, say the experts. In some cases, there may be no chest pain, especially in women, the elderly and people with diabetes.
Symptoms can occur as early as one month before a fatal heart attack
Certain symptoms, such as fainting, shortness of breath and chest pain, usually occurred in some patients up to one month before death. Doctors do not always respond properly to these fatal myocardial infarction symptoms because there is no apparent damage to the heart at this time, the authors explain.
Further research is needed
We can not say exactly why these signs are often overlooked. For this reason, more detailed investigations on the subject must be carried out, emphasize the researchers. Only in this way can effective recommendations for change be made, says Professor Majid Ezzati of Imperial College London.
Updated guidance from healthcare professionals is needed
These could then lead to updated guidance for healthcare professionals. For example, physicians could spend more time reviewing patients and looking at earlier records for typical signs of a heart attack. The results of the study clearly show that a large number of people who die later of a heart attack visited a hospital the month before. However, those affected were not diagnosed with heart disease, adds the professor.
A fast and accurate diagnosis must be guaranteed in the future
Many heart attacks are characterized by classic chest pain in people who are smokers and have other risk factors for heart disease. A large amount of heart attacks, however, is completely different, especially in people with a not so obviously high risk, say the experts. The challenge is to diagnose all these patients accurately and quickly. Only in this way can the person concerned be guaranteed optimal care. (As)