Heart Health Awareness Month: Avoid Misdiagnosis of Heart Disease
February is the American Heart Association's Heart Health Awareness Month, emphasizing the dangers of heart disease and the importance of heart health, particularly for women.


February 09, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Heart Health Awareness Month: Avoid Misdiagnosis of Heart Disease

The advice for becoming more "heart healthy" may sound familiar: Lose weight, quit smoking, watch your cholesterol and exercise regularly. Yet heart disease remains America's biggest killer, taking more lives than accidents and cancer put together, according to the American Heart Association.

Many people still think of heart disease (particularly heart attacks) as something that mostly affects men, but it is also the number one killer of women. The American Heart Association points out that cardiovascular disease claims the lives of five times as many women as breast cancer.

February is the American Heart Association's Heart Health Awareness Month. People will be seeing more of AHA's "Red Dress" campaign, which aims to educate the public about the dangers of heart disease and the importance of heart health, particularly for women.

Diagnosis of Heart Disease

Heart disease can take many forms, and there are many types of tests used to detect it, making proper diagnosis critical to successful treatment. Often patients have no pain or other clues that their health may be in jeopardy. Other times their symptoms may not seem heart-related, such as jaw pain, shoulder pain or nausea, when in fact these symptoms can be signs of a heart attack -- particularly in women, who are less likely to experience the "crushing" chest pain that men often report in a heart attack.

Doctors routinely test adults for high blood pressure and unhealthy cholesterol levels, and other tests may be called for in patients with diabetes or a family history of heart disease. Other specific tests, which are given depending on the patient's medical history and symptoms, include:
-An electrocardiogram (ECG), which measures the electrical activity of the heart, indicating how the various muscles of the heart are contracting.
-An echocardiogram, which uses ultrasound to create an image of the heart, allowing the doctor to determine the location and extent of damage to the heart.
-A stress test, in which the patient typically walks or jogs on a treadmill while connected to an ECG. This test is then compared to a similar test done when the patient is at rest to determine how well the heart responds to the need for increased blood flow.
-Nuclear medicine, in which a radionuclide "tracer" is injected into the bloodstream. Doctors can then detect this element as it passes through the heart to determine how the heart is functioning.
-Biologic markers, which appear as chemicals in the body released by damaged heart cells. The presence of these enzymes and other chemicals in the patient's blood or urine may indicate heart disease and risk of a heart attack.

Because some tests are better than others at predicting or detecting specific types of heart disease, doctors and patients need to have an open and honest dialog about the risk factors a patient may have, the patient's family history and medical history, and what symptoms the patient is experiencing, so the doctor can prescribe the correct tests for the patient's condition. Patients should be certain that their doctors fully understand their symptoms and complaints.

Misdiagnosis of Heart Disease Still a Problem

Over the last 50 years, advances in medical training and technology, such as the use of CPR and defibrillators, have lowered the mortality rates for the more sudden heart problems like heart attacks. Yet heart attacks are still sometimes misdiagnosed as something innocent like indigestion or back pain, and the patient is sent home. In other instances, a patient may exhibit many signs of heart disease but go undiagnosed until a heart attack or stroke occurs. In the worst cases, these misdiagnoses can be life threatening. Even in the best cases, treatment becomes much more prolonged and costly when the initial diagnosis is incorrect.

Fortunately, patients who have been misdiagnosed may have a legal remedy. Misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose a heart attack or other heart disease may be medical malpractice, and Pennsylvania law typically allows the injured to recover damages when medical negligence is a substantial factor. Medical negligence does not have to be the only factor that caused the harm to the patient, so long as it is a substantial factor in increasing the risk to the patient.

Even if you're fortunate enough to be in good health, be sure to talk to your doctor about any history of heart disease in your family, or any symptoms you might be experiencing. If you feel that you or someone you know has been misdiagnosed, get a second opinion from another doctor -- and talk to an attorney who is experienced in medical malpractice cases to discuss your legal rights.

Article provided by Ronald J. Bua & Associates
Visit us at www.ronaldbua.com

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