Misdiagnosis of Heart Attack and Cancer
Most people know when something just does not ?feel right? with their bodies. While some will make an immediate trip to the doctor, others may wait and hope the feelings go away on their own. Regardless of how quickly people seek medical attention for potential health conditions, they rely on doctors to correctly identify illnesses and treat them in a timely manner.
When a doctor fails to properly detect a patient?s health problems and provide useful treatment options and that patient suffers further injury or wrongful death, that doctor may be held liable for medical malpractice. In an alarming study by Health Grades, Inc., patients in hospital settings were misdiagnosed 15.5% of the time and emergency room patients were misdiagnosed 20-40% of the time.
Two of the most common health conditions that are misdiagnosed are heart attacks and cancer.
Misdiagnosis of Heart Attack
As most people are aware, heart attacks can be fatal. Typically heart attacks occur in men over age 45, however women and younger adults can also suffer from this health condition which happens when there is a lack of oxygen to the heart muscle. Heart attack symptoms can be sudden and severe or the symptoms can only occur occasionally. The pain can start mild and become progressively more painful over time.
Heart attack symptoms can include:
Tags: Attack, Cancer, Heart, Misdiagnosis