The Nebraska Injury Law Report

Given the prevalence of heart disease, you should know the signs and symptoms of heart attack. So should your medical provider or it could cost you–and them.

Every year in the United States, 7 million people go to hospital emergency rooms complaining of chest pain or other symptoms that suggest they might be having a heart attack. A missed heart attack diagnosis garners the highest malpractice payout among all medical malpractice cases.

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The statistics surrounding heart disease and heart attacks in the U.S. are startling. A heart attack occurs about every 20 seconds, and deaths from heart attacks occur approximately once a minute. Almost 14 million Americans have a history of heart attack or angina (chest pain or discomfort that occurs when your heart muscle does not get enough blood).

Shortness of breath, often occurring at the same time as chest pain but can occur before chest pain, also Chest discomfort/pain (squeezing, pressure, or fullness) Discomfort in other areas of the upper body (one or both arms, back, neck, jaw or stomach) Cold sweat, nausea, and light-headedness.

More than 233,000 women die each year from heart disease; yet, most women do not experience chest pain when having a heart attack. Instead, they frequently experience nausea and vomiting, which often leads doctors to misdiagnose a woman’s heart attack as a gastro-intestinal problem. According to recent studies, women waited an average of almost 25 minutes longer than men for clot-buster treatments, which can stop a heart attack. Misdiagnosing a heart attack or a heart condition puts the patient, female or male, at risk for stroke, paralysis and death.

If you or a loved one have been injured due to a medical error, call the experienced medical malpractice attorneys of Keating, O’Gara, Nedved, & Peter at 888/234-0621 or fill out the “Contact Us” form in the upper left-hand portion of this page.