| Acute Myocardial Infarction
(Heart Attack) Myocardial infarctions are common and often
deadly. They usually result from a blockage of blood vessels of
the heart. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort.
Many cases are not diagnosed in the emergency department and
this diagnostic error makes heart attack the leading cause of
malpractice litigation arising in the emergency room. Because
AMI is most often seen in men over the age of 45, it is often
overlooked in women or younger adults. Diagnostic tests such as
an electrocardiogram (EKG) may be normal, even though the
patient is having a heart attack. Sometimes, AMI is misdiagnosed
as gastrointestinal disorder, muskuloskeletal pain, or
respiratory ailments, such as pneumonia. If an acute myocardial
infarction is misdiagnosed, the patient may be discharged from
the emergency room without appropriate treatment, frequently
resulting in death. A study reported in the New England Journal
of Medicine found that as many as 8 per cent of patients with
myocardial infarction are mistakenly released from the emergency
room without appropriate care.
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