The Falvello Law Firm

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Failure to Diagnose Heart Attack

Each year nearly 5 million people in the country visit emergency rooms with heart attack symptoms including the most obvious - chest pains. Since heart attack symptoms are similar to a number of other non-life threatening conditions, some doctors may fail to appreciate the severity of the situation and misdiagnose the patient's medical condition.

Some of the most common mistakes made during the diagnosis of a heart attack include:

Failure to diagnose a heart attack in younger patients
Failure to consider a heart condition in women
Improper reading of a patient's EKG

A doctor may also fail to properly assess:

The patient’s age
Any previous heart conditions
Medical history and drug interactions
Exercise, alcohol, drug or tobacco use

Failing to diagnose a heart attack is a leading cause of medical malpractice lawsuits. If you or a loved one has been the victim of misdiagnosed heart attack, please contact us today for more information. The Falvello Law Firm has been serving clients in the Sugarloaf Valley of PA since 1978.

posted by Patti at 12:42 PM