Failure to Diagnose Heart Attacks and Strokes
The failure to diagnose heart attacks and strokes among various patient populations (e.g., women, low-income, the elderly) is alarming. A patient’s oncoming heart attack or stroke may be missed due to substandard medical care. The possible consequences of failures to diagnose heart attacks and/or strokes are life-threatening or even fatal.
The Louisville, Kentucky firm of Brett H. Oppenheimer, PLLC represents the victims of failure to diagnose heart attacks and strokes — the injured individuals and the families whose loved ones were lost due to medical negligence.
Failure to Diagnose a Heart Attack
Every year in the United States, more than a million people have a heart attack, also known as an MI (myocardial infarction). A heart attack is an instance of heart failure, the stopping of the heart’s normal function. About two-thirds of individuals having a heart attack will show symptoms, such as some or all of the following:
- severe chest pain
- a tingling sensation in the chest
- pressure or a sense of fullness in the chest
- a feeling of heartburn/indigestion
- nausea/vomiting
- fatigue
- pain or numbness radiating into one or both arms
If the symptoms and signs of a heart attack are noted in time and diagnosed correctly, the patient can be treated and the serious consequences of a full-blown heart attack can be prevented. In contrast, a failure to diagnose a heart attack can have devastating results.
Failure to Diagnose a Stroke
As with heart attacks, the appearance of symptoms of a stroke should be taken very seriously by medical professionals. Immediate medical treatment of a stroke can mean the difference between life and death or very serious complications.
Strokes kill more than 150,000 individuals in the U.S. each year. The potential symptoms of a stroke include:
- sudden numbness in a body part such as the face, arm, or leg
- sudden inability to speak or understand speech
- confusion
- trouble walking, moving
- loss of balance
- severe and sudden headache
Common types of strokes include hemorrhagic (blood loss) and ischemic (blood flow blockage) strokes. Symptoms may be similar, but treatment is often quite different.
If You’ve Suffered from a Failure to Diagnose a Heart Attack or Stroke
Medical negligence has grave consequences. The damages due to a failure to diagnose a heart attack or stroke may be eligible for financial compensation from the responsible party. Contact Brett Oppenheimer’s office in Louisville, Kentucky to learn more about your legal rights if you’ve been harmed by medical malpractice.
