A person who goes into the hospital with chest pains needs to undergo a medical evaluation immediately to find out if there is something that needs addressing. Chest pains could signal a heart attack, which might be fatal if treatment doesn’t happen quickly. Unfortunately, doctors don’t always pick up on the signs of a heart attack, and they might not diagnose the patient so they can receive proper treatment.
Anyone who goes into the emergency room with signs of a heart attack can expect to have some precise tests done. This is so that the doctors can determine what is going on and which treatment plan will be suitable.
What do doctors look for during the diagnostic tests?
Frequently, the doctors will do a quick examination and talk to you about your symptoms. This enables them to determine what steps to take next. There are many options that doctors have to find out what’s going on. You might have an electrocardiogram, a stress test or an echocardiogram.
Depending on the suspected cause of the issue, you might also need some imaging testing, including a chest X-ray, magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography or more specialized versions of those tests.
Why do so many tests if fast treatment is necessary?
Without knowing what’s going on, doctors won’t know what to do and unnecessary treatments need to be avoided. Not only can this allow the heart attack to do more damage to your heart, but incorrect treatments can also mean that you face additional negative impacts.
The treatments for heart attacks can include a variety of options. Some patients might need to have surgery to correct the underlying issue and improve heart function. In other cases, the treatment involves administering clot-dissolving agents so blood can flow freely again. The faster the heart receives normal blood flow, the better the chance of an optimal outcome.
There is always a chance that the emergency room doctor will miss the condition that is impacting you. If you aren’t diagnosed and are having a heart attack, you might suffer long-term health effects. In severe cases, patients can die when doctors fail to diagnose this condition. Individuals who have gone through can pursue a claim for compensation.