heart attack diagnosis – Heart Sisters

by Carolyn Thomas ♥ @HeartSisters

In a good old-fashioned murder mystery, we know that the plot starts to heat up when the dead body is discovered and the cause of death determined. But in real life, most of us will not die quite so dramatically.

If we live with one or more chronic illnesses, in fact, the name of at least one of those diagnoses will probably be listed on our official death certificates someday. (We could also get run over by a bus long before then, but let’s face it, chronic diseases cause 70% of deaths worldwide).

It struck me recently that, had I died during what doctors call my widowmaker heart attack in 2008, the official cause of death would have likely read “myocardial infarction”. But that would have been wrong. The actual cause of my death would have been that I was misdiagnosed with acid reflux and sent home from the Emergency Department.

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by Carolyn Thomas ♥ @HeartSisters

Me: “My name is Carolyn, and I’m a Medical Googler.”

You, all together now: “Hello, Carolyn!”

This will come as no surprise to any of you regular readers, but I’m just a wee bit obsessed about All Things Cardiac. From the very minute I was sent home from hospital after surviving a heart attack, I started mainlining Google like it was a drug. I became hooked. I threw myself into researching women’s heart disease in a determined attempt to figure out what the heck had just hit me. And after I had the opportunity to spend five days at Mayo Clinic in October, I became truly insufferable. Continue reading “What doctors really think about women who are ‘Medical Googlers’” →

Tag: heart attack diagnosis

The dilemma of the death certificate

What doctors really think about women who are ‘Medical Googlers’