Would you recognise a gradual-onset heart attack? The Guardian, 22 September 2019

We think of an attack as a ‘big bang’, but the symptoms can build over hours or days – and even doctors can misinterpret them

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/sep/22/would-you-recognise-a-gradual-onset-heart-attack

I meant to post this sooner, but as usual Life Happened! Not ME/CFS related, other than we do seem to get peculiar new symptoms sometimes, so maybe we should be aware that even heart attacks can be misdiagnosed. Especially ones that aren't "text book" examples.

 

Imagine going to a&e as a woman, with a dx of ME/cfs & all those symptoms... Likely to be misdiagnosed? Likely? Id say it would border on the miraculous of you weren't, and you'd get eye rolls at minimum & a load of derision as standard too I imagine.

 

Sounds like a horrible and scary experience. Nice to hear that the consultant was supportive though.

 

Crikey that must have been scary Trish! Especially what happened in the ambulance, but having asthma, breathing difficulties & pain, being sent there on GP instructions & having a major life threatening episode in the ambulance which would have been reported to the Drs, is much more likely to get one taken seriously. Thank goodness they were.

But I was talking about someone, especially a young woman, with no other dx than ME/CFS (ie nothing that the average doc would take seriously - like asthma), turning up to A&E of their own accord 'off the street', without any breathing difficulties or chest or left arm pain, but after having had pain in the collar bone & jaw & having been sick the wk before, & now who's arm felt numb (which is what the guy in the article reported) I think tingly fingers were also mentioned….

I'm pretty sure that scenario would be very likely to get a different response to the one you experienced.
I do acknowledge that there is the odd enlightened doc out there but, as the consultant said - "you should always get it checked if you have chest or left arm pain"... but the article's point is that heart attacks are often missed because they don't present in that way, & the doc only referring to those symptoms rather proves the article's point I think.

I often get pain in my collarbone, often get numbness & tingling fingers in my left arm, and fairly often am extremely sick. No doctor has ever even raised an eyebrow over any of it, they have however rolled their eyes & dismissed it as MUS/anxiety without bothering to run any tests at all.
It's obviously not a heart attack as it's been going on for many yrs! but they weren't to know that at the beginning. ​

 

Article about inequality between men and women (yet again!) at diagnosis, recovery or death from heart attack.

https://www.theguardian.com/society...ng-needlessly-from-heart-attacks-says-charity

 

It’s hysteria, not a heart attack, GP app Babylon tells women

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/its-hysteria-not-a-heart-attack-gp-app-tells-women-gm2vxbrqk