Poor Knowledge of MI Symptoms Common Among Patients

POOR KNOWLEDGE OF MI SYMPTOMS COMMON AMONG PATIENTS

Nearly half of patients with a history of heart disease don’t know the symptoms of a heart attack and don’t realize they are at increased heart attack risk, according to a study in the May 26, 2008 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

People with heart disease are up to seven times the risk of heart attack compared to the general population. Statistics show that survival rates increase in heart attack if patients get advanced medical care within one hour of the onset of symptoms.

If patients do not know the symptoms of acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) and other acute coronary syndromes—including nausea and pain in the jaw, chest or left arm—they will not seek treatment for them. If they do not perceive themselves to be at risk for heart attack, they will look for another explanation when they experience these symptoms, the authors write.

Researchers at the University of California at San Francisco School of Nursing interviewed more than 3,500 patients who had a history of heart attack or who had had a procedure to open a clogged artery. The participants were asked a series of questions about heart attack symptoms and about heart disease in general. The average age of the study participants was 67 years of age, according to the researchers. They were also asked if they were at more or less risk of heart attack than others who had no history of heart disease.

According to the study authors, the average cardiac knowledge score for participants was 71percent. In patients with a cardiac disease history, 44 percent of the participants with cardiac histories had low knowledge of cardiac disease symptoms, scoring less than 70 percent on the questions.

Changes in the health care delivery system have led to less hospital time for heart disease patients, reducing the amount of time available for education about heart disease symptoms, the authors note. Patients require continued reinforcement about the nature of cardiac symptoms, the benefits of early treatment and their risk status, they write.

Their findings suggest that men, elderly individuals, those with low levels of education and those who have not attended a cardiac rehabilitation program are more likely to require special efforts during medical office visits to review symptoms of acute myocardial infarction and to learn the appropriate actions to take in the face of new symptoms of acute coronary syndromes.

Source: May 26, 2008 Archives of Internal Medicine