Heart attacks often develop over many years. They may start with blocked arteries or disease and advance quietly for years before triggering an event that sends the person to the doctor or the emergency room. The difficulty with heart attacks is that they often appear at first glance to be another condition. A person who has frequent bouts of heartburn and indigestion may think that a heart attack is just another case of indigestion.

Treatments for a heart attack work to open the blocked artery to restore blood flow as fast as possible to prevent or limit damage to the heart muscle, and to lessen a chance of a repeat heart attack. The main treatments are thrombolytic ("clot-busting") therapy, other medications, and special procedures, such as angioplasty and coronary artery bypass surgery. To be most effective, these treatments must be given fast - within 1 hour of the start of heart attack symptoms. Acting fast can save your life and limit damage to your heart.

Symptoms of heart attack may include one or more of the following:

• chest discomfort or pain
  
  
• jaw pain
  
  
• neck pain
  
  
• back pain
  
  
• arm pain (in one or both arms)
  
  
• stomach pain
  
  
• shortness of breath
  
  
• indigestion
  
  
• sweating
  
  
• nausea
  
  
• light headedness
  
  
• dizziness

A physician is obligated to perform routine tests to diagnose the heart attack, or rule out its existence. If an emergency room physician fails to take enough time with the patient to recognize all of the symptoms, they may not order the appropriate tests such as cardiac enzymes, electrocardiogram, EEGs, EKGs, blood tests, nuclear scan, coronary angiography (or arteriography), MRIs, MRAs and CT scans. Prompt treatment is essential given the availability of drugs and surgical procedures which minimize the potential for irreversible injury.

Because heart attacks are mostly suffered by men over 45, they are often underdiagnosed in women or younger adults. In any age patients, common misdiagnoses of heart attacks include, but are not limited to gastrointestinal disorders, musculoskeletal pain, or respiratory ailments such as pneumonia or bronchitis.

While anesthesia injuries are most often thought of as occurring in the operating room, they can occur in a wide variety of settings, including the pre-operative and recovery rooms, any procedure room, during labor and delivery, during sedation for dental procedures, and during a wide variety of out-patient medical procedures in surgical clinics and doctor''s offices.

Anesthesia malpractice are not limited to anesthesiologists. Proper specialty training and certification is one way to reduce the risk to the patient. It is likely that the seriousness and rate of complication increases significantly outside of the setting of the anesthesiologist in the operating room. Extremely severe complications and death may occur in dental offices and in the cosmetic surgery clinics during procedures under general anesthesia, where trained anesthesia staff is absent. Potential defendants include anesthesiologists, nurses, nurse anesthetists, fellows and residents in training, surgeons, other doctors, and dentists.

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