Misdiagnosis of Angina
Alternative diagnoses list for Angina:
For a diagnosis of Angina,
the following list of conditions
have been mentioned in sources
as possible alternative diagnoses
to consider during the diagnostic process for Angina:
Diseases for which Angina may be an alternative diagnosis
The other diseases for which Angina
is listed as a possible alternative
diagnosis in their lists include:
Angina: Hidden Causes Misdiagnosed?
Causes of Angina may include these medical conditions:
Angina Diagnosis: Book Excerpts
Angina: Medical Mistakes
Related medical mistakes may include:
Angina: Undiagnosed Conditions
Commonly undiagnosed conditions in related areas may include:
Discussion of diagnosis/misdiagnosis of Angina:
NHLBI, ANGINA: NHLBI (Excerpt)
An episode of angina is not a heart attack. Angina pain means that some of
the heart muscle in not getting enough blood temporarily--for example, during
exercise, when the heart has to work harder. The pain does NOT mean that the
heart muscle is suffering irreversible, permanent damage. Episodes of angina
seldom cause permanent damage to heart muscle.
In contrast, a heart attack occurs when the blood flow to a part of the heart
is suddenly and permanently cut off. This causes permanent damage to the heart
muscle. Typically, the chest pain is more severe, lasts longer, and does not go
away with rest or with medicine that was previously effective. It may be
accompanied by indigestion, nausea, weakness, and sweating. However, the
symptoms of a heart attack are varied and may be considerably milder.
(Source: excerpt from NHLBI, ANGINA: NHLBI)
NHLBI, ANGINA: NHLBI (Excerpt)
Not all chest pain is from the heart, and not all pain from
the heart is angina. For example, if the pain lasts for less that 30 seconds or
if it goes away during a deep breath, after drinking a glass of water, or by
changing position, it almost certainly is NOT angina and should not cause
concern. But prolonged pain, unrelieved by rest and accompanied by other
symptoms may signal a heart attack.
(Source: excerpt from NHLBI, ANGINA: NHLBI)
Angina: NWHIC (Excerpt)
Not all chest discomfort is angina. For example, acid reflux
(heartburn) and lung infection or inflammation can cause chest pain. (Source: excerpt from Angina: NWHIC)
Common Misdiagnoses and Angina
Heart attacks can be undiagnosed: Although the most severe symptoms of heart attack are hard to miss,
there are varying degrees of severity.
It is altogether too common for people to die from undiagnosed heart attack, or from delaying too long
to call for emergency help.
The prognosis for treatment is far better for patients treated in the early stages of a heart attack.
The most common misdiagnoses include heartburn, or other less severe causes of chest pain.
See the introduction to heart attack and the symptoms of heart attack.
Heart attacks can be overdiagnosed: Although many people die from heart attacks, there are also
many cases where people fear that they have a heart attack, but actually have something milder.
Some of the conditions which may be causes of chest pain, causing fear of a heart attack, including
an anxiety attack, heartburn, and so on.
See the causes of chest pain and the symptoms of heart attack.
Rare heart condition often undiagnosed: The rare heart condition called long QT syndrome can lead to episodes of palpitations
and rapid heartbeat.
In rare cases, this undiagnosed condition can be fatal.
It should be considered for any unexplained heart rhythm abnormality.
Heart attack can be over-diagnosed: Although heart attack is often undiagnosed,
leading to fatality, it can also be over-diagnosed.
People become concerned that a condition is a heart attack,
whereas there are various less dangerous possibilities.
After all, there are numerous causes of chest pain.
Some of the common conditions where a person may become concerned
about a possible heart attack include a panic attack (which often has
both chest pain and difficulty breathing), and heartburn/reflux type conditions.
Nevertheless, chest pain itself can be a potentially life-threatening symptoms,
and needs immediate professional attention.
Alzheimer's disease over-diagnosed: The well-known disease of Alzheimer's disease
is often over-diagnosed.
Patients tend to assume that any memory loss or forgetulness symptom might be Alzheimer's,
whereas there are many other less severe possibilities.
Some level of memory decline is normal with aging,
and even a slight loss of acuity may be noticed in the 30's and 40's.
Other conditions can also lead a person to show greater forgetfulness.
For example, depression and depressive disorders can cause a person to
have reduced concentration and thereby poorer memory retention.
Dementia may be a drug interaction: A common scenario in aged care is for
a patient to show mental decline to dementia.
Whereas this can, of course, occur due to various medical conditions,
such as a stroke or Alzheimer's disease,
it can also occur from a side effect or interaction between multiple drugs
that the elderly patient may be taking.
There are also various other possible causes of dementia.
Tremor need not be Parkinson's disease: There is the tendency to believe that
any tremor symptom, or shakiness, means Parkinson's disease.
The reality is that there are various possibilities, such as benign essential tremor,
which is mostly harmless.
see the various causes of tremor and misdiagnosis of Parkinson's disease.
Blood pressure cuffs misdiagnose hypertension in children: One known misdiagnosis issue
with hyperension, arises in relation to the simple equipment used to test blood pressure.
The "cuff" around the arm to measure blood pressure can simply be too small to accurately
test a child's blood pressure.
This can lead to an incorrect diagnosis of a child with hypertension.
The problem even has a name unofficially: "small cuff syndrome".
See misdiagnosis of hypertension.
Rare diseases misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease: A rare genetic
disorder is often misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease for men in their 50's.
The disease Fragile X disorder can show only mild symptoms in the early years,
and Parkinsons-like symptoms around age 50.
See misdiagnosis of Parkinson's disease.
Hypertension misdiagnosis common in children: Hypertension is often
misdiagnosed in adults (see misdiagnosis of hypertension), but its misdiagnosis is even more likely in children.
Some of the symptoms of hypertension that can be overlooked include chest pain, headaches, abdominal pain, etc.
See symptoms of hypertension or misdiagnosis of hypertension.
Aortic stenosis in the elderly: Aortic stenosis is a condition characterised by the calcification of a normal valve and is more common in the elderly population. This is the most common cause.the patient usually presents with angina, syncope and dyspnea from congestive heart failure. The condition can be misdiagnosed as a case of aortic valve sclerossis, hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, mitral regurgitation and pulmonary stenosis. Chest ray, ECG and echocadiography help in diagnosis. Patients must receve infective endocarditis. surgery is advised when there is gross reduction of the valve orifice.
Angina: Rare Types
Rare types of medical disorders and diseases in related medical areas:
General Misdiagnosis Articles
Read these general articles with an overview of misdiagnosis issues.
About misdiagnosis:
When checking for a misdiagnosis of Angina
or confirming a diagnosis of Angina,
it is useful to consider what other
medical conditions might be possible misdiagnoses or other alternative
conditions relevant to diagnosis.
These alternate diagnoses of Angina may already have
been considered by your doctor or may need to be considered as possible
alternative diagnoses or candidates for misdiagnosis of Angina.
For a general overview of misdiagnosis issues for all diseases,
see Overview of Misdiagnosis.
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