What Happened
Our firm successfully resolved a medical malpractice case after hospital providers performed a cardiac stress test on a patient showing clear signs of an evolving heart attack.
Our client arrived at the hospital with chest pain and rising cardiac troponin levels indicating ongoing heart muscle damage. Cardiology providers recognized he likely needed an urgent cardiac catheterization and recommended he remain NPO for the procedure. Despite this, critical communication failures between the cardiology team and stress lab allowed the stress test to proceed.
Shortly after the chemical stress test was performed, our client suffered a massive ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) requiring emergency cardiac catheterization and stent placement. The heart attack caused permanent heart damage and severely reduced cardiac function.
The evidence showed the stress test should never have been performed in a patient with rising troponins and acute coronary syndrome, and that proper communication and hospital safeguards would have prevented the heart attack.
As a result of the event, our client suffered permanent cardiac impairment, chronic anxiety, emotional trauma, fear of sudden cardiac death, and significant loss of quality of life.
Practice Areas Involved
This result arose from the kind of care reviewed on these pages. If something similar happened in your family, they explain what the records are read for.