Heart Attack

Heart attack, or myocardial infarction, is a recurring fact pattern in Ontario medical malpractice litigation, most often through allegations of missed or delayed diagnosis at first presentation. Patients may present with atypical symptoms, may be discharged from an emergency department with a benign diagnosis, or may not receive timely electrocardiography, cardiac enzyme testing, or cardiology referral.

The clinical importance of time is central to these cases, because early reperfusion preserves heart muscle and delay can mean death or permanent cardiac impairment. The standard of care is established through expert evidence, typically from emergency medicine and cardiology, and is calibrated to the presentation as it appeared rather than judged with hindsight. Causation turns on what difference timely diagnosis and treatment would have made, which can be contested where the infarction was already advanced or the underlying disease severe at the time of presentation.

Posts tagged Heart Attack analyze Ontario decisions involving missed or delayed diagnosis of myocardial infarction and related cardiac emergencies.