Doctor's Urgent Intervention Saved Patient's Life During Routine Visit

A Patient's Near-Fatal Experience

• 💡 Rachelle Denis-Morisseau describes waking up at 4:00 a.m. with chest tightness, difficulty breathing, nausea, and pain radiating down her left arm, symptoms she initially dismissed.
• ⚠️ She experienced these symptoms for a few hours, feeling like someone was pressing on her chest and struggling to catch her breath.

Primary Care Visit and Doctor's Suspicion

• 🩺 During a routine visit for back issues, Rachelle mentioned her concerning symptoms to her primary care physician, Dr. Denis-Morisseau.
• 🧠 The doctor noticed Rachelle seemed emotional about her symptoms, which, combined with the description, prompted an immediate EKG.
• 📈 While the EKG showed non-specific changes, it differed from previous EKGs, raising concern for a potential heart attack.

Overcoming Patient Hesitation

• 💬 Despite Rachelle wanting to dismiss the symptoms as anxiety and her EKG showing no obvious heart attack, the doctor insisted on a cardiac consult due to her intuition.
• ⚠️ Rachelle pushed to write it off, but the doctor explained the situation and secured an urgent referral, emphasizing the need for prompt evaluation.

Diagnosis and Treatment

• 🔬 A subsequent echo cardiogram revealed that while the top part of Rachelle's heart pumped strongly, the bottom part was sluggish, indicating a heart attack.
• 📊 A CTA scan showed over 70% occlusion in her right coronary artery, later revealed to be over 90% blockage.
• 🏥 She underwent a catheterization, received a stent, and began medical therapy and cardiac rehab.

Broader Implications for Women's Health

• 👩‍⚕️ Rachelle noted the predominance of men in cardiac rehab and learned that women often prioritize others' needs over their own health.
• 📢 The doctor highlights that traditional descriptions of heart attacks (like an elephant sitting on the chest) are often based on male symptoms, leading to missed diagnoses in women.
• 📣 This underscores the importance of recognizing that women's heart attack symptoms can differ and emphasizes the need for greater awareness and advocacy for women's heart health.