Patterns of Perception of Cardiac Symptoms by Patients Presenting with ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction and
Dipanker Prajapati1, Kunjang Sherpa1, Amrit Bogati1
1Department of Cardiology, Shahid Gangalal Nation Heart Centre, Bansbari, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Insights
Most ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction patients experienced typical chest pain but lacked awareness of cardiac origin and Coronary Artery Disease risk factors. Early recognition and knowledge are crucial for effective treatment.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Knowledge of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) and its risk factors is vital for early diagnosis and management.
- ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) requires prompt recognition and intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the patterns of clinical symptoms presented by STEMI patients.
- To assess STEMI patients' knowledge regarding CAD risk factors.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional, observational study involving 340 STEMI patients.
- Data collected on clinical characteristics, symptom presentation, CAD risk factor knowledge, and prehospital delay.
Main Results:
- 87.9% of patients reported typical ischemic chest pain, but only 23.8% recognized it as cardiac-related.
- While 91.5% sought care within 12 hours, symptom perception did not correlate with timely presentation.
- Awareness of CAD risk factors like hypertension (40.3%) and diabetes (20.9%) was notably low.
Conclusions:
- STEMI patients often present with typical chest pain but demonstrate low awareness of its cardiac origin.
- There is a significant gap in knowledge regarding established Coronary Artery Disease risk factors among STEMI patients.
Background:
Proper knowledge regarding Coronary Artery Disease and their risk factors is essential for the early recognition of the disease and its presentation. This study was conducted to identify pattern of clinical symptoms and knowledge regarding Coronary Artery Disease risk factors among ST-Elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients.
Methods:
This cross-sectional, observational study was conducted among 340 ST-Elevation myocardial infarction patients in the inpatient Cardiology Department of Shahid Gangalal National Heart Centre Nepal, from November 2020 to February 2021. Baseline clinical characteristics, knowledge regarding Coronary Artery Disease risk factors, patterns of symptoms, and prehospital delay were collected and evaluated.
Results:
In our study, 299 (87.9%) had typical ischemic chest pain during the symptom onset, however, only 81 (23.8%) perceived chest pain as cardiac disease, and 311 (91.5%) of the patients presented to the nearby health care center within the recommended time of less than 12 hours for the reperfusion therapy of ST-Elevation myocardial infarction. Perception of symptoms as a cardiac origin and typical chest pain were not significantly associated with earlier presentation. Also, the typical chest pain was not significantly associated with the perception of the symptom as a cardiac origin. The history of Coronary Artery Disease was considered as a Coronary Artery Disease risk factor by 184(54.1%) of the study population and 137(40.3%), 132(38.8%), 110(32.4%), 105(30.9%) and 71(20.9%) considered hypertension, smoking, age, obesity, and diabetes mellitus as a Coronary Artery Disease risk factor respectively.
Conclusions:
Though most patients presented with typical chest pain, identification of the chest pain as a cardiac origin and the awareness of the Coronary Artery Disease risk factors was low.
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