J J Zerwic1. 1. College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago 60612, USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To identify the lay public's expectations of the symptoms of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). DESIGN: Street-intercept survey method. SETTING: Four neighborhoods in a large metropolitan area. SAMPLE: One hundred ninety-seven women and 217 men. INSTRUMENT: The Representation of Heart Attack Symptoms questionnaire (RHAS), a 48-item instrument that identifies subjects' expectations concerning the associated symptoms of AMI and the location, quality, and intensity of the discomfort of AMI. RESULTS: The symptoms most individuals expected during AMI included: chest pain, irregular heart beats, inability to move, and shortness of breath. The locations selected as most likely included: middle, left, and right side of the chest, upper and lower back. The most common descriptors of the expected discomfort were "tight," "pressure," and "heaviness." More than 88% of subjects expected the intensity of a heart attack to be at least a 9 on a scale of 0 (No discomfort) to 10 (The most discomfort imagined). CONCLUSIONS: The lay public have both accurate and inaccurate expectations about the symptoms of AMI.
OBJECTIVE: To identify the lay public's expectations of the symptoms of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). DESIGN: Street-intercept survey method. SETTING: Four neighborhoods in a large metropolitan area. SAMPLE: One hundred ninety-seven women and 217 men. INSTRUMENT: The Representation of Heart Attack Symptoms questionnaire (RHAS), a 48-item instrument that identifies subjects' expectations concerning the associated symptoms of AMI and the location, quality, and intensity of the discomfort of AMI. RESULTS: The symptoms most individuals expected during AMI included: chest pain, irregular heart beats, inability to move, and shortness of breath. The locations selected as most likely included: middle, left, and right side of the chest, upper and lower back. The most common descriptors of the expected discomfort were "tight," "pressure," and "heaviness." More than 88% of subjects expected the intensity of a heart attack to be at least a 9 on a scale of 0 (No discomfort) to 10 (The most discomfort imagined). CONCLUSIONS: The lay public have both accurate and inaccurate expectations about the symptoms of AMI.
Authors: Anna Wikman; Nadine Messerli-Bürgy; Gerard J Molloy; Gemma Randall; Linda Perkins-Porras; Andrew Steptoe Journal: J Behav Med Date: 2011-07-09
Authors: Evie Van Severen; Robert Willemsen; Pieter Vandervoort; Marc Sabbe; Geert-Jan Dinant; Frank Buntinx Journal: Eur J Emerg Med Date: 2017-12 Impact factor: 2.799