A Qualitative Study of Symptom Experiences of Women With Acute Coronary Syndrome.
Leslie L Davis
PMID 27870722WHAT IT FOUND
Women with abrupt or suddenly intensifying acute coronary syndrome symptoms sought care sooner.
Women with vague, intermittent symptoms often failed to recognize them as cardiac and delayed a median 11.45 hours.
Key findings
01The way symptoms began shaped how quickly women recognized a change, interpreted it, and sought care.
02Women with vague, intermittent symptoms often could not form a symptom pattern, did not view them as serious, and avoided telling others.
03When slowly evolving symptoms suddenly intensified, the women then interpreted them as serious and sought care.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study included only 18 women from one academic medical center in the southeastern United States, so the themes may not fit other populations. It did not include women who died before being offered participation, who did not seek care, or who were too unstable or unable to speak English to take part, so it cannot describe the most severe or most delayed presentations. Interviews were retrospective to the symptom event, which risks recall bias, although they were done soon after admission or discharge. The study was qualitative and did not test whether education, assessment, or other interventions change recognition, interpretation, or delay. The authors note the sample size is too small for inferential statistical analysis.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that teaching women about vague symptoms will reduce delay. The study only describes women's symptom experiences and did not test an educational or behavioral intervention.