Symptoms of acute myocardial infarction: expectations of a community sample.
OBJECTIVE
To identify the lay public's expectations of the symptoms of acute myocardial infarction (AMI).


METHODS
Street-intercept survey method.


METHODS
Four neighborhoods in a large metropolitan area.


METHODS
One hundred ninety-seven women and 217 men.


METHODS
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.
Zerwic
J J
JJ
College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago 60612, USA.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002641:Chicago; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000451:nursing*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires