Table 2 Symptoms when falling ill in acute myocardial infarction
All N=688 | PHC n=147 | Other n=541 | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Cardinal symptomsa | 667 (97) | 138 (94) | 529 (98) | 0.03 |
Symptoms, pain | ||||
Chest pain | 607 (88) | 124 (84) | 483 (89) | 0.10 |
Pain in neck or throat | 143 (20) | 24 (16) | 119 (22) | 0.13 |
Pain in the jaw or teeth | 80 (12) | 18 (12) | 62 (12) | 0.79 |
Back pain | 116 (16.9) | 26 (18) | 90 (17) | 0.76 |
Stomach pain | 58 (8) | 16 (11) | 42 (8) | 0.23 |
Shoulder pain | 142 (21) | 34 (23) | (108 (20) | 0.40 |
Radiating pain in the arm(s) | 379 (55) | 75 (51) | 304 (56) | 0.26 |
Other symptoms | ||||
Cold sweat | 368 (53) | 64 (44) | 304 (56) | <0.01 |
Weakness | 267 (39) | 54 (37) | 213 (39) | 0.57 |
Tiredness | 224 (33) | 45 (31) | 179 (33) | 0.62 |
Shortness of breath | 219 (32) | 44 (30) | 175 (32) | 0.58 |
Nausea/vomiting | 206 (30) | 33 (22) | 173 (32) | 0.03 |
Numbness in the hands | 205 (30) | 36 (25) | 169 (31) | 0.11 |
Vertigo | 160 (23) | 23 (16) | 137 (25) | 0.01 |
Fear | 150 (22) | 22 (15) | 128 (24) | 0.02 |
Anxiety | 91 (13) | 15 (10) | 76 (14) | 0.22 |
General sick feeling | 103 (15) | 19 (13) | 84 (16) | 0.43 |
Prodromal symptoms, ≤ 2 weeks | 141 (20) | 39 (27) | 102 (19) | 0.28 |
Symptom burden * | 5.19 (±2.49) | 4.64 (±2.19) | 5.33 (±2.54) | <0.01 |
Symptom character | ||||
Oppressive feeling across the chest | 231 (38) | 56 (42) | 175 (38) | 0.40 |
Dull pain | 99 (16) | 26 (19) | 73 (16) | 0.32 |
Tightness across the chest | 85 (14) | 18 (13) | 67 (14) | 0.77 |
Cramp-like pain | 64 (11) | 12 (9) | 52 (11) | 0.46 |
Burning pain | 41 (7) | 5 (4) | 36 (8) | 0.10 |
Razor-sharp pain | 22 (4) | 5 (4) | 17 (4) | 0.97 |
Stinging pain | 21 (4) | 7 (5) | 14 (3) | 0.28 |
Tenderness pain | 13 (2) | 2 (2) | 11 (2) | 0.74 |
Stabbing pain | 6 (1) | 2 (2) | 4 (1) | 0.62 |
Experience of symptoms | ||||
Unpleasant | 386 (56) | 80 (54) | 306 (57) | 0.64 |
Worrying | 303 (44) | 77 (52) | 226 (42) | 0.03 |
Troublesome | 191 (28) | 47 (32) | 144 (27) | 0.22 |
Unbearable | 188 (27) | 33 (22) | 155 (29) | 0.14 |
Frightening | 177 (26) | 27 (18) | 150 (28) | 0.02 |
Anxiety-ridden | 134 (20) | 33 (22) | 101 (19) | 0.35 |
Tiring | 138 (20) | 24 (16) | 114 (21) | 0.25 |
Stressful | 91 (13) | 23 (16) | 68 (13) | 0.34 |
Suffocating | 78 (11) | 13 (9) | 65 (12) | 0.31 |
Irritating | 67 (10) | 15 (10) | 52 (10) | 0.88 |
Pain intensity | ||||
Numeric rating scaleb | 6.75 (±2.04) | 6.29 (±2.02) | 6.87 (±2.03) | <0.01 |
Passing | 22 (3) | 9 (6) | 13 (3) | 0.04 |
Fluctuating | 168 (25) | 52 (36) | 116 (22) | <0.01 |
Constant | 359 (54) | 68 (47) | 291 (55) | <0.01 |
Increasing | 121 (18) | 16 (11) | 105 (20) | 0.01 |
Interpretation of the symptoms | ||||
Cardiac in origin | 456 (66) | 88 (60) | 368 (68) | 0.08 |