The actor died in 2003 of an aortic dissection -- a tearing of the major artery that comes out of the heart. His widow later settled a wrongful death lawsuit against a California hospital, alleging his condition had been misdiagnosed at least twice. Experts who study malpractice cases and autopsy reports say certain diseases are misdiagnosed over and over again.
It's worth knowing what they are so you won't be a victim. 1. Aortic dissection: Sometimes aortic dissections are easy to diagnose -- a patient feels a distinct tearing sensation in his or her chest.
But other times they're pretty easy to miss because the symptoms could point to other diseases, says Dr. Robert Bonow, past president of the American Heart Association. Sometimes it feels like heartburn, he says.
2. Cancer: In a Harvard study of malpractice claims in the U.S.
, cancer was far and away the most misdiagnosed illness, primarily breast and colorectal. Study authors attributed this to doctors failing to stick to cancer screening guidelines. 3.
Clogged arteries: Sometimes doctors tell patients they're short of breath because they're out of shape, when it's actually coronary artery disease, says Bonow, who's also the chief of cardiology at Northwestern Medical School. 4. Heart attack: Sound strange?
How could a doctor miss a heart attack ? Bonow says the big and obvious attack -- the one where someone clutches his or her chest and falls to the floor, the one Bonow calls the Hollywood heart attack -- isn't always so clear. Sometimes the only signs of a heart attack are a sense of fullness in the chest, nausea and a general sense of not feeling well.
5. Infection: In the Harvard study, infection followed cancer as the most misdiagnosed condition. So how can you keep yourself from becoming a victim of misdiagnosis?
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