Heart Attack Misdiagnosis Warning

What if you were having a heart attack but nobody believed you?

That's a situation that women face daily. They are far more likely to be misdiagnosed than men... and it's something women need to be very aware of.

Christine Devine talked to two heart attack victims who had very different experiences.

Desseri Riley / Heart Attack Victim:
"It was very scary. It felt like an elephant was standing on your chest sweat was just pouring off you then again you had really bad jaw pain. The worst oh the worst pain."

Joseph Palmieri / Heart Attack Victim:
"I had a sharp pain in my chest. I was cold, i was sweating profusely, both my arms were numb. I was very weak."

Joseph Palmieri is 37-years-old. He's also in ICU one day after a heart attack while he was driving with his kids in the car. He remembers praying as it was happening.

Joseph Palmieri / Heart Attack Victim:
"Please let me pull over get over to the side as quick as I can. I was concerned for my children."

Before passing out, Joseph called 911. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, and was in and out of surgery in less than an hour.

For Desseri Riley, it was a completely different story. She first reported chest pain during a physical therapy session and then she passed out.

When paramedics came, here's what she says happened.

Desseri Riley / Heart Attack Victim:
"They told me I wasn't having a heart attack, but that I was having an anxiety attack."

When they dropped her off at a crowded Los Angeles emergency room, she waited 13 hours to be seen.

Desseri Riley / Heart Attack Victim:
"I was basically told that there were other people at the hospital that were more sick than I was."

Peggy Kalowes, M.D. / Long Beach Memorial Medical Center:
"Women... when they describe chest pain... they're not taken as seriously. They're sent home."

Dr. Peggy kalowes runs a hospital-based women's heart program in Long Beach. She is studying gender differences in heart attack symptoms and diagnosis.

Over the past 3 months, she says she's seen...

Peggy Kalowes, M.D. / Long Beach Memorial Medical Center:
"...At least 6 or 7 women who've come in with acute heart attack. Out of those women, two were actually sent home from an emergency room initially."

The longer treatment is delayed, the greater the risk of death or debilitating and permanent heart muscle damage.

Desiree is a remarkable exception. Despite her long delay in treatment, she's on track to make a full recovery.

Dr. Kalowes says the rest of us shouldn't assume we'll be as lucky... and that women especially need to raise the red flag at the first indication something is wrong.

Peggy Kalowes, M.D. / Long Beach Memorial Medical Center:
"We need them to say, 'I'm really afraid. What if i'm having a heart attack?' and call 911."

Desiree, now in cardiac rehab, is focused on preventing a second heart attack.

She no longer takes her health for granted. Before her the first attack, she remembers friends' warnings.

Desseri Riley / Heart Attack Victim:
"You shouldn't eat this or drink that'... I was like, 'Yeah, you have to die of something. Might as well die of something you enjoy.' I never say that anymore. Never."

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