Patients diagnosed with heartless chest pain are reluctant to believe they have heart disease. A new study shows that interpreting test results makes patients more confident and reduces their chance of future chest pain.
The research is presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Scientific Conference EACVI – Best of Imaging 2020.
Chest pain is one of the most frequent causes of emergency department consultation. This study refers to individuals who sought medical help for chest pain and received computed tomography (CD) examination of the coronary arteries that showed normal arteries. “Previous studies have shown that these patients do not trust their test results and still think they have heart disease,” said Ms. Isabel Krone, a radiology research professor at Hockland University Hospital in Bergen, Norway.
Patients with chest pain are subject to a variety of tests to determine the cause. In 2018, about 600 outpatients with chest pain underwent CT scans at Hawkland University Hospital to examine the coronary arteries. Studies at other centers have reported that two-thirds of patients have a heartless appearance of chest pain.4 Common Causes Psychological problems and anxiety such as muscle aches and panic attacks such as indigestion or acid reflux, sore muscles between the ribs and back.
“I noticed that many patients who came in for coronary CD to diagnose chest pain had previously undergone coronary CD scans and other cardiac tests, which found no evidence of coronary heart disease,” Ms Cron said. “With the excellent prognostic value of coronary CD, I thought this information would be beneficial to this patient group.”
The study included 92 patients with chest pain and normal results (i.e. no sign of coronary artery disease) on CD examination of the coronary arteries. The average age was 51 years and 63 (68%) women. Patients were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group. The control group received routine observation, i.e. one week after the scan, their general practitioner or other referral physician said the result was normal.
The intervention team gave a three-part presentation with the radiographer. In the first part, participants received detailed information about the CD exam they went to – both orally and in a comprehensible written brochure. C.D. These include different causes of chest pain when the scan shows healthy arteries, a lower probability of erroneous results and a much lower risk for future heart attack. In the second part, participants were shown their own calcium score pictures to reinforce the message in the brochure. Finally, the radiographer told the patients that their results were normal.
Both groups followed for a month. Participants were asked to rate their coronary arteries on a scale of 0 to 10 on what they believed was a CT scan showing no heart disease (0 = no confidence in results; 10 = complete confidence in results). Patients in the intervention group were significantly more likely to trust test results compared to those in the control group.
Participants were also asked how often they experienced chest pain during their most strenuous activity compared to a month ago (somewhat more frequently; about the same; slightly less frequently; less frequently). Two-thirds (67%) of patients in the intervention group reported experiencing very little chest pain compared to 38% of patients in the control group (p = 0.042).
Ms. Crone said it was important to present education as a package and personalize it. “I explained the information in the brochure and in the picture, asking questions as a technique to inquire if the patient understood. It was able to personalize the teaching. Sessions lasted from five to 15 minutes, depending on how much explanation each patient needed. I think discussing the results with patients immediately after the test also helps to accept the results. ”
He concluded: “This type of education will become more common in the coming years as a way to improve health education.”
(This story was published without changes in the text from a wire agency feed.)
Follow more stories on Facebook Twitter