It was a busy day for the cardiologist. Between juggling patients, he received a phone call from his mother. She said she had heartburn and complained that none of the usual over-the-counter medications had helped.
So the cardiologist quickly called in a prescription for her for an acid blocker and went back to seeing patients. Later that afternoon, his mother called again -- this time from an emergency department. The doctors there said she had a heart attack.
It's a story that Humayun Chaudhry, DO, president of the Federation of State Medical Boards, told medical students during his teaching days. The cardiologist, a former colleague of Dr. Chaudhry's who was well-respected in the field, couldn't believe he had missed the diagnosis in his own mother.
Interesting story in American Medical News.
