Samra, wise woman

"I am a midwife and regularly read your posts.
We've just come back from vacation and my mother has to go home to the north-east. During the night, she feels nauseous and vomits. In the morning, she gets up and takes a shower. I find her sitting on the edge of the bed, pale, sweaty and out of breath. This immediately alerted me, and I thought of your information on prevention and the atypical signs of a heart attack in women.
At 75, my mother has hardly ever seen a doctor. The last thing I remember, I was 15 and I'm now 40.
I call the ambulance and take her blood pressure. Lying down, it's 14. The SAMU dispatcher tells me that I'm next door to the emergency room and that I'd better take her there, even though they're reassured by the normal blood pressure.
At the emergency room, we are received fairly quickly by a nurse, who takes our blood pressure and heart rate. After a few questions, she decides that this is not an emergency situation, but one for the medical centre with the doctor on duty. I insist, however, that she is short of breath, pale and sweaty... I suggest to her that this could be a sign of a heart attack in a woman, that this is the very first time she's had such a seizure. I insist, asking her if it's not possible to do an electrocardiogram.
She refers me to the medical center and tells me that there's an electrocardiogram there.
The doctor at the medical center sees us. He takes her blood pressure and heart rate, questions her, checks her auscultation and deduces that it's a simple case of bronchitis. He prescribes antibiotics and corticosteroids.
I ask him why he doesn't do an electrocardiogram. He tells me it's not necessary, that it's just a respiratory problem, as she has no chest pain.
I insist, telling him that an infarction in a woman can be atypical, with no chest pain.
He persists, sure of himself. It's just bronchitis.
I stop insisting.
My mother dies a week later of cardiac arrest.
I blame myself for not taking her elsewhere for a second opinion.
I blame myself for not insisting that he do that electrocardiogram.
I called the doctor back, informing him of the tragic outcome. He didn't know what to tell me... He explained that the absence of chest pain hadn't prompted him to do an electrocardiogram...
I explain that my appeal is to prevent this situation from recurring with another family. I send him your page as a recommendation. I sincerely hope that he will take these remarks into consideration.
I am currently devastated by the loss of my mother, with whom I was extremely close. I now have to live with this guilt..."

Emilie, 47

Social Services Inspector, Toulouse

“I lead a fast-paced life: a successful professional and an athlete always on the go. During lockdown, I started experiencing persistent shortness of breath and intense fatigue, but I brushed these symptoms off despite my family history. An initial cardiology evaluation seemed reassuring. I [...]

Rosita, 68 years old

My name is Rosita. I’m 68 years old and for more than 35 years, I’ve suffered from various cardiac issues related to a malformed mitral valve. In 1998, I had a very successful mitral valve plasty procedure, but still had a stroke in 2012 after hastily completed thrombolysis. Fortunately, there [...]

Jeanne, 70 years old

retired (Marseille)

In 2008, I had pain on walking in my left leg. Ultimately, I had stenosis of the femoral artery. I hesitated before undergoing angioplasty. I was very afraid of the procedure. I was wrong, because 3 days after the operation I was walking normally again. A year later, I had the same problem in my [...]