%0 Journal Article
%A McCarthy, Cian P.
%A Wasfy, Jason H.
%A Januzzi, James L., Jr
%T Is Myocardial Infarction Overdiagnosed?
%B JAMA
%D 2024
%R 10.1001/jama.2024.5235
%J JAMA
%@ 0098-7484
%X More than 750 000 individuals receive a diagnosis of myocardial infarction (MI) each year in the United States. This large number represents a small numerator compared with the massive denominator of the total number of individuals evaluated for the diagnosis. An enormous number of individuals are evaluated for MI because its underdiagnosis has become a major concern for clinicians. A now-classic study from 2 decades ago showed that 2% of individuals with MI were mistakenly discharged from the emergency department (ED) and such misdiagnosis of MI was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality. Since then, failure to diagnose MI has been a major cause of malpractice litigation in the United States. In response, the diagnosis of MI is now commonly sought among individuals presenting to the ED even when symptoms or signs for the diagnosis are subtle, atypical, or completely absent. Inevitably, this practice leads to incorrect identification of MI in persons without the diagnosis. In this Viewpoint, we argue that misdiagnosis of MI is now most often due to the incorrect identification of the diagnosis rather than to its being missed.
%[ 5/20/2024
%U https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2024.5235