Construction of core symptoms of acute myocardial infarction

Abstract

Objective To explore the clinical core symptoms of acute myocardial infarction in Chinese cultural context, and to develop a checklist of acute myocardial infarction symptoms. Methods A list of clinical symptoms of acute myocardial infarction and the descriptive definition of each symptom were preliminary derived from literature review. On the basis of the Delphi experts enquiry method, a number of 35 clinical cardiology medical specialists and clinical nurse specialists around the country were recruited by standard strict selection. After 2 rounds of expert consultation, core symptoms of acute myocardial infarction were selected by these experts. Results A total of 14 symptoms were finally selected, including chest pain, fatigue (weakness) , irritability, palpitations, breathing difficulties, fear, left shoulder radiating pain, anxiety, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, right shoulder radiating pain, cold sweats and back pain. Conclusions Preliminary construction of the core symptoms of acute myocardial infarction with good positive coefficient and authority coefficients of experts was scientific and practical, which is helpful to improve identification and judgment acute myocardial infarction symptoms for both patients and medical staff. Key words: Signs and symptoms; Acute myocardial infarction; Delphi