Published
I am experiencing unbearable guilt for not noticing chf/pe/mi symptoms on my neighbor. Instead of calling 911, I told him to lay down, elevate feet and sip on some ginger ale. His symptoms were masked by having status post hip replacement one week prior. Now that I look back in hindsight he was, sweaty, weak thready pulse (which at the time, I brushed off as me unable to feel it right so I listened to his heart with my stethoscope to take pulse), bp was good, edema bilateral lower ext (which I attributed to him not elevating his legs since surgery). He had a Doppler done 2 days prior with neg results for dvt, so I wasn't thinking PE. I checked on him by phone an hour later and he said he feels fine, better. No c/o cp, sob. The next call 2 hrs later, was his wife saying he is dying come quick. At that point Cpr was initiated by me until paramedics came, but pt died. Would like to know if any others had a similar experience at work or personally? Or any suggestions of how to heal or kind words. I feel horrible.