# My 16 hour emergency room nightmare **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 19, 2021, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-16-hour-emergency-room-nightmare/944652 "2021-06-19T22:22:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-16-hour-emergency-room-nightmare/944652/21 "2021-06-22T20:38:11Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#): > > I’ve never experienced heart problems and was very scared. I didn’t want to take that chance. One time when I went to the ER, a year and a half ago, I was there for over 10+ hrs (I have costochondritis which was apparently figured out after a few ER visits and cardio visits including many tests - nuclear stress test, chest CT scan, echo cardiogram, event monitor, etc) . This was partially because one of the other major hospitals in the city got flooded and therefore a lot more ambulances were going there. My wife’s mom, who is a nurse, said the next time you feel chest pains, just call an ambulance - as you’ll be seen much quicker. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-16-hour-emergency-room-nightmare/944652/22 "2021-06-22T20:54:58Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#): > > I asked what to do if my heart starting skipping again and he said to just relax and maybe take a baby aspirin Did they mention anything about the [Valsalva maneuver](https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/atrial-fibrillation/valsalva-maneuver)? ---
**Author:** ![Ranch\_Dip](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranch_dip/32/5238_2.png) [@Ranch\_Dip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranch_Dip)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-16-hour-emergency-room-nightmare/944652/23 "2021-06-22T21:24:22Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#): > > and nothing had been done for me. **Nothing.** Really?? Triage, ekg, labs, xray, bp check, triage #2. Those are nothing? All of those things would have been done and waiting even if you had seen the doctor. And just because you had not seen the physician, does not mean that they had not seen your results. A cardiac workup takes HOURS whether the provider is in the room with you or not. Be grateful you weren’t taken back immediately. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-16-hour-emergency-room-nightmare/944652/24 "2021-06-28T22:51:38Z")
Being taken to the ER by ambulance is not a ticket to go to the front of the line. The paramedics/EMTs might know the wait times at local hospitals. And they would definitely know which hospitals are best equipped and staffed for your particular problem. In the case of a heart problem, most ambulances have EKGs and oxygen, along with skilled people who can give CPR. I’ve had incredibly long wait times at an ER, either myself or a family member. The afternoon my son had his eyebrow split open at a t-ball game, we were at the ER forever. Turns out the hospital had paged a plastic surgeon experienced in facial work, because the laceration went right through his eyebrow. I appreciated the expertise then, and my son, who is in his 30s REALLY appreciates the expertise now. Unless you know the scar is there, it is essentially invisible. When my husband had a heart attack, the paramedics took him to the cardiac specialty hospital closest to us. From the time he was placed in the ambulance to when he was taken to the cardiac cath lab to receive four stents was just less than an hour. He was in the actual ER for bare moments, just long enough for a blood draw and to receive the enzyme levels, before he was whisked away to the cardiac cath lab. I thank God all this happened just mere months before COVID Hell broke loose. Busted bones, migraines, gashes needing stitches, bladder infections, the aforementioned heart attack, and oh, yes, there was the time my husband set his hand on fire. This family has been grateful for the existence of the ER. The common expectation of ANY ER visit is that you are going to wait. ~VOW [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-16-hour-emergency-room-nightmare/944652.md?page=1)