Nurse Practitioner Knowledge of Symptoms of Acute Coronary Syndrome

Nurse practitioners (NPs) are well positioned to teach women at risk for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) to recognize symptoms and take appropriate actions should symptoms occur. However, NPs need to be knowledgeable of varied symptom presentations. This feasibility study used case vignettes of women with possible ACS symptoms to assess NP knowledge of differential diagnosis of symptoms and actions the women should take in response to the symptoms. Findings suggest that NPs had higher accuracy in diagnosing and recommending appropriate actions for women who had abrupt-onset ACS symptoms compared with women with slow, evolving, and less typical symptoms.