TY - JOUR T1 - What is an acceptable risk of major adverse cardiac event soon after discharge from emergency? The patient’s perspective JF - Emergency Medicine Journal JO - Emerg Med J SP - 519 LP - 520 DO - 10.1136/emermed-2021-212251 VL - 39 IS - 7 AU - Jaimi H Greenslade AU - Sarah Wilkinson AU - William Parsonage AU - Louise Cullen Y1 - 2022/07/01 UR - http://emj.bmj.com/content/39/7/519.abstract N2 - The assessment of patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) incorporates ECGs and serial cardiac troponin values.1 Some patients then undergo further investigations (eg, exercise stress test or invasive coronary angiography) with risks of adverse events. For patients with a pretest probability of ACS less than 2%, the benefits of testing may not outweigh the risks.2 Engaging patients in discussions about their risks reduces the number admitted or undergoing stress testing.3 However, limited research has assessed patients’ tolerance for missed events while considering the risks of further testing. We investigated patients’ tolerance for risk of a missed diagnosis of ACS.This cross-sectional study used a convenience sample of adult patients (≥18) presenting with chest pain to an inner-city, publicly funded Emergency Department between December 2018 and July 2019. This study was approved by the institution’s ethics committee and patients provided written consent.A research assistant administered a questionnaire (online supplemental file 1) to the participants, recording baseline demographic information, self-assessment of previous heart trouble and self-assessment of health. Participants were asked whether they would like to have input or whether they would prefer the doctor to make decisions around their assessment. The participant was then asked to consider the scenario in box 1. Patients were asked whether … ER -