Chest pain

Chest pain
Other namesPectoralgia, stethalgia, thoracalgia, thoracodynia
Potential location of pain from a heart attack
Medical specialtyEmergency medicine, internal medicine, cardiology
SymptomsDiscomfort in the front of the chest
TypesCardiac, noncardiac
CausesSerious: Acute coronary syndrome (including heart attacks), pulmonary embolism, pneumothorax, pericarditis, aortic dissection, esophageal rupture
Common: Gastroesophageal reflux disease, psychological problems such as anxiety disorders, depression, stress etc, muscle or skeletal pain, pneumonia, shingles
Diagnostic methodMedical history, physical exam, medical tests
TreatmentBased on the underlying cause
MedicationAspirin, nitroglycerin
PrognosisDepends on the underlying cause
Frequency~5% of ER visits

Chest pain is pain or discomfort in the chest, usually in the front of the chest. It may be sharp or heavy pains. It can be caused by heart-related and non-heart-related problems. Pain is caused by not enough blood flow to the heart.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Cline, David; Ma, O. John; Meckler, Garth D.; Stapczynski, J. Stephan; Tintinalli, Judith E.; Yealy, Donald M., eds. (2016). Tintinalli's emergency medicine: a comprehensive study guide. McGraw-Hill's AccessMedicine (8th ed.). New York, N.Y: McGraw-Hill Education LLC. ISBN 978-0-07-179476-3.
  2. 1 2 Schey R, Villarreal A, Fass R (April 2007). "Noncardiac chest pain: current treatment". Gastroenterology & Hepatology. 3 (4): 255–62. PMC 3099272. PMID 21960837.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Book sources - Wikipedia". en.wikipedia.org. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  4. ↑ Alpert, Joseph S. (2005). Cardiology for the Primary Care Physician. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 47. ISBN 9781573402125.
  5. Schey, Ron; Villarreal, Autumn; Fass, Ronnie (April 2007). "Noncardiac chest pain: current treatment". Gastroenterology & Hepatology. 3 (4): 255–262. ISSN 1554-7914. PMC 3099272. PMID 21960837.
  6. Johnson, Ken; Ghassemzadeh, Sassan (2025), "Chest Pain", StatPearls, Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing, PMID 29262011, retrieved 2025-04-21

Other websites

Classification
External resources