Chest pain
In medicine, chest pain is a symptom of a number of serious conditions and is generally considered a medical emergency, unless the patient is a known angina pectoris sufferer and the symptoms are familiar.
Causes
Important cardiovascular and pulmonary causes of chest pain:
Other causes of chest pain include:
Analysis
As in all medicine, a careful medical history and physical examination is essential is separating dangerous and trivial causes of disease, and the management of chest pain is often done on specialised units (termed medical assessment units) to concentrate the investigations. A rapid diagnosis can be life-saving and often has to be made without the help of X-rays or blood tests (e.g. aortic dissection).
An emergency medicine doctor will also focus on recent health changes, family history (premature atherosclerosis, cholesterol disorders), tobacco smoking.
On the basis of the above, a number of tests may be ordered:
