Vol. 19 No. 2 (2021)
An Approach To:

Approach to: Chest pain

PDF HTML
  • Nasim Haghandish
Nasim Haghandish
McGill University
Pixabay - man clutching chest
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26443/mjm.v19i1.314

Published 2021-07-12

Keywords

  • acute chest pain,
  • anatomical approach,
  • diagnosis

How to Cite

1.
Haghandish N. Approach to: Chest pain. McGill J Med [Internet]. 2021 Jul. 12 [cited 2025 Oct. 6];19(2). Available from: https://mjm.mcgill.ca/article/view/314

Copyright (c) 2021 McGill Journal of Medicine

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

Abstract

The diagnosis of chest pain is not always due to a cardiac cause such as a myocardial infarction. In fact, non-cardiac causes of chest pain may present with similar signs and symptoms. This article delves into the differential diagnosis of chest pain using an anatomical approach and describes how a thorough history, physical examination as well as specific tests are required to confirm each diagnosis.

PDF HTML

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

  1. Lentini S, Perrotta S. Aortic dissection with concomitant acute myocardial infarction: From diagnosis to management. J Emergencies, Trauma Shock. 2011 Apr;4(2):273–8.
  2. Vincent B. Young, William A. Kormos DAC. Blueprints Medicine. 6th ed. Wolters Kluwer; 2015. 416 p.
  3. Fass R, Achem SR. Noncardiac chest pain: Epidemiology, natural course and pathogenesis. J Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2011 Apr;17(2):110–23.
  4. Dries DJ. Chest Pain. Air Med J. 2016 May 1;35(3):107–10.
  5. Lenfant C. Chest pain of cardiac and noncardiac origin. Metabolism. 2010 Oct 1;59(SUPPL. 1):S41–6.
  6. McSweeney JC, Cody M, O’Sullivan P, Elberson K, Moser DK, Garvin BJ. Women’s Early Warning Symptoms of Acute Myocardial Infarction. Circulation. 2003 Nov 25;108(21):2619–23.
  7. Schey R, Villarreal A, Fass R. Noncardiac chest pain: Current treatment [Internet]. Vol. 3, Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Millenium Medical Publishing; 2007 [cited 2020 Aug 31]. p. 255–62. Available from: /pmc/articles/PMC3099272/?report=abstract
  8. Rushton S, Carman MJ. Chest Pain: If It Is Not the Heart, What Is It? Nurs Clin North Am. 2018 Sep 1;53(3):421–31.
  9. Lei WY, Wang JH, Wen SH, Yi CH, Hung JS, Liu TT, et al. Risk of acute myocardial infarction in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease: A nationwide population-based study. PLoS One. 2017 Mar 1;12(3).
  10. Chen CH, Lin CL, Kao CH. Association between gastroesophageal reflux disease and coronary heart disease. Med (United States). 2016 Jul 1;95(27).
  11. Lau RK. Boerhaave syndrome. Pearls Pitfalls Emerg Radiol Var Other Difficult Diagnoses. 2010 Jan 1;125–7.
  12. Locke AB, Kirst N, Shultz CG. Diagnosis and Management of Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder in Adults. Am Fam Physician. 2015 May 1;91(9):617–24.
  13. Mcconaghy JR, Oza RS. Outpatient Diagnosis of Acute Chest Pain in Adults. Am Fam Physician. 2013 Feb 1;87(3):177–82.
  14. William E Cayley Jr. Diagnosing the cause of chest pain. Am Fam Physician. 2005;72(10):2012–21.
  15. Appleton C, Gillam L, Koulogiannis K. Cardiac Tamponade. Cardiol Clin. 2017 Nov 1;35(4):525–37.
  16. Cicala S, De Simone G, Roman MJ, Best LG, Lee ET, Wang W, et al. Prevalence and prognostic significance of wall-motion abnormalities in adults without clinically recognized cardiovascular disease: The strong heart study. Circulation. 2007 Jul 10;116(2):143–50.
  17. Hussain N, Parker MW, Henzlova MJ, Duvall WL. Stress-first Myocardial Perfusion Imaging. Cardiol Clin. 2016 Feb 1;34(1):59–67.
  18. Silaschi M, Byrne J, Wendler O. Aortic dissection: Medical, interventional and surgical management. Heart. 2017 Jan 1;103(1):78–87.
  19. Abou Ali A, Avgerinos ED, Chaer RA. Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis of Pulmonary Embolism. Curr Manag Venous Dis. 2018 Nov 25;389–403.