Chest pain

Introduction: Chest pain

Chest pain is a serious symptom that will often move you to the front of the queue if you present at emergency with this symptom, because chest pain is the classic symptom of a heart attack. However, there are numerous causes of chest pain, ranging from less potentially fatal ones (e.g. reflux, heartburn, indigestion, GERD) to very severe dangerous and life threatening causes (e.g. heart attack, pneumonia, other lung disorders, other $heart disorders, etc.) Always seek immediate emergency medical attention for chest pain.

Symptoms of Chest pain

• Chest pain
• Pressure in the chest area
• Chest discomfort
• See also symptoms of heart attack and symptoms of angina

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical testing related to Chest pain:

• High Blood Pressure: Home Testing
  • Home Blood Pressure Tests
  • Home Blood Pressure Monitors
  • Home Heart Tests
• Heart Health: Home Testing:
  • Heart Rate Monitors
  • Irregular Heartbeat Detection
  • Heart Electrocardiogram (ECG)
  • Home Cholesterol Tests

Medical Textbooks Online about Chest pain

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic Tests for Chest pain

• Physical exam
• Blood tests
• ECG
• X-rays
• Scans

Read more about tests for Chest pain

Wrongly Diagnosed with Chest pain?

• Misdiagnosis of Chest pain
• Failure to diagnose Chest pain
• Underlying causes of Chest pain (possibly wrongly diagnosed)
• Failure to diagnose Chest pain

Misdiagnosis and Chest pain

Heart attacks can be undiagnosed: Although the most severe symptoms of heart attack are hard to miss, there are varying degrees of severity. It is altogether too common for people to die from undiagnosed...read more »

Heart attacks can be overdiagnosed: Although many people die from heart attacks, there are also many cases where people fear that they have a...read more »

Rare heart condition often undiagnosed: The rare heart condition called long QT syndrome can lead to episodes of palpitations and rapid heartbeat....read more »

Heart attack can be over-diagnosed: Although heart attack is often undiagnosed, leading to fatality, it can also be over-diagnosed. People become concerned that a condition is a heart attack, whereas there are various...read more »

Leg cramps at night a classic sign: The symptom of having leg muscle cramps, particularly at night, is a classic sign of undiagnosed diabetes. However, there are also various other causes. See causes of leg cramps...read more »

Blood pressure cuffs misdiagnose hypertension in children: One known misdiagnosis issue with hyperension, arises in relation to the simple equipment used to test blood pressure. The ...read more »

Hypertension misdiagnosis common in children: Hypertension is often misdiagnosed in adults (see misdiagnosis of hypertension), but its...read more »

Vitamin B12 deficiency under-diagnosed: The condition of Vitamin B12 deficiency is a possible misdiagnosis of various conditions, such as multiple sclerosis (see ...read more »

Pulmonary embolism- medical emergency: Pulmonary embolism is a common and potentially lethal disease; unfortunately, the diagnosis is often missed because patients with pulmonary embolism present with non-specific signs and...read more »

Fatal causes of chest pain: Chest pain is a common condition yet very threatening to both the patient and the doctor because the underlying aetiology...read more »

Long QT syndrome or epilepsy: This is a serious cardiac disorder which maybe congenital or acquired due to intake of certain medications.It is characterized by the prolongation...read more »

Pneumothorax or myocardial infarction?: Pneumothorax can occur spontaneously in individuals with known lung disorders such as asthma, COPD,...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Chest pain

Causes of Chest pain

• Heart conditions
  • Heart attack
  • Angina
• Stomach conditions
• Lung conditions

See full list of 7 causes of Chest pain

More information about causes of Chest pain:

• Medications, drugs, or substances causing Chest pain (848 listings)
• Drug interactions causing Chest pain (323 listings)
• Underlying causes of Chest pain
• Chest pain as a complication caused by other conditions
• Chest pain as a symptom
• Medical news summaries relating to Causes of Chest pain

Treatments for Chest pain

• Treatment of the underlying cause
• Pain relief medications
• Treatment depends on the cause of chest pain

Read more about treatments for Chest pain

Videos for Chest pain

Patient Surveys for Chest pain

• Patient Profile Survey
  Take Survey  View Results
• Survey about the symptoms of your Chest pain
  Take Survey  View Results

Reseach about Chest pain

Visit our research pages for current research about Chest pain treatments.

Clinical Trials for Chest pain

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Chest pain include:

• Non-Cardiac Chest Pain Evaluation and Treatment Study (CARPA) Part 1: Diagnosis. - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Stem Cell Study for Patients With Heart Disease - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Understanding Pediatric Chest Pain and Other Symptoms - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• WISE ARIC: Retinal Photography in Women With Chest Pain - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Study of Coronary Artery Computed Tomography to Diagnose Emergency Chest Pain - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006)

See full list of 98 Clinical Trials for Chest pain

Statistics for Chest pain

• Medical statistics for Chest pain
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Chest pain
• Death and Mortality statistics for Chest pain
• Society statistics for Chest pain

Medical Guidebooks and Ebooks for Chest pain

• Icon Health Sourcebook for Chest pain

See all guides and ebooks for Chest pain

Stories from Users Related to Chest pain

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• Chest Conditions (17)
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User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Chest pain, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

• I can not get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for this?
• See all the forums.

Definitions of Chest pain:

Pressure, burning, or numbness in the chest. - (Source - Diseases Database)

Pain in the chest - (Source - WordNet 2.1)