Causes of Heart attack

List of causes of Heart attack

Following is a list of causes or underlying conditions (see also Misdiagnosis of underlying causes of Heart attack) that could possibly cause Heart attack includes:

• Heart disease
• Coronary heart disease
• Atherosclerosis
• Coronary thrombosis (see Heart symptoms)
• Arrhythmias
• Electrolyte imbalance
• Shock
• Severe injury
• Hemorrhage
• Electrocution
• Anaphylactic shock
• Hypoxia
• Respiratory failure

More causes: see full list of causes for Heart attack

Causes of Heart attack (Diseases Database):

The follow list shows some of the possible medical causes of Heart attack that are listed by the Diseases Database:

• Atherosclerosis
• Cocaine
• Kawasaki disease
• Polyarteritis nodosa
• Coronary artery dissection
• Prinzmetal angina
• Dissecting aortic aneurysm
• Transluminal percutaneous coronary angioplasty
• Malignant hypertension
• Takayasu's arteritis

Source: Diseases Database

Causes of Heart attack: Online Medical Books

16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the causes of Heart attack.

Chest Pain: Differential Diagnosis
(In a Page: Signs and Symptoms)

• Cardiovascular etiologies
  –Myocardial infarction
  –Angina
  –Acute coronary syndrome
  –Pulmonary embolus
  –Pericarditis
  –Arrhythmias
  –Mitral valve prolapse
  –Aortic stenosis
  –Aortic dissection
  –Cardiac tamponade
• Pulmonary etiologies
  –Pneumonia
  –COPD
  –Asthma
  –Pneumothorax
  –Tension pneumothorax
  –Hemothorax
  –Empyema
  –Pneumomediastinum
  –Lung cancer
• Gastrointestinal etiologies
  –Esophagitis/GERD
  –Gastritis
  –Peptic ulcer disease
  –Perforated ulcer
  –Esophageal spasm
  –Pancreatitis
  –Esophageal rupture
  –Pneumoperitoneum
• Musculoskeletal etiologies
  –Muscle strain or spasm
  –Intercostal muscle spasm
  –Costochondritis
  –Trauma (e.g., rib fracture)
• Zoster
• Cancer (e.g., lymphoma)
• Panic disorder
• Less common etiologies include Tietze's syndrome, Pott's disease (tuberculosis of the spine), xyphodenia, cholecystitis, peritonitis, liver cancer, and hepatitis

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Chest Pain: Differential Diagnosis
(In A Page: Pediatric Signs and Symptoms)

• Musculoskeletal
  –Sharp, stabbing pain that is usually very well localized, often worsened by deep breath or cough
  –Costochondritis: Tender parasternal pain at insertion of ribs into cartilage en route to sternum; increases with palpation or mild chest compression (possibly postviral)
  –Injury to chest wall

• Pulmonary
  –Very common cause, usually associated with respiratory symptoms: Shortness of breath, cough, exercise intolerance
  –Asthma (most common), often only EIA; may have personal/family history of atopy (asthma, eczema, seasonal allergies); shortness of breath is usually primary complaint, with feeling of chest tightness/pain as a secondary symptom
  –Pleuritic chest pain: Sharp, stabbing pain with deep breaths, indicates pleural space inflammation, probably postinfectious (especially viral)
  –Pneumonia: Chest pain secondary to cough or pleural involvement
  –Pneumothorax can occur spontaneously, especially in tall, thin athletes

• Gastrointestinal
  –GERD and PUD: Burning, substernal pain with eating, worse at night
  –Rarely pancreatitis (with back pain too), cholecystitis, hiatal hernia, hepatitis

• Cardiac: Rare in children
  –Precordial catch syndrome: Sharp, brief (seconds) chest pain usually associated with rising from lying or sitting; unclear etiology, but of no significance
  –Pericarditis: Inflammation of the pericardium; often postviral, may represent connective tissue/autoimmune, cancer, bacterial infection (very ill appearing with fever), or post-cardiac surgery; patients often lean forward to decrease the pain
  –MI (rare): Congenital coronary anomaly, post-Kawasaki, cocaine use, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
  –Aortic dissection: Consider if features or history of Marfan syndrome is present

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Chest pain: Medical causes
(Handbook of Signs & Symptoms (Third Edition))

Angina pectoris.

 With angina pectoris, the patient may experience a feeling of tightness or pressure in the chest that he describes as pain or a sensation of indigestion or expansion. The pain usually occurs in the retrosternal region over a palm-sized or larger area. It may radiate to the neck, jaw, and arms — classically, to the inner aspect of the left arm. Angina tends to begin gradually, build to its maximum, and then slowly subside. Provoked by exertion, emotional stress, or a heavy meal, the pain typically lasts 2 to 10 minutes (usually no longer than 20 minutes). Associated findings include dyspnea, nausea, vomiting, tachycardia, dizziness, diaphoresis, belching, and palpitations. You may hear an atrial gallop (a fourth heart sound) or murmur during an anginal episode.

With Prinzmetal's angina, caused by vasospasm of coronary vessels, chest pain typically occurs when the patient is at rest — or it may awaken him. It may be accompanied by shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and palpitations. During an attack, you may hear an atrial gallop.

Anthrax (inhalation).

Anthrax is an acute infectious disease that's caused by the gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Although the disease most commonly occurs in wild and domestic grazing animals, such as cattle, sheep, and goats, the spores can live in the soil for many years. The disease can occur in humans exposed to infected animals, tissue from infected animals, or biological warfare. Most natural cases occur in agricultural regions worldwide. Anthrax may occur in a cutaneous, inhalation, or GI form.

Inhalation anthrax is caused by inhalation of aerosolized spores. Initial signs and symptoms are flulike and include a fever, chills, weakness, a cough, and chest pain. The disease generally occurs in two stages with a period of recovery after the initial signs and symptoms. The second stage develops abruptly with rapid deterioration marked by a fever, dyspnea, stridor, and hypotension, generally leading to death within 24 hours. Radiologic findings include mediastinitis and symmetric mediastinal widening.

Anxiety.

 Acute anxiety — or, more commonly, panic attacks — can produce intermittent, sharp, stabbing pain, commonly located behind the left breast. This pain isn't related to exertion and lasts only a few seconds, but the patient may experience a precordial ache or a sensation of heaviness that lasts for hours or days. Associated signs and symptoms include precordial tenderness, palpitations, fatigue, a headache, insomnia, breathlessness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and tremors. Panic attacks may be associated with agoraphobia — fear of leaving home or being in open places with other people.

Aortic aneurysm (dissecting).

 The chest pain associated with a dissecting aortic aneurysm usually begins suddenly and is most severe at its onset. The patient describes an excruciating tearing, ripping, stabbing pain in his chest and neck that radiates to his upper back, abdomen, and lower back. He may also have abdominal tenderness, a palpable abdominal mass, tachycardia, murmurs, syncope, blindness, loss of consciousness, weakness or transient paralysis of the arms or legs, a systolic bruit, systemic hypotension, asymmetrical brachial pulses, a lower blood pressure in the legs than in the arms, and weak or absent femoral or pedal pulses. His skin is pale, cool, diaphoretic, and mottled below the waist. Capillary refill time is increased in the toes, and palpation reveals decreased pulsation in one or both carotid arteries.

Asthma.

 In a life-threatening asthma attack, diffuse and painful chest tightness arises suddenly along with a dry cough and mild wheezing, which progress to a productive cough, audible wheezing, and severe dyspnea. Related respiratory findings include rhonchi, crackles, prolonged expirations, intercostal and supraclavicular retractions on inspiration, accessory muscle use, flaring nostrils, and tachypnea. The patient may also experience anxiety, tachycardia, diaphoresis, flushing, and cyanosis.

Bronchitis.

In its acute form, bronchitis produces a burning chest pain or a sensation of substernal tightness. It also produces a cough, initially dry but later productive, that worsens the chest pain. Other findings include a low-grade fever, chills, a sore throat, tachycardia, muscle and back pain, rhonchi, crackles, and wheezing. Severe bronchitis causes a fever of 101° to 102° F (38.3° to 38.9° C) and possible bronchospasm with worsening wheezing and increased coughing.

Cholecystitis.

 Cholecystitis typically produces abrupt epigastric or right upper quadrant pain, which may be sharp or intensely aching. Steady or intermittent pain may radiate to the back or right shoulder. Commonly associated findings include nausea, vomiting, a fever, diaphoresis, and chills. Palpation of the right upper quadrant may reveal an abdominal mass, rigidity, distention, or tenderness. Murphy's sign — inspiratory arrest elicited when the examiner palpates the right upper quadrant as the patient takes a deep breath — may also occur.

Interstitial lung disease.

As interstitial lung disease advances, the patient may experience pleuritic chest pain along with progressive dyspnea, cellophane-type crackles, a nonproductive cough, fatigue, weight loss, decreased exercise tolerance, clubbing, and cyanosis.

Lung abscess.

Pleuritic chest pain develops insidiously in lung abscess along with a pleural friction rub and a cough that raises copious amounts of purulent, foul-smelling, blood-tinged sputum. The affected side is dull to percussion, and decreased breath sounds and crackles may be heard. The patient also displays diaphoresis, anorexia, weight loss, a fever, chills, fatigue, weakness, dyspnea, and clubbing.

Lung cancer.

 The chest pain associated with lung cancer is commonly described as an intermittent aching felt deep within the chest. If the tumor metastasizes to the ribs or vertebrae, the pain becomes localized, continuous, and gnawing. Associated findings include cough (sometimes bloody), wheezing, dyspnea, fatigue, anorexia, weight loss, and a fever.

Mitral valve prolapse.

 Most patients with mitral valve prolapse are asymptomatic, but some may experience sharp, stabbing precordial chest pain or precordial ache. The pain can last for seconds or for hours and occasionally mimics the pain of ischemic heart disease. The characteristic sign of mitral prolapse is a midsystolic click followed by a systolic murmur at the apex. Patients may experience cardiac awareness, a migraine headache, dizziness, weakness, episodic severe fatigue, dyspnea, tachycardia, mood swings, and palpitations.

Myocardial infarction (MI).

 The chest pain during an MI lasts from 15 minutes to hours. Typically a crushing substernal pain unrelieved by rest or nitroglycerin, it may radiate to the patient's left arm, jaw, neck, or shoulder blades. Other findings include pallor, clammy skin, dyspnea, diaphoresis, nausea, vomiting, anxiety, restlessness, a feeling of impending doom, hypotension or hypertension, an atrial gallop, murmurs, and crackles.

GENDER CUE: Chest pain in perimenopausal women may be difficult to diagnose because it may be atypical. Fatigue, nausea, dyspnea, and shoulder or neck pain are symptoms more likely to signal an MI in women than in men.

Pancreatitis.

In the acute form, pancreatitis usually causes intense pain in the epigastric area that radiates to the back and worsens when the patient is in a supine position. Nausea, vomiting, a fever, abdominal tenderness and rigidity, diminished bowel sounds, and crackles at the lung bases may also occur. A patient with severe pancreatitis may be extremely restless and have mottled skin, tachycardia, and cold, sweaty extremities. Fulminant pancreatitis causes massive hemorrhage, resulting in shock and coma.

Peptic ulcer.

 With a peptic ulcer, sharp and burning pain usually arises in the epigastric region. This pain characteristically arises hours after food intake, commonly during the night. It lasts longer than angina-like pain and is relieved by food or an antacid. Other findings include nausea, vomiting (sometimes with blood), melena, and epigastric tenderness.

Pericarditis.

Pericarditis produces precordial or retrosternal pain aggravated by deep breathing, coughing, position changes, and occasionally by swallowing. The pain is commonly sharp or cutting and radiates to the shoulder and neck. Associated signs and symptoms include a pericardial friction rub, a fever, tachycardia, and dyspnea. Pericarditis usually follows a viral illness, but several other causes should be considered.

Plague (Yersinia pestis).

Plague is one of the most virulent bacterial infections and, if untreated, one of the most potentially lethal diseases known. Most cases are sporadic, but the potential for epidemic spread still exists. Clinical forms include bubonic (the most common), septicemic, and pneumonic plagues. The bubonic form is transmitted to a human when bitten by an infected flea. Signs and symptoms include fever, chills, and swollen, inflamed, and tender lymph nodes near the site of the flea bite. Septicemic plague develops as a fulminant illness generally with the bubonic form. The pneumonic form may be contracted from person-to-person through direct contact via the respiratory system or through biological warfare from aerosolization and inhalation of the organism. The onset is usually sudden with chills, a fever, a headache, and myalgia. Pulmonary signs and symptoms include a productive cough, chest pain, tachypnea, dyspnea, hemoptysis, increasing respiratory distress, and cardiopulmonary insufficiency.

Pleurisy.

 The chest pain of pleurisy arises abruptly and reaches maximum intensity within a few hours. The pain is sharp, even knifelike, usually unilateral, and located in the lower and lateral aspects of the chest. Deep breathing, coughing, or thoracic movement characteristically aggravates it. Auscultation over the painful area may reveal decreased breath sounds, inspiratory crackles, and a pleural friction rub. Dyspnea; rapid, shallow breathing; cyanosis; a fever; and fatigue may also occur.

Pneumonia.

Pneumonia produces pleuritic chest pain that increases with deep inspiration and is accompanied by shaking chills and fever. The patient has a dry cough that later becomes productive. Other signs and symptoms include crackles, rhonchi, tachycardia, tachypnea, myalgia, fatigue, a headache, dyspnea, abdominal pain, anorexia, cyanosis, decreased breath sounds, and diaphoresis.

Pneumothorax.

Spontaneous pneumothorax, a life-threatening disorder, causes sudden sharp chest pain that's severe, typically unilateral, and rarely localized; it increases with chest movement. When the pain is centrally located and radiates to the neck, it may mimic that of an MI. After the pain's onset, dyspnea and cyanosis progressively worsen. Breath sounds are decreased or absent on the affected side with hyperresonance or tympany, subcutaneous
crepitation, and decreased vocal fremitus. Asymmetrical chest expansion, accessory muscle use, a nonproductive cough, tachypnea, tachycardia, anxiety, and restlessness also occur.

Pulmonary embolism.

A pulmonary embolism produces chest pain or a choking sensation. Typically, the patient first experiences sudden dyspnea with intense angina-like or pleuritic pain aggravated by deep breathing and thoracic movement. Other findings include tachycardia, tachypnea, a cough (nonproductive or producing blood-tinged sputum), a low-grade fever, restlessness, diaphoresis, crackles, a pleural friction rub, diffuse wheezing, dullness to percussion, signs of circulatory collapse (a weak, rapid pulse; hypotension), paradoxical pulse, signs of cerebral ischemia (transient unconsciousness, coma, seizures), signs of hypoxia (restlessness) and, particularly in the elderly, hemiplegia and other focal neurologic deficits. Less common signs include massive hemoptysis, chest splinting, and leg edema. A patient with a large embolus may have cyanosis and jugular vein distention.

Q fever.

Q fever is a rickettsial disease caused by Coxiella burnetii. The primary source of human infection results from exposure to infected animals. Cattle, sheep, and goats are most likely to carry the organism. Human infection results from exposure to contaminated milk, urine, feces, or other fluids from infected animals. Infection may also result from inhaling contaminated barnyard dust. C. burnetii is highly infectious and is considered a possible airborne agent for biological warfare. Signs and symptoms include a fever, chills, a severe headache, malaise, chest pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The fever may last up to 2 weeks. In severe cases, the patient may develop hepatitis or pneumonia.

Sickle cell crisis.

Chest pain associated with sickle cell crisis typically has a bizarre distribution. It may start as a vague pain, commonly located in the back, hands, or feet. As the pain worsens, it becomes generalized or localized to the abdomen or chest, causing severe pleuritic pain. The presence of chest pain and difficulty breathing requires prompt intervention. The patient may also have abdominal distention and rigidity, dyspnea, a fever, and jaundice.

Thoracic outlet syndrome.

Commonly causing paresthesia along the ulnar distribution of the arm, thoracic outlet syndrome can be confused with angina, especially when it affects the left arm. The patient usually experiences angina-like pain after lifting his arms above his head, working with his hands above his shoulders, or lifting a weight. The pain disappears as soon as he lowers his arms. Other signs and symptoms include pale skin and a difference in blood pressure between both arms.

Tuberculosis (TB).

In a patient with TB, pleuritic chest pain and fine crackles occur after coughing. Associated signs and symptoms include night sweats, anorexia, weight loss, a fever, malaise, dyspnea, easy fatigability, a mild to severe productive cough, occasional hemoptysis, dullness to percussion, increased tactile fremitus, and amphoric breath sounds.

Tularemia.

Also known as rabbit fever, tularemia is an infectious disease that's caused by the gram-negative, non–spore-forming bacterium Francisella tularensis. It's typically a rural disease found in wild animals, water, and moist soil. It's transmitted to humans through a bite by an infected insect or tick, handling infected animal carcasses, drinking contaminated water, or inhaling the bacteria. It's considered a possible airborne agent for biological warfare. Signs and symptoms following inhalation of the organism include the abrupt onset of a fever, chills, a headache, generalized myalgia, a nonproductive cough, dyspnea, pleuritic chest pain, and empyema.

Other causes

Chinese restaurant syndrome (CRS).

CRS is a benign condition — a reaction to excessive ingestion of monosodium glutamate, a common additive in Chinese foods — that mimics the signs of an acute MI. The patient may complain of retrosternal burning, ache, or pressure; a burning sensation over his arms, legs, and face; a sensation of facial pressure; a headache; shortness of breath; and tachycardia.

Drugs.

 The abrupt withdrawal of a beta-adrenergic blocker can cause rebound angina if the patient has coronary heart disease — especially if he has received high doses for a prolonged period.

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Pulse, absent or weak: Medical causes
(Handbook of Signs & Symptoms (Third Edition))

Aortic aneurysm (dissecting)

When a dissecting aneurysm affects circulation to the innominate, left common carotid, subclavian, or femoral artery, it causes weak or absent arterial pulses distal to the affected area. Absent or diminished pulses occur in 50% of patients with proximal dissection and usually involve the brachiocephalic vessels. Pulse deficits are much less common in patients with distal dissection and tend to involve the left subclavian and femoral arteries. Tearing pain usually develops suddenly in the chest and neck and may radiate to the upper and lower back and abdomen. Other findings include syncope, loss of consciousness, weakness or transient paralysis of the legs or arms, the diastolic murmur of aortic insufficiency, systemic hypotension, and mottled skin below the waist.

Aortic arch syndrome (Takayasu’s arteritis)

Aortic arch syndrome produces weak or abruptly absent carotid pulses and unequal or absent radial pulses. These signs are usually preceded by malaise, night sweats, pallor, nausea, anorexia, weight loss, arthralgia, and Raynaud’s phenomenon. Other findings include neck, shoulder, and chest pain; paresthesia; intermittent claudication; bruits; vision disturbances; dizziness; and syncope. If the carotid artery is involved, diplopia and transient blindness may occur.

Aortic bifurcation occlusion (acute)

Aortic bifurcation occlusion is a rare disorder that produces abrupt absence of all leg pulses. The patient reports moderate to severe pain in the legs and, less commonly, in the abdomen, lumbosacral area, or perineum. Also, his legs are cold, pale, numb, and flaccid.

Aortic stenosis

With aortic stenosis, the carotid pulse is sustained but weak. Dyspnea (especially on exertion or paroxysmal nocturnal), chest pain, and syncope dominate the clinical picture. The patient commonly has an atrial gallop. Other findings include a harsh systolic ejection murmur, crackles, palpitations, fatigue, and narrowed pulse pressure.

Arrhythmias

Cardiac arrhythmias may produce generalized weak pulses accompanied by cool, clammy skin. Other findings reflect the arrhythmia’s severity and may include hypotension, chest pain, dyspnea, dizziness, and a decreased level of consciousness (LOC).

Arterial occlusion

With acute occlusion, arterial pulses distal to the obstruction are unilaterally weak and then absent. The affected limb is cool, pale, and cyanotic, with an increased capillary refill time, and the patient complains of moderate to severe pain and paresthesia. A line of color and temperature demarcation develops at the level of obstruction. Varying degrees of limb paralysis may also occur, along with intense intermittent claudication. With chronic occlusion, occurring with disorders such as arteriosclerosis and Buerger’s disease, pulses in the affected limb weaken gradually.

Cardiac tamponade

Life-threatening cardiac tamponade causes a weak, rapid pulse accompanied by these classic findings: paradoxical pulse, jugular vein distention, hypotension, and muffled heart sounds. Narrowed pulse pressure, pericardial friction rub, and hepatomegaly may also occur. The patient may appear anxious, restless, and cyanotic and may have chest pain, clammy skin, dyspnea, and tachypnea.

Coarctation of the aorta

Findings of coarctation of the aorta include bounding pulses in the arms and neck, with decreased pulsations and systolic pulse pressure in the lower extremities.

Peripheral vascular disease

Peripheral vascular disease causes a weakening and loss of peripheral pulses. The patient complains of aching pain distal to the occlusion that worsens with exercise and abates with rest. The skin feels cool and shows decreased hair growth. Impotence may occur in male patients with occlusion in the descending aorta or femoral areas.

Pulmonary embolism

Pulmonary embolism causes a generalized weak, rapid pulse. It may also cause an abrupt onset of chest pain, tachycardia, dyspnea, apprehension, syncope, diaphoresis, and cyanosis. Acute respiratory findings include tachypnea, dyspnea, decreased breath sounds, crackles, a pleural friction rub, and a cough — possibly with blood-tinged sputum.

Shock

With anaphylactic shock, pulses become rapid and weak and then uniformly absent within seconds or minutes after exposure to an allergen. This is preceded by hypotension, anxiety, restlessness, feelings of doom, intense itching, a pounding headache and, possibly, urticaria.

With cardiogenic shock, peripheral pulses are absent and central pulses are weak, depending on the degree of vascular collapse. Pulse pressure is narrow. A drop in systolic blood pressure to 30 mm Hg below baseline, or a sustained reading below 80 mm Hg, produces poor tissue perfusion. Resulting signs include cold, pale, clammy skin; tachycardia; rapid, shallow respirations; oliguria; restlessness; confusion; and obtundation.

With hypovolemic shock, all pulses in the extremities become weak and then uniformly absent, depending on the severity of hypovolemia. As shock progresses, remaining pulses become thready and more rapid. Early signs of cardiogenic shock include restlessness, thirst, tachypnea, and cool, pale skin. Late signs include hypotension with narrowing pulse pressure, clammy skin, a drop in urine output to less than
25 ml/hour, confusion, a decreased LOC and, possibly, hypothermia.

With septic shock, all pulses in the extremities first become weak. Depending on the degree of vascular collapse, pulses may then become uniformly absent. Shock is heralded by chills, a sudden fever and, possibly, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Typically, the patient experiences tachycardia, tachypnea, and flushed, warm, and dry skin. As shock progresses, he develops thirst, hypotension, anxiety, restlessness, and confusion. Then pulse pressure narrows and the skin becomes cold, clammy, and cyanotic. The patient experiences severe hypotension, oliguria or anuria, respiratory failure, and coma.

Thoracic outlet syndrome

A patient with thoracic outlet syndrome may develop gradual or abrupt weakness or loss of the pulses in the arms, depending on how quickly vessels in the neck compress. These pulse changes commonly occur after the patient works with his hands above his shoulders, lifts a weight, or abducts his arm. Paresthesia and pain occur along the ulnar distribution of the arm and disappear as soon as the patient returns his arm to a neutral position. The patient may also have asymmetrical blood pressure and cool, pale skin.

Other causes

Treatments

Localized absent pulse may occur distal to arteriovenous shunts for dialysis.

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Coronary artery disease: Causes and incidence
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Atherosclerosis is the usual cause of CAD. In this form of arteriosclerosis, fatty, fibrous plaques, possibly including calcium deposits, narrow the lumen of the coronary arteries, reduce the volume of blood that can flow through them, and lead to myocardial ischemia. Plaque formation also predisposes to thrombosis, which can provoke myocardial infarction (MI).

Atherosclerosis usually develops in high-flow, high-pressure arteries, such as those in the heart, brain, kidneys, and in the aorta, especially at bifurcation points. It has been linked to many risk factors: family history, male gender, age (risk increased in those aged 65 or older), hypertension, obesity, smoking, diabetes mellitus, stress, sedentary lifestyle, high serum cholesterol (particularly high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol) or triglyceride levels, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, high blood homocysteine levels, menopause and, possibly, infections producing inflammatory responses in the artery walls.

Uncommon causes of reduced coronary artery blood flow include dissecting aneurysms, infectious vasculitis, syphilis, and congenital defects in the coronary vascular system. Coronary artery spasms may also impede blood flow. (See Coronary artery spasm.)

Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. According to the American Heart Association, someone in the United States suffers a coronary heart event approximately every 29 seconds, and someone dies from such an event approximately every 60 seconds.

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Chest pain: Medical causes
(Professional Guide to Signs & Symptoms (Fifth Edition))

Angina pectoris

A patient with angina pectoris may experience a feeling of tightness or pressure in the chest that he describes as pain or a sensation of indigestion or expansion. The pain usually occurs in the retrosternal region over a palm-sized or larger area. It may radiate to the neck, jaw, and arms—classically, to the inner aspect of the left arm. Angina tends to begin gradually, build to its maximum, then slowly subside. Provoked by exertion, emotional stress, or a heavy meal, the pain typically lasts 2 to 10 minutes (usually no longer than 20 minutes). Associated findings include dyspnea, nausea, vomiting, tachycardia, dizziness, diaphoresis, belching, and palpitations. You may hear an atrial gallop (a fourth heart sound [S ₄]) or a murmur during an anginal episode.

In Prinzmetal’s angina, caused by vasospasm of coronary vessels, chest pain typically occurs when the patient is at rest—or it may awaken him. It may be accompanied by dyspnea, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and palpitations. During an attack, you may hear an atrial gallop.

Anthrax (inhalation)

This acute infectious disease is caused by the gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Although the disease most commonly occurs in wild and domestic grazing animals, such as cattle, sheep, and goats, the spores can live in the soil for many years. The disease can occur in humans exposed to infected animals, tissue from infected animals, or biological agents. Most natural cases occur in agricultural regions worldwide. Anthrax may occur in cutaneous, inhalation, or GI forms.

Inhalation anthrax is caused by inhalation of aerosolized spores. Initial flulike signs and symptoms include fever, chills, weakness, cough, and chest pain. The disease generally occurs in two stages with a period of recovery after the initial signs and symptoms. The second stage develops abruptly and causes rapid deterioration marked by fever, dyspnea, stridor, and hypotension; death generally results within 24 hours. Radiologic findings include mediastinitis and symmetrical mediastinal widening.

Anxiety

Acute anxiety—commonly known as panic attacks—can produce intermittent, sharp, stabbing pain, typically behind the left breast. This pain isn’t related to exertion and lasts only a few seconds, but the patient may experience a precordial ache or a sensation of heaviness that lasts for hours or days. Associated signs and symptoms include precordial tenderness, palpitations, fatigue, headache, insomnia, breathlessness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and tremors. Panic attacks may be associated with agoraphobia—fear of leaving home or being in open places with other people.

Aortic aneurysm (dissecting)

The chest pain associated with this life-threatening disorder usually begins suddenly and is most severe at its onset. The patient describes an excruciating tearing, ripping, stabbing pain in his chest and neck that radiates to his upper back, abdomen, and lower back. He may also have abdominal tenderness, a palpable abdominal mass, tachycardia, murmurs, syncope, blindness, loss of consciousness, weakness or transient paralysis of the arms or legs, a systolic bruit, systemic hypotension, asymmetrical brachial pulses, lower blood pressure in the legs than in the arms, and weak or absent femoral or pedal pulses. His skin is pale, cool, diaphoretic, and mottled below the waist. Capillary refill time is increased in the toes, and palpation reveals decreased pulsation in one or both carotid arteries.

Asthma

In a life-threatening asthma attack, diffuse and painful chest tightness arises suddenly along with a dry cough and mild wheezing, which progress to a productive cough, audible wheezing, and severe dyspnea. Related respiratory findings include rhonchi, crackles, prolonged expirations, intercostal and supraclavicular retractions on inspiration, accessory muscle use, flaring nostrils, and tachypnea. The patient may also experience anxiety, tachycardia, diaphoresis, flushing, and cyanosis.

Blast lung injury

Caused by a percussive shock wave after an explosion, blast lung injury can cause severe chest pain and possibly tearing, contusion, edema, and hemorrhage of the lungs of affected people. Worldwide terrorist activity has recently increased the incidence of this condition, which may also cause dyspnea, hemoptysis, wheezing, and cyanosis. Chest X-rays, arterial blood gas measurements, and computed tomography scans are common diagnostic tools. Although no definitive guidelines exist for caring for those with blast lung injury, treatment is based on the nature of the explosion, the environment in which it occurred, and any chemical or biological agents involved.

Blastomycosis

Besides pleuritic chest pain, this disorder initially produces signs and symptoms that mimic those of a viral upper respiratory tract infection: a dry, hacking, or productive cough (and sometimes hemoptysis), fever, chills, anorexia, weight loss, fatigue, night sweats, and malaise.

Bronchitis

In its acute form, this disorder produces burning chest pain or a sensation of substernal tightness. It also produces a cough, initially dry but later productive, that worsens the chest pain. Other findings include a low-grade fever, chills, sore throat, tachycardia, muscle and back pain, rhonchi, crackles, and wheezing. Severe bronchitis causes a fever of 101° to 102° F (38.3° to 38.9° C) and possibly bronchospasm with increased coughing and wheezing.

Cardiomyopathy

In hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, angina-like chest pain may occur with dyspnea, a cough, dizziness, syncope, gallops, murmurs, and palpitations.

Cholecystitis

This disorder typically produces abrupt epigastric or right-upper-quadrant pain, which may be sharp or intensely aching. Steady or intermittent pain may radiate to the back or the right shoulder. Associated findings commonly include nausea, vomiting, fever, diaphoresis, and chills. Palpation of the right upper quadrant may reveal an abdominal mass, rigidity, distention, or tenderness. Murphy’s sign—inspiratory arrest elicited when the examiner palpates the right upper quadrant as the patient takes a deep breath—may also occur.

Coccidioidomycosis

In this disorder, pleuritic chest pain occurs with a dry or slightly productive cough. Other effects include fever, rhonchi, wheezing, occasional chills, sore throat, backache, headache, malaise, marked weakness, anorexia, and a macular rash.

Costochondritis

Pain and tenderness occur at the costochondral junctions, especially at the second costicartilage. The pain usually can be elicited by palpating the inflamed joint.

Distention of colon’s splenic flexure

Central chest pain may radiate to the left arm in patients with this disorder. The pain may be relieved by defecation or the passage of flatus.

Esophageal spasm

In this disorder, substernal chest pain may last up to an hour and may radiate to the neck, jaw, arms, or back. It commonly mimics the squeezing or dull sensation associated with angina. Other signs and symptoms include dysphagia for solid foods, bradycardia, and nodal rhythm.

Herpes zoster (shingles)

The pain of pre-eruptive herpes zoster may mimic that of myocardial infarction (MI). Initially, the pain is characteristically sharp, shooting, and unilateral. About 4 to 5 days after its onset, small, red, nodular lesions erupt on the painful areas—usually the thorax, arms, and legs—and the chest pain becomes burning. Associated findings include fever, malaise, pruritus, and paresthesia or hyperesthesia of the affected areas.

Hiatal hernia

Typically, this disorder produces an angina-like sternal burning (heartburn), ache, or pressure that may radiate to the left shoulder and arm. The discomfort commonly occurs after a meal when the patient bends over or lies down. Other findings include a bitter taste and pain while eating or drinking, especially spicy foods and hot drinks.

Interstitial lung disease

As this disease advances, the patient may experience pleuritic chest pain along with progressive dyspnea, cellophane-type crackles, a nonproductive cough, fatigue, weight loss, decreased exercise tolerance, clubbing, and cyanosis.

Legionnaires’ disease

This disorder produces pleuritic chest pain in addition to malaise, headache, and possibly diarrhea, anorexia, diffuse myalgia, and general weakness. Within 12 to 24 hours, the patient suddenly develops a high fever and chills, and an initially nonproductive cough progresses to a productive cough with mucoid and then mucopurulent sputum and possibly hemoptysis. Patients may also experience flushed skin, mild diaphoresis, prostration, nausea and vomiting, mild temporary amnesia, confusion, dyspnea, crackles, tachypnea, and tachycardia.

Lung abscess

Pleuritic chest pain develops insidiously in a lung abscess along with a pleural friction rub and a cough that produces copious amounts of purulent, foul-smelling, blood-tinged sputum. The affected side is dull on percussion, and decreased breath sounds and crackles may be heard. The patient also displays diaphoresis, anorexia, weight loss, fever, chills, fatigue, weakness, dyspnea, and clubbing.

Lung cancer

The chest pain associated with lung cancer is commonly described as an intermittent aching felt deep within the chest. If the tumor metastasizes to the ribs or vertebrae, the pain becomes localized, continuous, and gnawing. Associated findings include a cough (sometimes blood-tinged), wheezing, dyspnea, fatigue, anorexia, weight loss, and fever.

Mediastinitis

This disorder produces severe retrosternal chest pain that radiates to the epigastrium, back, or shoulder and may worsen with breathing, coughing, or sneezing. Accompanying signs and symptoms include chills, fever, and dysphagia.

Mitral valve prolapse

Most patients with mitral valve prolapse are asymptomatic, but some may experience sharp, stabbing precordial chest pain or precordial ache. The pain can last for seconds or hours and may mimic the pain of ischemic heart disease. The characteristic sign of mitral prolapse is a midsystolic click followed by a systolic murmur at the apex. The patient may experience cardiac awareness, migraine headache, dizziness, weakness, episodic severe fatigue, dyspnea, tachycardia, mood swings, and palpitations.

Muscle strain

Strained chest, arm, or shoulder muscles may cause a superficial and continuous ache or “pulling” sensation in the chest. Lifting, pulling, or pushing heavy objects may aggravate this discomfort. With acute muscle strain, the patient may experience fatigue, weakness, and rapid swelling of the affected area.

Myocardial infarction

The crushing substernal chest pain typically associated with an MI lasts from 15 minutes to hours. Typically unrelieved by rest or nitroglycerin, the pain may radiate to the patient’s left arm, jaw, neck, or shoulder blades. Other findings include pallor, clammy skin, dyspnea, diaphoresis, nausea, vomiting, anxiety, restlessness, a feeling of impending doom, hypotension or hypertension, an atrial gallop, murmurs, and crackles.

Gender Cue: An MI may be difficult to diagnose in perimenopausal women because it may produce atypical symptoms, such as fatigue, nausea, dyspnea, and shoulder or neck pain, rather than chest pain.

Nocardiosis

This disorder causes pleuritic chest pain with a cough that produces thick, tenacious, purulent or mucopurulent, and possibly blood-tinged sputum. Nocardiosis may also cause fever, night sweats, anorexia, malaise, weight loss, and diminished or absent breath sounds.

Pancreatitis

Acute pancreatitis usually causes intense epigastric pain that radiates to the back and worsens when the patient is in a supine position. Nausea, vomiting, fever, abdominal tenderness and rigidity, diminished bowel sounds, and crackles at the lung bases may also occur. A patient with severe pancreatitis may be extremely restless and have mottled skin, tachycardia, and cold, sweaty extremities. Fulminant pancreatitis causes massive hemorrhage, resulting in shock and coma.

Peptic ulcer

In this disorder, sharp and burning pain usually arises in the epigastric region. This pain characteristically occurs hours after food intake, commonly during the night. It lasts longer than angina-like pain and is relieved by food or an antacid. Other findings include nausea, vomiting (sometimes with blood), melena, and epigastric tenderness.

Pericarditis

This disorder produces precordial or retrosternal pain that’s aggravated by deep breathing, coughing, position changes, and occasionally by swallowing. The pain is commonly sharp or cutting and radiates to the shoulder and neck. Associated signs and symptoms include pericardial friction rub, fever, tachycardia, and dyspnea. Pericarditis usually follows a viral illness, but several other causes should be considered.

Plague

Caused by Yersinia pestis, plague is one of the most virulent and, if untreated, most lethal bacterial infections known. Most cases are sporadic, but the potential for epidemic spread still exists. Clinical forms include bubonic (the most common), septicemic, and pneumonic plagues. The bubonic form is transmitted to man from the bite of infected fleas. Signs and symptoms include fever, chills, and swollen, inflamed, and tender lymph nodes near the site of the fleabite. Septicemic plague may develop as a complication of untreated bubonic or pneumonic plague and occurs when the plague bacteria enter the bloodstream and multiply. The pneumonic form can be contracted by inhaling respiratory droplets from an infected person or inhaling the organism that has been dispersed in the air through biological warfare. The onset is usually sudden with chills, fever, headache, and myalgia. Pulmonary signs and symptoms include a productive cough, chest pain, tachypnea, dyspnea, hemoptysis, increasing respiratory distress, and cardiopulmonary insufficiency.

Pleurisy

The sharp, even knifelike chest pain of pleurisy arises abruptly and reaches maximum intensity within a few hours. The pain is usually unilateral and located in the lower and lateral aspects of the chest. Deep breathing, coughing, or thoracic movement characteristically aggravates it. Auscultation over the painful area may reveal decreased breath sounds, inspiratory crackles, and a pleural friction rub. Dyspnea, rapid and shallow breathing, cyanosis, fever, and fatigue may also occur.

Pneumonia

This disorder produces pleuritic chest pain that increases with deep inspiration and is accompanied by shaking chills and fever. The patient has a dry cough that later becomes productive. Other signs and symptoms include crackles, rhonchi, tachycardia, tachypnea, myalgia, fatigue, headache, dyspnea, abdominal pain, anorexia, cyanosis, decreased breath sounds, and diaphoresis.

Pneumothorax

Spontaneous pneumothorax, a life-threatening disorder, causes sudden severe, sharp chest pain that increases with chest movement; it’s typically unilateral and rarely localized. When the pain is centrally located and radiates to the neck, it may mimic that of an MI. After the pain’s onset, dyspnea and cyanosis progressively worsen. Breath sounds are decreased or absent on the affected side with hyperresonance or tympany, subcutaneous crepitation, and decreased vocal fremitus. Asymmetrical chest expansion, accessory muscle use, a nonproductive cough, tachypnea, tachycardia, anxiety, and restlessness also occur.

Psittacosis

This disorder may produce pleuritic chest pain on rare occasions. It typically begins abruptly with chills, fever, headache, myalgia, epistaxis, and prostration.

Pulmonary actinomycosis

This disorder causes pleuritic chest pain with a cough that’s initially dry but later produces purulent sputum. The patient may also display hemoptysis, fever, weight loss, fatigue, weakness, dyspnea, and night sweats. Multiple sinuses may extend through the chest wall and drain externally.

Pulmonary embolism

This disorder produces chest pain or a choking sensation. Typically, the patient first experiences sudden dyspnea with intense angina-like or pleuritic pain aggravated by deep breathing and thoracic movement. Other findings include tachycardia, tachypnea, cough (nonproductive or producing blood-tinged sputum), low-grade fever, restlessness, diaphoresis, crackles, pleural friction rub, diffuse wheezing, dullness on percussion, signs of circulatory collapse (weak, rapid pulse; hypotension), paradoxical pulse, signs of cerebral ischemia (transient unconsciousness, coma, seizures), signs of hypoxia (restlessness) and, particularly in the elderly, hemiplegia and other focal neurologic deficits. Less-common signs include massive hemoptysis, chest splinting, and leg edema. A patient with a large embolus may have cyanosis and distended neck veins.

Pulmonary hypertension (primary)

Angina-like pain develops late in patients with this disorder, usually on exertion. The precordial pain may radiate to the neck but doesn’t characteristically radiate to the arms. Typical accompanying signs and symptoms include exertional dyspnea, fatigue, syncope, weakness, cough, and hemoptysis.

Q fever

Q fever is a rickettsial disease caused by Coxiella burnetii, an organism found in cattle, sheep, and goats. Human infection usually results from exposure to contaminated milk, urine, feces, or other fluids from infected animals, but it may also result from inhalation of contaminated barnyard dust. C. burnetii is highly infectious and is considered a possible airborne agent for biological warfare. Signs and symptoms include fever, chills, severe headache, malaise, chest pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The fever may last up to 2 weeks. In severe cases, the patient may develop hepatitis or pneumonia.

Rib fracture

The chest pain due to fractured ribs is usually sharp, severe, and aggravated by inspiration, coughing, or pressure on the affected area. Besides shallow, splinted respirations, dyspnea, and cough, the patient experiences tenderness and slight edema at the fracture site.

Sickle cell crisis

Chest pain associated with sickle cell crisis typically has a bizarre distribution. It may start as a vague pain, commonly located in the back, hands, or feet. As the pain worsens, it becomes generalized or localized to the abdomen or chest, causing severe pleuritic pain. The presence of chest pain and difficulty breathing requires prompt intervention. The patient may also have abdominal distention and rigidity, dyspnea, fever, and jaundice.

Thoracic outlet syndrome

Often causing paresthesia along the ulnar distribution of the arm, this syndrome can be confused with angina, especially when it affects the left arm. The patient usually experiences angina-like pain after lifting his arms above his head, working with his hands above his shoulders, or lifting a weight. The pain disappears as soon as he lowers his arms. Other signs and symptoms include pale skin and a difference in blood pressure between both arms.

Tuberculosis

Pleuritic chest pain and fine crackles occur after coughing in a patient with tuberculosis. Associated signs and symptoms include night sweats, anorexia, weight loss, fever, malaise, dyspnea, easy fatigability, mild to severe productive cough, occasional hemoptysis, dullness on percussion, increased tactile fremitus, and amphoric breath sounds.

Tularemia

Also known as “rabbit fever,” this infectious disease is caused by the gram-negative, non–spore-forming bacterium Francisella tularensis. This organism is found in wild animals, water, and moist soil, typically in rural areas. It’s transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected insect or tick, the handling of infected animal carcasses, the drinking of contaminated water, or the inhalation of the bacterium. It’s considered a possible airborne agent for biological warfare. Signs and symptoms following inhalation of the organism include the abrupt onset of fever, chills, headache, generalized myalgia, a nonproductive cough, dyspnea, pleuritic chest pain, and empyema.

Other causes

Chinese restaurant syndrome

This benign condition—a reaction to excessive ingestion of monosodium glutamate, a common additive in Chinese foods—mimics the signs of an acute MI. The patient may complain of retrosternal burning, ache, or pressure; a burning sensation over his arms, legs, and face; a sensation of facial pressure; headache; shortness of breath; and tachycardia.

Drugs

Abrupt withdrawal of a beta-adrenergic blocker can cause rebound angina if the patient has coronary artery disease, especially if he has received high doses for a prolonged period.

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Pulse, absent or weak: Medical causes
(Professional Guide to Signs & Symptoms (Fifth Edition))

Aortic aneurysm (dissecting)

When a dissecting aneurysm affects circulation to the innominate, left common carotid, subclavian, or femoral artery, it causes weak or absent arterial pulses distal to the affected area. Absent or diminished pulses occur in 50% of patients with proximal dissection and usually involve the brachiocephalic vessels. Pulse deficits are much less common in patients with distal dissection and tend to involve the left subclavian and femoral arteries. Tearing pain usually develops suddenly in the chest and neck and may radiate to the upper and lower back and abdomen. Other findings include syncope, loss of consciousness, weakness or transient paralysis of the legs or arms, the diastolic murmur of aortic insufficiency, systemic hypotension, and mottled skin below the waist.

Aortic arch syndrome (Takayasu’s arteritis)

This syndrome produces weak or abruptly absent carotid pulses and unequal or absent radial pulses. These signs are usually preceded by malaise, night sweats, pallor, nausea, anorexia, weight loss, arthralgia, and Raynaud’s phenomenon. Other findings include neck, shoulder, and chest pain; paresthesia; intermittent claudication; bruits; vision disturbances; dizziness; and syncope. If the carotid artery is involved, diplopia and transient blindness may occur.

Aortic bifurcation occlusion (acute)

This rare disorder produces abrupt absence of all leg pulses. The patient reports moderate to severe pain in the legs and, less commonly, in the abdomen, lumbosacral area, or perineum. Also, his legs are cold, pale, numb, and flaccid.

Aortic stenosis

With this disorder, the carotid pulse is sustained but weak. Dyspnea (especially on exertion or paroxysmal nocturnal), chest pain, and syncope dominate the clinical picture. The patient commonly has an atrial gallop. Other findings include a harsh systolic ejection murmur, crackles, palpitations, fatigue, and narrowed pulse pressure.

Arrhythmias

Cardiac arrhythmias may produce generalized weak pulses accompanied by cool, clammy skin. Other findings reflect the arrhythmia’s severity and may include hypotension, chest pain, dyspnea, dizziness, and decreased level of consciousness.

Arterial occlusion

With acute occlusion, arterial pulses distal to the obstruction are unilaterally weak and then absent. The affected limb is cool, pale, and cyanotic, with increased capillary refill time, and the patient complains of moderate to severe pain and paresthesia. A line of color and temperature demarcation develops at the level of obstruction. Varying degrees of limb paralysis may also occur, along with intense intermittent claudication. With chronic occlusion, occurring with disorders such as arteriosclerosis and Buerger’s disease, pulses in the affected limb weaken gradually.

Cardiac tamponade

Life-threatening cardiac tamponade causes a weak, rapid pulse accompanied by these classic findings: paradoxical pulse, jugular vein distention, hypotension, and muffled heart sounds. Narrowed pulse pressure, pericardial friction rub, and hepatomegaly may also occur. The patient may appear anxious, restless, and cyanotic and may have chest pain, clammy skin, dyspnea, and tachypnea.

Coarctation of the aorta

Findings of this disorder include bounding pulses in the arms and neck, with decreased pulsations and systolic pulse pressure in the lower extremities.

Peripheral vascular disease

This disorder causes a weakening and loss of peripheral pulses. The patient complains of aching pain distal to the occlusion that worsens with exercise and abates with rest. The skin feels cool and shows decreased hair growth. Impotence may occur in male patients with occlusion in the descending aorta or femoral areas.

Pulmonary embolism

This disorder causes a generalized weak, rapid pulse. It may also cause abrupt onset of chest pain, tachycardia, dyspnea, apprehension, syncope, diaphoresis, and cyanosis. Acute respiratory findings include tachypnea, dyspnea, decreased breath sounds, crackles, a pleural friction rub, and a cough—possibly with blood-tinged sputum.

Shock

With anaphylactic shock, pulses become rapid and weak and then uniformly absent within seconds or minutes after exposure to an allergen. This is preceded by hypotension, anxiety, restlessness, feelings of doom, intense itching, a pounding headache and, possibly, urticaria.

With cardiogenic shock, peripheral pulses are absent and central pulses are weak, depending on the degree of vascular collapse. Pulse pressure is narrow. A drop in systolic blood pressure to 30 mm Hg below baseline, or a sustained reading below 80 mm Hg, produces poor tissue perfusion. Resulting signs include cold, pale, clammy skin; tachycardia; rapid, shallow respirations; oliguria; restlessness; confusion; and obtundation.

With hypovolemic shock, all pulses in the extremities become weak and then uniformly absent, depending on the severity of hypovolemia. As shock progresses, remaining pulses become thready and more rapid. Early signs of cardiogenic shock include restlessness, thirst, tachypnea, and cool, pale skin. Late signs include hypotension with narrowing pulse pressure, clammy skin, a drop in urine output to less than 25 ml/hour, confusion, decreased level of consciousness and, possibly, hypothermia.

With septic shock, all pulses in the extremities first become weak. Depending on the degree of vascular collapse, pulses may then become uniformly absent. Shock is heralded by chills, sudden fever and, possibly, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Typically, the patient experiences tachycardia, tachypnea, and flushed, warm, and dry skin. As shock progresses, he develops thirst, hypotension, anxiety, restlessness, and confusion. Then pulse pressure narrows and the skin becomes cold, clammy, and cyanotic. The patient experiences severe hypotension, oliguria or anuria, respiratory failure, and coma.

Thoracic outlet syndrome

A patient with this syndrome may develop gradual or abrupt weakness or loss of the pulses in the arms, depending on how quickly vessels in the neck compress. These pulse changes commonly occur after the patient works with his hands above his shoulders, lifts a weight, or abducts his arm. Paresthesia and pain occur along the ulnar distribution of the arm and disappear as soon as the patient returns his arm to a neutral position. The patient may also have asymmetrical blood pressure and cool, pale skin.

Other causes

Treatments

Localized absent pulse may occur distal to arteriovenous shuntsfor dialysis.

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Acute Nonpleuritic Chest Pain: Differential Overview
(Field Guide to Bedside Diagnosis)

❑ Chest wall pain

❑ Angina

❑ Unstable angina

❑ Myocardial infarction

❑ Gastroesophageal reflux

❑ Herpes zoster

❑ Thoracic root compression

❑ Panic disorder

❑ Aortic stenosis

❑ Aortic dissection

❑ Mediastinal mass

❑ Biliary disease

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Pleuritic Chest Pain: Differential Overview
(Field Guide to Bedside Diagnosis)

❑ Costochondritis

❑ Pneumonia

❑ Rib fracture

❑ Pulmonary embolism

❑ Pleurisy

❑ Pneumothorax

❑ Pericarditis

❑ Lung cancer

❑ Pneumomediastinum

❑ Splenic infarction

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Myocardial infarction: Causes
(Handbook of Diseases)

Predisposing factors include:

❑ positive family history

❑ hypertension

❑ smoking

❑ elevated levels of serum triglycerides, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoproteins

❑ diabetes mellitus

❑ obesity or excessive intake of saturated fats, carbohydrates, or salt

❑ sedentary lifestyle

❑ aging

❑ stress or a type A personality (aggressive, ambitious, competitive, addicted to work, chronically impatient)

❑ drug use, especially cocaine.

Men and postmenopausal women are more susceptible to an MI than premenopausal women, although incidence is rising among females, especially those who smoke and take a hormonal contraceptive. (See MI in women.)

The site of the MI depends on the vessels involved. Occlusion of the circumflex branch of the left coronary artery causes a lateral wall infarction; occlusion of the anterior descending branch of the left coronary artery, an anterior wall infarction.

True posterior or inferior wall infarctions generally result from occlusion of the right coronary artery or one of its branches. Right ventricular infarctions can also result from right coronary artery occlusion, can accompany inferior infarctions, and may cause right-sided heart failure. With a transmural MI, tissue damage extends through all myocardial layers; with a subendocardial MI, only in the innermost and possibly the middle layers.

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Coronary artery disease: Causes
(Handbook of Diseases)

Atherosclerosis is the usual cause of CAD. In this form of arteriosclerosis, fatty, fibrous plaques narrow the lumen of the coronary arteries, reduce the volume of blood that can flow through them, and lead to myocardial ischemia. Plaque formation also predisposes to thrombosis, which can provoke myocardial infarction (MI).

Atherosclerosis usually develops in high-flow, high-pressure arteries, such as those in the heart, brain, kidneys, and aorta, especially at bifurcation points. It has been linked to many risk factors: family history, hypertension, obesity, smoking, diabetes mellitus, stress, a sedentary lifestyle, and high serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

Uncommon causes of reduced coronary artery blood flow include dissecting aneurysms, infectious vasculitis, syphilis, and congenital defects in the coronary vascular system. Coronary artery spasms may also impede blood flow. (See Coronary artery spasm.)

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Chest pain: Medical causes
(Alarming Signs and Symptoms: Lippincott Manual of Nursing Practice Series)

See Chest pain: Causes and associated findings, pages 78 to 81.

Angina pectoris.

With angina pectoris, the patient may experience a feeling of tightness or pressure in the chest that he describes as pain or a sensation of indigestion or expansion. The pain usually occurs in the retrosternal region over a palm-sized or larger area. It may radiate to the neck, jaw, and arms — classically, to the inner aspect of the left arm. Angina tends to begin gradually, build to its maximum, and then slowly subside. Provoked by exertion, emotional stress, or a heavy meal, the pain typically lasts 2 to 10 minutes, usually no longer than 20 minutes. Associated findings include dyspnea, nausea, vomiting, tachycardia, dizziness, diaphoresis, belching, and palpitations. You may hear an atrial gallop (a fourth heart sound) or murmur during an anginal episode.

With Prinzmetal’s angina, caused by vasospasm of coronary vessels, chest pain typically occurs when the patient is at rest — or it may awaken him. It may be accompanied by shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and palpitations. During an attack, you may hear an atrial gallop. Anthrax is an acute infectious disease that’s caused by the gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Although the disease most commonly occurs in wild and domestic grazing animals, such as cattle, sheep, and goats, the spores can live in the soil for many years. The disease can occur in humans exposed to infected animals, tissue from infected animals, or biological warfare. Most natural cases occur in agricultural regions worldwide, and it may occur in cutaneous, inhalation, and GI forms.

Inhalation anthrax is caused by inhalation of aerosolized spores. Initial signs and symptoms are flulike and include fever, chills, weakness, cough, and chest pain. The disease generally occurs in two stages with a period of recovery after the initial signs and symptoms. The second stage develops abruptly with rapid deterioration marked by fever, dyspnea, stridor, and hypotension, generally leading to death within 24 hours. Radiologic findings include mediastinitis and symmetric mediastinal widening. Acute anxiety — or, more commonly, panic attacks — can produce intermittent, sharp, stabbing pain, commonly located behind the left breast. This pain isn’t related to exertion and lasts only a few seconds, but the patient may experience a precordial ache or a sensation of heaviness that lasts for hours or days. Associated signs and symptoms include precordial tenderness, palpitations, fatigue, headache, insomnia, breathlessness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and tremors. Panic attacks may be associated with agoraphobia — fear of leaving home or being in open places with other people.

Aortic aneurysm (dissecting).

The chest pain associated with aortic aneurysm — a life-threatening disorder — usually begins suddenly and is most severe at its onset. The patient describes an excruciating tearing, ripping, stabbing pain in his chest and neck that radiates to his upper back, abdomen, and lower back. He may exhibit abdominal tenderness, a palpable abdominal mass, tachycardia, murmurs, syncope, blindness, loss of consciousness, weakness or transient paralysis of the arms or legs, a systolic bruit, systemic hypotension, asymmetrical brachial pulses, lower blood pressure in the legs than in the arms, and weak or absent femoral or pedal pulses. His skin is pale, cool, diaphoretic, and mottled below the waist. Capillary refill time is increased in the toes, and palpation reveals decreased pulsation in one or both carotid arteries.

Asthma.

In a life-threatening asthma attack, diffuse and painful chest tightness arises suddenly along with a dry cough and mild wheezing, which progress to a productive cough, audible wheezing, and severe dyspnea. Related respiratory findings include rhonchi, crackles, prolonged expirations, intercostal and supraclavicular retractions on inspiration, accessory muscle use, flaring nostrils, and tachypnea. The patient may also experience anxiety, tachycardia, diaphoresis, flushing, and cyanosis.

Blastomycosis.

Besides pleuritic chest pain, blastomycosis initially produces signs and symptoms that mimic those of viral upper respiratory tract infection: a dry, hacking, or productive cough (and sometimes hemoptysis), fever, chills, anorexia, weight loss, fatigue, night sweats, and malaise. In its acute form, bronchitis produces burning chest pain or a sensation of substernal tightness. It also produces a cough, initially dry but later productive, that worsens the chest pain. Other findings include low-grade fever, chills, sore throat, tachycardia, muscle and back pain, rhonchi, crackles, and wheezing. Severe bronchitis causes a fever of 101° to 102° F (38.3° to 38.9° C) and possible bronchospasm with worsening wheezing and increased coughing. With hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, angina-like chest pain may occur with dyspnea, cough, dizziness, syncope, gallops, murmurs, and bradycardia associated with tachycardia. Cholecystitis typically produces abrupt epigastric or right upper quadrant pain, which may be sharp or intensely aching. Steady or intermittent pain may radiate to the back or right shoulder. Commonly associated findings include nausea, vomiting, fever, diaphoresis, and chills. Palpation of the right upper quadrant may reveal an abdominal mass, rigidity, distention, or tenderness. Murphy’s sign — inspiratory arrest elicited when the examiner palpates the right upper quadrant as the patient takes a deep breath — may also occur.

Coccidioidomycosis.

With coccidioidomycosis, pleuritic chest pain occurs with a dry or slightly productive cough. Other effects include fever, rhonchi, wheezing, occasional chills, sore throat, backache, headache, malaise, marked weakness, anorexia, and macular rash.

Costochondritis.

Pain and tenderness occur at the costochondral junctions, especially at the second costicartilage. The pain usually can be elicited by palpating the inflamed joint. Central chest pain may radiate to the left arm in patients with distention of colon’s splenic flexure. The pain may be relieved by defecation or passage of flatus. With esophageal spasm, substernal chest pain may last up to an hour and can radiate to the neck, jaw, arms, or back. It commonly mimics angina — a squeezing or dull sensation. Associated signs and symptoms include dysphagia for solid foods, bradycardia, and nodal rhythm. The pain of pre-eruptive herpes zoster may mimic that of an MI. Initially, the pain is characteristically sharp, shooting, and unilateral. About 4 to 5 days after its onset, small, red, nodular lesions erupt on the painful areas — usually the thorax, arms, and legs — and chest pain becomes burning. Associated findings include fever, malaise, pruritus, and paresthesia or hyperesthesia of the affected areas. Typically, hiatal hernia produces an angina-like sternal burning (heartburn), ache, or pressure that may radiate to the left shoulder and arm. The discomfort commonly occurs after a meal when the patient bends over or lies down. Other findings include a bitter taste and pain while eating or drinking, especially hot drinks and spicy foods. As interstitial lung disease advances, the patient may experience pleuritic chest pain along with progressive dyspnea, cellophane-type crackles, nonproductive cough, fatigue, weight loss, decreased exercise tolerance, clubbing, and cyanosis.

Legionnaires’ disease.

Legionnaires’ disease produces pleuritic chest pain, in addition to malaise, headache and, possibly, diarrhea, anorexia, diffuse myalgia, and general weakness. Within 12 to 24 hours, the patient develops a sudden high fever, chills, and a nonproductive cough that progresses to mucoid and then to mucopurulent sputum, possibly with hemoptysis. Patients may also experience flushed skin, mild diaphoresis, prostration, nausea and vomiting, mild temporary amnesia, confusion, dyspnea, crackles, tachypnea, and tachycardia. Pleuritic chest pain develops insidiously in lung abscess along with a pleural friction rub and cough that raises copious amounts of purulent, foul-smelling, blood-tinged sputum. The affected side is dull on percussion, and decreased breath sounds and crackles may be heard. The patient also displays diaphoresis, anorexia, weight loss, fever, chills, fatigue, weakness, dyspnea, and clubbing.

Lung cancer.

The chest pain associated with lung cancer is commonly described as an intermittent aching felt deep within the chest. If the tumor metastasizes to the ribs or vertebrae, the pain becomes localized, continuous, and gnawing. Associated findings include cough (sometimes bloody), wheezing, dyspnea, fatigue, anorexia, weight loss, and fever.

Mediastinitis.

Mediastinitis produces severe retrosternal chest pain that radiates to the epigastrium, back, or shoulder and may worsen with breathing, coughing, or sneezing. Its accompanying signs and symptoms include chills, fever, and dysphagia.

Mitral valve prolapse.

Most patients with mitral valve prolapse are asymptomatic, but some may experience sharp, stabbing precordial chest pain or precordial ache. The pain can last for seconds or hours and occasionally mimics the pain of ischemic heart disease. The characteristic sign of mitral prolapse is a midsystolic click followed by a systolic murmur at the apex. The patient may experience cardiac awareness, migraine headache, dizziness, weakness, episodic severe fatigue, dyspnea, tachycardia, mood swings, and palpitations. Strained chest, arm, or shoulder muscles may cause a superficial and continuous ache or “pulling” sensation in the chest. Lifting, pulling, or pushing heavy objects may aggravate this discomfort. With acute muscle strain, the patient may experience fatigue, weakness, and rapid swelling of the affected area.

Myocardial infarction (MI).

The chest pain during an MI lasts from 15 minutes to hours. Typically, crushing substernal pain, unrelieved by rest or nitroglycerin, may radiate to the patient’s left arm, jaw, neck, or shoulder blades. Other findings include pallor, clammy skin, dyspnea, diaphoresis, nausea, vomiting, anxiety, restlessness, a feeling of impending doom, hypotension or hypertension, atrial gallop, murmurs, and crackles. Nocardiosis causes pleuritic chest pain with a cough that produces thick, tenacious, purulent or mucopurulent, and possibly blood-tinged sputum. Nocardiosis may also cause fever, night sweats, anorexia, malaise, weight loss, and diminished or absent breath sounds. In the acute form, pancreatitis usually causes intense pain in the epigastric area that radiates to the back and worsens when the patient is in a supine position. Nausea, vomiting, fever, abdominal tenderness and rigidity, diminished bowel sounds, and crackles at the lung bases may also occur. A patient with severe pancreatitis may be extremely restless and have mottled skin, tachycardia, and cold, sweaty extremities. Fulminant pancreatitis causes massive hemorrhage, resulting in shock and coma.

Peptic ulcer.

With peptic ulcer, sharp and burning pain usually arises in the epigastric region. This pain characteristically arises hours after food intake, commonly during the night. It lasts longer than angina-like pain and is relieved by food or an antacid. Other findings include nausea, vomiting (sometimes with blood), melena, and epigastric tenderness. Pericarditis produces precordial or retrosternal pain aggravated by deep breathing, coughing, position changes, and occasionally by swallowing. The pain is commonly sharp or cutting and radiates to the shoulder and neck. Associated signs and symptoms include pericardial friction rub, fever, tachycardia, and dyspnea. Pericarditis usually follows a viral illness, but several other causes should be considered. Plague is an acute bacterial infection caused by Yersinia pestis. It’s one of the most virulent infections and, if untreated, one of the most potentially lethal diseases known. Most cases are sporadic, but the potential for epidemic spread still exists. Clinical forms include bubonic (the most common), septicemic, and pneumonic plagues. The bubonic form is transmitted to man when bitten by infected fleas. Signs and symptoms include fever, chills, and swollen, inflamed, and tender lymph nodes near the site of the fleabite. Septicemic plague develops as a fulminant illness generally with the bubonic form. The pneumonic form may be contracted from person-to-person through direct contact via the respiratory system or through biological warfare from aerosolization and inhalation of the organism. The onset is usually sudden with chills, fever, headache, and myalgia. Pulmonary signs and symptoms include productive cough, chest pain, tachypnea, dyspnea, hemoptysis, increasing respiratory distress, and cardiopulmonary insufficiency. The chest pain of pleurisy arises abruptly and reaches maximum intensity within a few hours. The pain is sharp, even knifelike, usually unilateral, and located in the lower and lateral aspects of the chest. Deep breathing, coughing, or thoracic movement characteristically aggravates it. Auscultation over the painful area may reveal decreased breath sounds, inspiratory crackles, and a pleural friction rub. Dyspnea, rapid, shallow breathing, cyanosis, fever, and fatigue may also occur. Pneumonia produces pleuritic chest pain that increases with deep inspiration and is accompanied by shaking chills and fever. The patient has a dry cough that later becomes productive. Other signs and symptoms include crackles, rhonchi, tachycardia, tachypnea, myalgia, fatigue, headache, dyspnea, abdominal pain, anorexia, cyanosis, decreased breath sounds, and diaphoresis. Spontaneous pneumothorax, a life-threatening disorder, causes sudden sharp chest pain that’s severe, typically unilateral, and rarely localized; it increases with chest movement. When the pain is centrally located and radiates to the neck, it may mimic that of an MI. After the pain’s onset, dyspnea and cyanosis progressively worsen. Breath sounds are decreased or absent on the affected side with hyperresonance or tympany, subcutaneous crepitation, and decreased vocal fremitus. Asymmetrical chest expansion, accessory muscle use, nonproductive cough, tachypnea, tachycardia, anxiety, and restlessness also occur.

Psittacosis.

Psittacosis may produce pleuritic chest pain on rare occasions. It typically begins abruptly with chills, fever, headache, myalgia, epistaxis, and prostration. Pulmonary actinomycosis causes pleuritic chest pain with a cough that’s initially dry but later produces purulent sputum. The patient may also display hemoptysis, fever, weight loss, fatigue, weakness, dyspnea, and night sweats. Multiple sinuses may extend through the chest wall and drain externally. Pulmonary embolism produces chest pain or a choking sensation. Typically, the patient first experiences sudden dyspnea with intense angina-like or pleuritic pain aggravated by deep breathing and thoracic movement. Other findings include tachycardia, tachypnea, cough (nonproductive or producing blood-tinged sputum), low-grade fever, restlessness, diaphoresis, crackles, pleural friction rub, diffuse wheezing, dullness on percussion, signs of circulatory collapse (weak, rapid pulse; hypotension), paradoxical pulse, signs of cerebral ischemia (transient unconsciousness, coma, seizures), signs of hypoxia (restlessness) and, particularly in the elderly, hemiplegia and other focal neurologic deficits. Less common signs include massive hemoptysis, chest splinting, and leg edema. A patient with a large embolus may have cyanosis and jugular vein distention. Angina-like pain develops late in patients with pulmonary hypertension, usually on exertion. The precordial pain may radiate to the neck but doesn’t characteristically radiate to the arms. Typical accompanying signs and symptoms include exertional dyspnea, fatigue, syncope, weakness, cough, and hemoptysis. Q fever is a Rickettsial disease caused by Coxiella burnetii. The primary source of human infection results from exposure to infected animals. Cattle, sheep, and goats are most likely to carry the organism. Human infection results from exposure to contaminated milk, urine, feces, or other fluids from infected animals. Infection may also result from inhalation of contaminated barnyard dust. C. burnetii is highly infectious and is considered a possible airborne agent for biological warfare. Signs and symptoms include fever, chills, severe headache, malaise, chest pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The fever may last for up to 2 weeks. In severe cases, the patient may develop hepatitis or pneumonia. The chest pain due to fractured ribs is usually sharp, severe, and aggravated by inspiration, coughing, or pressure on the affected area. Besides shallow, splinted respirations, dyspnea, and cough, the patient experiences tenderness and slight edema at the fracture site. Chest pain associated with sickle cell crisis typically has a bizarre distribution. It may start as a vague pain, commonly located in the back, hands, or feet. As the pain worsens, it becomes generalized or localized to the abdomen or chest, causing severe pleuritic pain. The presence of chest pain and difficulty breathing requires prompt intervention. The patient may also have abdominal distention and rigidity, dyspnea, fever, and jaundice. Commonly causing paresthesia along the ulnar distribution of the arm, thoracic outlet syndrome can be confused with angina, especially when it affects the left arm. The patient usually experiences angina-like pain after lifting his arms above his head, working with his hands above his shoulders, or lifting a weight. The pain disappears as soon as he lowers his arms. Other signs and symptoms include pale skin and a difference in blood pressure between both arms. In a patient with tuberculosis, pleuritic chest pain and fine crackles occur after coughing. Associated signs and symptoms include night sweats, anorexia, weight loss, fever, malaise, dyspnea, easy fatigability, mild to severe productive cough, occasional hemoptysis, dullness on percussion, increased tactile fremitus, and amphoric breath sounds. Also known as rabbit fever, tularemia is caused by the gram-negative, non-spore forming bacterium Francisella tularensis. It’s typically a rural disease found in wild animals, water, and moist soil. It’s transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected insect or tick, handling infected animal carcasses, drinking contaminated water, or inhaling the bacteria. It’s considered a possible airborne agent for biological warfare. Signs and symptoms following inhalation of the organism include the abrupt onset of fever, chills, headache, generalized myalgia, nonproductive cough, dyspnea, pleuritic chest pain, and empyema.

Other causes

Chinese restaurant syndrome, which stems from a reaction to excessive ingestion of monosodium glutamate (a common additive in Chinese foods), is a benign condition that mimics the signs of an acute MI. The patient may complain of retrosternal burning, ache, or pressure; a burning sensation over his arms, legs, and face; a sensation of facial pressure; headache; shortness of breath; and tachycardia.

Drugs.

Abrupt withdrawal of a beta-adrenergic blocker can cause rebound angina if the patient has coronary heart disease — especially if he has received high doses for a prolonged period.

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Chest pain: Medical causes
(Signs & Symptoms: A 2-in-1 Reference for Nurses)

Angina pectoris

With angina pectoris, the patient may experience a feeling of tightness or pressure in the chest that he describes as pain or a sensation of indigestion or expansion. The pain usually occurs in the retrosternal region. It may radiate to the neck, jaw, and arms — classically, to the inner aspect of the left arm. Angina tends to begin gradually, build to its maximum, then slowly subside. Provoked by exertion, emotional stress, or a heavy meal, the pain typically lasts 2 to 10 minutes (usually no longer than 20 minutes). Associated findings include dyspnea, nausea, vomiting, tachycardia, dizziness, diaphoresis, belching, and palpitations. You may hear an atrial gallop (a fourth heart sound [S ₄]) or murmur during an anginal episode.

CULTURAL CUE:Not all patients experience angina in the same way. For example, Black and Hispanic patients may not feel chest discomfort. Primary symptoms among these populations may include dyspnea and fatigue.

With Prinzmetal’s angina, caused by vasospasm of coronary vessels, chest pain typically occurs when the patient is at rest — or it may awaken him. It may be accompanied by shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and palpitations. During an attack, you may hear an atrial gallop.

Anthrax (inhalation)

Inhalation anthrax is caused by inhalation of aerosolized spores of the gram-positive bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Initial signs and symptoms are flulike and include fever, chills, weakness, cough, and chest pain. The disease generally occurs in two stages with a period of recovery after the initial signs and symptoms. The second stage develops abruptly with rapid deterioration marked by fever, dyspnea, stridor, and hypotension, generally leading to death within 24 hours. Radiologic findings include mediastinitis and symmetric mediastinal widening.

Anxiety

Acute anxiety — or, more commonly, panic attacks — can produce intermittent, sharp, stabbing pain, commonly located behind the left breast. This pain isn’t related to exertion and lasts only a few seconds, but the patient may experience a precordial ache or a sensation of heaviness that lasts for hours or days. Associated signs and symptoms include precordial tenderness, palpitations, fatigue, headache, insomnia, breathlessness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and tremors. Panic attacks may be associated with agoraphobia — fear of leaving home or being in open places with other people.

Aortic aneurysm (dissecting)

The chest pain associated with dissecting aortic aneurysm (a life-threatening disorder) usually begins suddenly and is most severe at its onset. The patient describes an excruciating tearing, ripping, stabbing pain in his chest and neck that radiates to his upper back, abdomen, and lower back. He may also have abdominal tenderness; a palpable abdominal mass; tachycardia; murmurs; syncope; blindness; loss of consciousness; weakness or transient paralysis of the arms or legs; a systolic bruit; systemic hypotension; asymmetrical brachial pulses; lower blood pressure in the legs than in the arms; and weak or absent femoral or pedal pulses. His skin is pale, cool, diaphoretic, and mottled below the waist. Capillary refill time is increased in the toes, and palpation reveals decreased pulsation in one or both carotid arteries.

Asthma

In a life-threatening asthma attack, diffuse and painful chest tightness arises suddenly along with a dry cough and mild wheezing, which progress to a productive cough, audible wheezing, and severe dyspnea. Related respiratory findings include rhonchi, crackles, prolonged expirations, intercostal and supraclavicular retractions on inspiration, accessory muscle use, flaring nostrils, and tachypnea. The patient may also experience anxiety, tachycardia, diaphoresis, flushing, and cyanosis.

Bronchitis

In its acute form, bronchitis produces a burning chest pain or a sensation of substernal tightness. It also produces a cough, initially dry but later productive, that worsens the chest pain. Other findings include a low-grade fever, chills, sore throat, tachycardia, muscle and back pain, rhonchi, crackles, and wheezing. Severe bronchitis causes a fever of 101° to 102° F (38.3° to 38.9° C) and possible bronchospasm with worsening wheezing and increased coughing.

Cardiomyopathy

With hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, angina-like chest pain may occur with dyspnea, a cough, dizziness, syncope, gallops, murmurs, and bradycardia associated with tachycardia. The patient may have a medium-pitched systolic ejection murmur along the left sternal border and apex of the heart. Palpation of peripheral pulses reveals a characteristic double impulse (pulsus biferiens and, with atrial fibrillation, an irregular pulse).

Cholecystitis

Cholecystitis typically produces abrupt epigastric or right-upper-quadrant pain, which may be sharp or intensely aching. Steady or intermittent pain may radiate to the back or the right shoulder. Common associated findings include nausea, vomiting, fever, diaphoresis, and chills. Palpation of the right upper quadrant may reveal an abdominal mass, rigidity, distention, or tenderness. Murphy’s sign — inspiratory arrest elicited when the examiner palpates the right upper quadrant as the patient takes a deep breath — may also occur.

Costochondritis

With costochondritis, pain and tenderness occur at the costochondral junctions, especially at the second costicartilage. The pain usually can be elicited by palpating the inflamed joint. It may be described as a sharp pain in the chest wall that worsens with movement.

Distention of colon’s splenic flexure

Central chest pain may radiate to the left arm in patients with distention of the colon’s splenic flexure. The pain may be relieved by defecation or the passage of flatus. Other signs and symptoms include fever, tachycardia, abdominal pain, and palpable abdominal mass.

Esophageal spasm

With esophageal spasm, substernal chest pain may last up to an hour and can radiate to the neck, jaw, arms, or back. It tends to mimic angina — a squeezing or dull sensation. Associated signs and symptoms include dysphagia for solid foods, bradycardia, and nodal rhythm.

Herpes zoster (shingles)

The pain of preeruptive herpes zoster may mimic that of myocardial infarction (MI). Initially, the pain is characteristically sharp, shooting, and unilateral. About 4 to 5 days after its onset, small, red, nodular lesions erupt on the painful areas — usually the thorax, arms, and legs — and the chest pain becomes burning. Associated findings include fever, malaise, pruritus, and paresthesia or hyperesthesia of the affected areas.

Hiatal hernia

Typically, hiatal hernia produces an angina-like sternal burning (heartburn), ache, or pressure that may radiate to the left shoulder and arm. The discomfort commonly occurs after a meal when the patient bends over or lies down. Other findings include a bitter taste and pain while eating or drinking, especially hot drinks and spicy foods.

Interstitial lung disease

As interstitial lung disease advances, the patient may experience pleuritic chest pain along with progressive dyspnea, cellophane-type crackles, nonproductive cough, fatigue, weight loss, decreased exercise tolerance, clubbing, and cyanosis.

Legionnaires’ disease

Legionnaires’ disease produces pleuritic chest pain in addition to malaise, headache and, possibly, diarrhea, anorexia, diffuse myalgia, and general weakness. Within 12 to 24 hours, the patient develops a sudden high fever, chills, and a nonproductive cough that progresses to mucoid and then to mucopurulent sputum, possibly with hemoptysis. Patients may also experience flushed skin, mild diaphoresis, prostration, nausea and vomiting, mild temporary amnesia, confusion, dyspnea, crackles, tachypnea, and tachycardia.

Mediastinitis

Mediastinitis produces severe retrosternal chest pain that radiates to the epigastrium, back, or shoulder and may worsen with breathing, coughing, or sneezing. Its accompanying signs and symptoms include chills, fever, and dysphagia.

Mitral valve prolapse

Most patients with mitral valve prolapse are asymptomatic, but some may experience sharp, stabbing precordial chest pain or precordial ache. The pain can last for seconds or for hours, and occasionally mimics the pain of ischemic heart disease. The characteristic sign of mitral valve prolapse is a midsystolic click followed by a systolic murmur at the apex. The patient may experience cardiac awareness, migraine headache, dizziness, weakness, episodic severe fatigue, dyspnea, tachycardia, mood swings, and palpitations.

Muscle strain

Strained chest, arm, or shoulder muscles may cause a superficial and continuous ache or “pulling” sensation in the chest. Lifting, pulling, or pushing heavy objects may aggravate this discomfort. With acute muscle strain, the patient may experience fatigue, weakness, and rapid swelling of the affected area.

Myocardial infarction

The chest pain during an MI lasts from 15 minutes to hours. Typically a crushing substernal pain, unrelieved by rest or nitroglycerin, it may radiate to the patient’s left arm, jaw, neck, or shoulder blades. Other findings include pallor, clammy skin, dyspnea, diaphoresis, nausea, vomiting, anxiety, restlessness, a feeling of impending doom, hypotension or hypertension, an atrial gallop, murmurs, and crackles.

Pancreatitis

In the acute form, pancreatitis usually causes intense pain in the epigastric area that radiates to the back and worsens when the patient is in a supine position. Nausea, vomiting, fever, abdominal tenderness and rigidity, diminished bowel sounds, and crackles at the lung bases may also occur. A patient with severe pancreatitis may be extremely restless and have mottled skin, tachycardia, and cold, sweaty extremities. Fulminant pancreatitis causes massive hemorrhage, resulting in shock and coma.

Peptic ulcer

With a peptic ulcer, sharp and burning pain usually arises in the epigastric region. This pain characteristically arises hours after food intake, commonly during the night. It lasts longer than angina-like pain and is relieved by food or an antacid. Other findings include nausea, vomiting (sometimes with blood), melena, and epigastric tenderness.

Pericarditis

Pericarditis produces precordial or retrosternal pain aggravated by deep breathing, coughing, position changes, and occasionally by swallowing. The pain is commonly sharp or cutting and radiates to the shoulder and neck. Associated signs and symptoms include pericardial friction rub, fever, tachycardia, and dyspnea. Pericarditis usually follows a viral illness, but several other causes should be considered.

Plague

The pneumonic form of plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, is characterized by a sudden onset of chills, fever, headache, and myalgia. Pulmonary signs and symptoms include productive cough, chest pain, tachypnea, dyspnea, hemoptysis, increasing respiratory distress and cardiopulmonary insufficiency.

Pleurisy

The chest pain of pleurisy arises abruptly and reaches maximum intensity within a few hours. The pain is sharp, even knifelike, usually unilateral, and located in the lower and lateral aspects of the chest. Deep breathing, coughing, or thoracic movement characteristically aggravates it. Auscultation over the painful area may reveal decreased breath sounds, inspiratory crackles, and a pleural friction rub. Dyspnea, rapid, shallow breathing, cyanosis, fever, and fatigue may also occur.

Pneumonia

Pneumonia produces pleuritic chest pain that increases with deep inspiration and is accompanied by shaking chills and fever. The patient has a dry cough that later becomes productive. Other signs and symptoms include crackles, rhonchi, tachycardia, tachypnea, myalgia, fatigue, headache, dyspnea, abdominal pain, anorexia, cyanosis, decreased breath sounds, and diaphoresis.

Pneumothorax

Spontaneous pneumothorax, a life-threatening disorder, causes sudden sharp chest pain that’s severe, typically unilateral, and rarely localized; it increases with chest movement. When the pain is centrally located and radiates to the neck, it may mimic that of an MI. After the pain’s onset, dyspnea and cyanosis progressively worsen. Breath sounds are decreased or absent on the affected side with hyperresonance or tympany, subcutaneous crepitation, and decreased vocal fremitus. Asymmetrical chest expansion, accessory muscle use, a nonproductive cough, tachypnea, tachycardia, anxiety, and restlessness also occur.

Pulmonary embolism

Pulmonary embolism produces chest pain or a choking sensation. Typically, the patient first experiences sudden dyspnea with intense angina-like or pleuritic pain aggravated by deep breathing and thoracic movement. Other findings include tachycardia, tachypnea, cough (nonproductive or producing blood-tinged sputum), low-grade fever, restlessness, diaphoresis, crackles, pleural friction rub, diffuse wheezing, dullness to percussion, signs of circulatory collapse (weak, rapid pulse; hypotension), paradoxical pulse, signs of cerebral ischemia (transient unconsciousness, coma, seizures), signs of hypoxia (restlessness) and, particularly in the elderly, hemiplegia and other focal neurologic deficits. Less common signs include massive hemoptysis, chest splinting, and leg edema. A patient with a large embolus may have cyanosis and distended neck veins.

Pulmonary hypertension (primary)

Angina-like pain develops late in patients with primary pulmonary hypertension, usually on exertion. The precordial pain may radiate to the neck but doesn’t characteristically radiate to the arms. Typical accompanying signs and symptoms include exertional dyspnea, fatigue, syncope, weakness, cough, and hemoptysis.

Q fever

Signs and symptoms of Q fever, a rickettsial disease caused by Coxiella burnetti, include fever, chills, severe headache, malaise, chest pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The fever may last up to 2 weeks. In severe cases, the patient may develop hepatitis or pneumonia.

Rib fracture

The chest pain due to fractured ribs is usually sharp, severe, and aggravated by inspiration, coughing, or pressure on the affected area. Besides shallow, splinted respirations, dyspnea, and cough, the patient experiences tenderness and slight edema at the fracture site.

Sickle cell crisis

Chest pain associated with sickle cell crisis typically has a bizarre distribution. It may start as a vague pain, commonly located in the back, hands, or feet. As the pain worsens, it becomes generalized or localized to the abdomen or chest, causing severe pleuritic pain. The presence of chest pain and difficulty breathing requires prompt intervention. The patient may also have abdominal distention and rigidity, dyspnea, fever, and jaundice.

Tuberculosis

In a patient with tuberculosis, pleuritic chest pain and fine crackles occur after coughing. Associated signs and symptoms include night sweats, anorexia, weight loss, fever, malaise, dyspnea, easy fatigability, mild to severe productive cough, occasional hemoptysis, dullness to percussion, increased tactile fremitus, and amphoric breath sounds.

Tularemia

Following inhalation of the gram-negative, non-spore-forming bacterium Francisella tularensis, patients with tularemia show signs and symptoms that include the abrupt onset of fever, chills, headache, generalized myalgia, nonproductive cough, dyspnea, and empyema. Pneumonia can develop, causing chest pain and hemoptysis.

Other causes

Chinese restaurant syndrome

This benign condition — a reaction to excessive ingestion of monosodium glutamate, a common additive in Chinese foods — mimics the signs of an acute MI. The patient may complain of retrosternal burning, ache, or pressure; a burning sensation over his arms, legs, and face; a sensation of facial pressure; headache; shortness of breath; and tachycardia.

Drugs

Abrupt withdrawal of a beta-adrenergic blocker can cause rebound angina if the patient has coronary heart disease — especially if he has received high doses for a prolonged period.

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Pulse, absent or weak: Medical causes
(Signs & Symptoms: A 2-in-1 Reference for Nurses)

Aortic aneurysm (dissecting)

When a dissecting aneurysm affects circulation to the innominate, left common carotid, subclavian, or femoral artery, it causes weak or absent arterial pulses distal to the affected area. Absent or diminished pulses occur in 50% of patients with proximal dissection and usually involve the brachiocephalic vessels. Pulse deficits are much less common in patients with distal dissection and tend to involve the left subclavian and femoral arteries. Tearing pain usually develops suddenly in the chest and neck and may radiate to the upper and lower back and abdomen. Other findings include syncope, loss of consciousness, weakness or transient paralysis of the legs or arms, the diastolic mur