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Some of the first tests a health care provider may order when diagnosing the cause of chest pain include: Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG). This quick test measures the electrical activity of the heart. Sticky patches called electrodes are placed on the chest and sometimes the arms and legs.
Chest pain appears in many forms, ranging from a sharp stab to a dull ache. Sometimes chest pain feels crushing or burning. In certain cases, the pain travels up the neck and into the jaw and then spreads to the back or down one or both arms.
Though chest pain duration and timing can provide clues to its cause, determining the cause without testing is difficult. Seeking immediate medical care for possible life-threatening situations—like new chest pain that could be a sign of a heart attack—is essential.
Chest pain is a frequent cause for emergency department visits in the United States. The “2021 AHA/ACC/ASE/CHEST/SAEM/SCCT/SCMR Guideline for the Evaluation and Diagnosis of Chest Pain” provides recommendations based on contemporary evidence on the assessment and evaluation of chest pain.
Chest pain is a pain or discomfort in any area of your chest. It may spread to other areas of your upper body, including down your arms or into your neck or jaw. Chest pains can be sharp or dull. You may feel tightness or achiness. Or you may feel like something is crushing or squeezing your chest.
Your doctor might treat chest pain with medication, noninvasive procedures, surgery, or a combination of these methods. Treatment depends on the cause and severity of your chest pain.
Pain in the chest can cause anxiety and worry. But, while some causes are severe, such as heart attacks, many of the potential causes are less worrisome. Learn more here.
Overview. What is noncardiac chest pain? Noncardiac chest pain is defined as recurring pain in your chest — typically, behind your breast bone and near your heart — that’s not related to your heart. In most people, noncardiac chest pain is actually related to a problem with their esophagus, most often gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
The ACC/AHA Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines has commissioned this guideline to focus on the evaluation of acute or stable chest pain or other anginal equivalents, in various clinical settings, with an emphasis on the diagnosis on ischemic causes.
Diagnosis. All chest pain should be checked out by a health care professional. He or she will want to find out if it's angina and if it is, whether the angina is stable or unstable. If it's unstable, you may need emergency medical treatment to try to prevent a heart attack.