Published on Jan 03, 2019 - 2 min read
Abstract
Many people fear chest pain of any type because they think it may be a heart attack. In this article, I have described when a chest pain should be taken seriously and when it should not.
Chest pain is very fearsome for common people due to its association with a heart attack. No doubt, chest pain should be taken seriously especially in old age and in those with risk factors for heart attack such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, etc. But remember one thing that all chest pains are not due to heart and all heart attacks do not necessarily produce chest pain. So, knowledge about chest pain is essential for every individual.
In this article, I am going to tell you when chest pain should and when should not be taken seriously. First, let us see the common characteristics of heart attack pain and heart attack patients:
Such type of pain should be taken seriously in all patients but especially in following patients:
In these patients, any type of chest pain should be taken seriously and should rush to the emergency department of a hospital for evaluation.
Now, let us see which type of pain is usually not cardiac pain:
Such type of chest pain is usually, but not always, noncardiac, especially in following people:
So, now you know when and in which people, chest pain should be taken seriously and should reach an ER without delay.
Above information, though applicable for about 90 % of patients, cannot be generalized. So, it does not replace proper history and physical examination by registered physician or doctor and should not be used for self-assessment of any patient with chest pain.
Last reviewed at:
03 Jan 2019 - 2 min read
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Cardiology
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