Lecture 16- Chest pain Flashcards
Chest pain is a common presenting complaint it can be
life-threatening to non-urgent.
diagnosis is based on
- History (most important)
- Reach differential diagnosis
- Clinical examination
- Compliments history
- Investigations
- Full blood count- infection
- Troponin I/T- cardiac event
- Informed by history and clinical exam
History taken
Site: location of the pain and if it radiates
Quality: How the pain feels (e..g sharp or dull)
Intensity: effect on patient, severity score
Timing: when it started, sudden or gradual onset
Aggravating factors: What makes a pain worse
Relieving factors: what makes pain better
Secondary symptoms: Other symptoms
causes of chest pain
respiratory
cardiac
GI
MSK
respiratory causes of chest pain
- Pneumonia
- Pulmonary embolism
- Pneumothorax
If it starts to involve the pleura
–> Pleuritic pain
Pleuritic pain
- Sharp
- Well localised (pt can point at pain)
- Worsens with inspiration, coughing and positional movement (lying on back)
cardiac causes of chest pain
- MI
- Pericarditis- pleuritic pain
- Stable angina
Gastrointestinal
Gastro-oesophageal reflex – burning pain in the middle
Musculoskeletal (MSK)
- Broken rib
- Costochondritis
- Inflammation of the costal cartilage
Chest pain: Cardiac vs Pleuritic
Cardiac (ischaemic) pain
- Heart muscle
- Dull/crushing pain
- Poorly localised (cant point to)
- Worsened by exercise
- May radiate to shoulder and joint
Pleuritic pain
- Sharp
- Often well localised
- Worsens with inspiration, coughing, positional movement
*pericarditis and MSK disorders can make pleuritic pain*
cardiac causes of chest pain
- Non-ischaemic e.g. pericarditis
- Ischaemic and infarction (diseases relating to coronary arteries)
Cardiac (ischaemic pain)
- Pain secondary to pathology involving the heart
- Ischaemic heart disease
- Potentially life threating