Chest Pain

Acute myocardial infarction is the medical term for a heart attack. A heart attack is a life threatening condition causing an abrupt stoppage of blood flow to the heart. Diagnosis of a heart attack has to be made quickly to prevent further damage or death. Patients usually get medical attention when they experience chest pain. Many patients assume the chest pain is from indigestion or acid peptic symptoms. These patients waste time with antacids. Chest pain may be accompanied with vomiting, sweating and breathlessness. It is known that 15-20% of heart attacks can be painless especially in diabetics and elderly. Severe chest pain can be caused by several other issues and it needs to be ruled out to receive proper treatment. Five known causes for chest pain are pericarditis, aortic
Pericarditis causes a steady pain that is relieved by sitting forward. Aortic dissection is an abrupt severe chest pain and changes location with the maximum intensity at the onset. Chest pain is caused by either distention of the pulmonary artery and right ventricular ischemia in pulmonary embolism. Patients that have gastrointestinal reflux disease may experience burning pain associated with prone positions. Musculoskeletal diseases can produce chest pain during movement or palpation. Since there are several possibilities for chest pain, tests can be performed to identify the cause of the pain. Medical personnel will ask questions regarding family history and physical examinations. An electrocardiogram is the initial test performed. Tall T waves and ST elevation are present within minutes of chest pain. If Q waves appear, it is an indication of myocardial necrosis. Electrocardiogram can determine where the infarction happened. Another test performed is an echocardiography. This test is helpful during chest pain and it helps diagnosis a heart attack. An echocardiography helps