Chest Pain Center - Alameda, CA
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Chest PainIntroductionChest pain is one of the most common complaints that will bring a patient to the Emergency Department. Seeking immediate care may be lifesaving, and considerable public education has been undertaken to get patients to access medical care when chest pain strikes. While the patient may be worried about a heart attack, there are many other causes of pain in the chest that the healthcare provider will need to consider. Some diagnoses are life threatening, while others are less dangerous. Deciding the cause of chest pain is sometimes very difficult and may require blood tests, x-rays, CT scans and other tests to sort out the diagnosis. Often though, a careful history taken by the healthcare provider may be all that is needed to find the answer.
What are the sources of chest pain?The source of pain may arise from a variety of potential sources:
While each source of chest pain may have a classic presentation of signs and symptoms, there is significant overlap among the symptoms of each condition, and the symptoms may also be affected by age, gender and race.
What are the causes of chest pain?Pain can be caused by almost every structure in the chest. Different organs can produce different types of pain but unfortunately the pain is not specific to each cause. Each of the following ca... Recommended Reading Related to Chest PainWhat is balloon angioplasty?Balloon angioplasty of the coronary artery, or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), was introduced in the late 1970's. PTCA is a non-surgical procedure that relieves narrowing and obstruction of the arteries to the muscle of the heart (coronary arteries). This allows more blood and oxygen to be delivered to the heart muscle. PTCA, is now referred to as percutaneous coronary intervention, or PCI, as this term includes the use of balloons, stents, and atherectomy devices. Percutaneous coronary intervention is accomplished with a small balloon catheter inserted into an artery in the groin or arm, and advanced to the narrowing in the coronary artery. The balloon is then inflated to enlarge the narrowing in the artery. When successful, percutaneous coronary intervention can relieve chest pain of angina, improve the prognosis of individuals with unstable angina, and minimize or stop a heart attack without having the patien... Other Related Chest Pain ArticlesEmergency Contact for Alameda
Nearby Alameda Hospitals * Alameda Hospital  Alameda County Medical Center Highland Campus  Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Summit Campus  Kaiser Permanente Medical Center at Oakland  Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland  Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Alta Bates Campus  San Leandro Hospital  Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Herrick Campus  Kindred Hospital San Francisco Bay Area  John George Psychiatric Pavilion  Alameda County Medical Center Fairmont Campus  San Francisco General Hospital  Chinese Hospital  Saint Francis Memorial Hospital  St Luke's Hospital  Eden Medical Center  California Pacific Medical Center Pacific Campus  California Pacific Medical Center Davies Campus  UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion  Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center  California Pacific Medical Center East Campus  St Mary's Medical Center  California Pacific Medical Center California Campus  UCSF Medical Center at Parnassus  Laguna Honda Hospital & Rehabilitation Center  Kaiser Permanente Hayward Medical Center  St Rose Hospital  Kaiser Permanente South San Francisco Medical Center  Kaiser Permanente Walnut Creek Medical Center  Seton Medical Center  Doctor's Medical Center San Pablo  San Francisco VA Medical Center  Mills Hospital  John Muir Medical Center Walnut Creek Campus  Mills-Peninsula Health Services  San Ramon Regional Medical Center  San Mateo Medical Center  VA Northern CA Healthcare System at Martinez  Contra Costa Regional Medical Center  John Muir Behavioral Health Center  John Muir Medical Center Concord Campus  Kaiser Permanente Redwood City Medical Center  Sequoia Hospital  ValleyCare Health System Pleasanton  Marin General Hospital  Washington Hospital  Kentfield Rehabilitation & Specialty Hospital  Fremont Hospital  Menlo Park Surgical Hospital  Seton Medical Center Coastside  Lucile Packard Children's Hospital  Stanford Hospital & Clinics  Kaiser Permanente San Rafael Medical Center  St Helena Hospital Center for Behavioral Health  Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center  Sutter Solano Medical Center  VA Palo Alto Health Care System  Valley Memorial Hospital  Sutter Delta Medical Center  Livermore Division of the VA Palo Alto Healthcare System  Novato Community Hospital  El Camino Hospital  Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center  Telecare Solano Psychiatric Health Facility  O'Connor Hospital Featured Articles*Provider Directory Terms of Use: The WebMD 'Provider Directory' is provided by WebMD for use by the general public as a quick reference of information about Providers. The Provider Directory is not intended as a tool for verifying the credentials, qualifications, or abilities of any Provider contained therein. Inclusion in the Provider Directory does not imply recommendation or endorsement nor does omission in the Provider Directory imply WebMD disapproval. |
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