Chest Pain Center - Berkeley, 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 Berkeley
Nearby Berkeley Hospitals * Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Herrick Campus  Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Alta Bates Campus  Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland  Kaiser Permanente Medical Center at Oakland  Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Summit Campus  Alameda County Medical Center Highland Campus  Doctor's Medical Center San Pablo  Alameda Hospital  Chinese Hospital  Saint Francis Memorial Hospital  California Pacific Medical Center Pacific Campus  San Francisco General Hospital  UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion  Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center  California Pacific Medical Center Davies Campus  California Pacific Medical Center California Campus  California Pacific Medical Center East Campus  Kaiser Permanente Walnut Creek Medical Center  St Luke's Hospital  St Mary's Medical Center  Contra Costa Regional Medical Center  VA Northern CA Healthcare System at Martinez  UCSF Medical Center at Parnassus  John Muir Medical Center Walnut Creek Campus  San Leandro Hospital  Kindred Hospital San Francisco Bay Area  Laguna Honda Hospital & Rehabilitation Center  John George Psychiatric Pavilion  Alameda County Medical Center Fairmont Campus  San Francisco VA Medical Center  John Muir Behavioral Health Center  John Muir Medical Center Concord Campus  Marin General Hospital  Eden Medical Center  Kentfield Rehabilitation & Specialty Hospital  Seton Medical Center  St Helena Hospital Center for Behavioral Health  Kaiser Permanente South San Francisco Medical Center  Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center  Kaiser Permanente San Rafael Medical Center  San Ramon Regional Medical Center  Sutter Solano Medical Center  St Rose Hospital  Kaiser Permanente Hayward Medical Center  Mills Hospital  Mills-Peninsula Health Services  Novato Community Hospital  San Mateo Medical Center  ValleyCare Health System Pleasanton  Kaiser Permanente Redwood City Medical Center  Sutter Delta Medical Center  Washington Hospital  Sequoia Hospital  Seton Medical Center Coastside  Fremont Hospital  Telecare Solano Psychiatric Health Facility  Napa State Hospital  Menlo Park Surgical Hospital  NorthBay Medical Center  Valley Memorial Hospital  Lucile Packard Children's Hospital  Stanford Hospital & Clinics  Sonoma Valley Hospital  Queen of the Valley Medical Center  Livermore Division of the VA Palo Alto Healthcare System  VA Palo Alto Health Care System  Petaluma Valley 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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