Chest Pain Center - Boston, MA
WebMD Physician DirectoryBoston, MassachusettsWith many colleges and universities within the city and surrounding area, Boston is a center of higher education and a center for medicine. The city's economy is also based on research, electronics, engineering, finance, and high technology - principally biotechnology. Boston ranks first in the country in jobs per square mile ahead of New York City and Washington, D.C. The city has been experiencing gentrification and has one of the highest costs of living in the United States, and it remains high on world livability rankings. Upcoming Local Events2012-05-26
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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 Boston
Nearby Boston Hospitals * Shriners Hospitals for Children Boston Burn Hospital  Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary  Massachusetts General Hospital  Tufts New England Medical Center  Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital  M I T Medical  Boston Medical Center  Cambridge Hospital  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center  Youville Hospital and Rehabilitation Center  Children's Hospital Boston  Brigham & Women's Hospital  Dana Farber Cancer Institute  New England Baptist Hospital  Arbour HRI Hospital  Lawrence F Quigley Memorial Hospital  Radius Specialty Hospital Boston  Somerville Hospital  VA Boston Healthcare System Jamaica Plain Campus  Whidden Memorial Hospital  Arbour Hospital  Mount Auburn Hospital  Kindred Hospital Boston  Franciscan Hospital for Children  Caritas St Elizabeth's Medical Center  Lemuel Shattuck Hospital  Massachusetts Mental Health Center  Faulkner Hospital  Lawrence Memorial Hospital  Caritas Carney Hospital  Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for the Aged  Bournewood Hospital  Melrose Wakefield Hospital  McLean Hospital  Milton Hospital  Quincy Medical Center  Winchester Hospital  VA Boston Healthcare System West Roxbury Campus  HEALTHSOUTH New England Rehabilitation Hospital  Newton Wellesley Hospital  North Shore Medical Center  Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital Needham  Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital  Lahey Clinic Medical Center  Massachusetts Hospital School  Salem Hospital & the Birthplace  North Shore Children's Hospital  Shaughnessy-Kaplan Rehabilitation Hospital  Kindred Hospital Boston North Shore  Kindred Specialty Hospital Braintree  Westwood Lodge Hospital  South Shore Hospital  Caritas Norwood Hospital  Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital  New England Sinai Hospital & Rehabilitation Center  Kindred Specialty Hospital Natick  MetroWest Medical Center Leonard Morse Hospital  Emerson Hospital  Beverly Hospital  Kindred Specialty Hospital Stoughton  Caritas Good Samaritan Medical Center  Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital  MetroWest Medical Center Framingham Union Hospital  Tewksbury Hospital  Boston VA Healthcare System Brockton  Isham Health Center  Pembroke Hospital  Saints Medical Center  Baldpate Hospital  Lowell General Hospital  HC Solomon Mental Health Center  Lawrence General Hospital  UMass Memorial Marlborough Hospital  Caritas Holy Family Hospital and Medical Center  Addison Gilbert 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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