Chest Pain Center - Framingham, MA
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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 Framingham
Nearby Framingham Hospitals * MetroWest Medical Center Framingham Union Hospital  Kindred Specialty Hospital Natick  MetroWest Medical Center Leonard Morse Hospital  Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital Westborough  UMass Memorial Marlborough Hospital  Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital Needham  Newton Wellesley Hospital  Westborough State Hospital  Westwood Lodge Hospital  Milford Regional Medical Center  VA Boston Healthcare System West Roxbury Campus  Caritas Norwood Hospital  Emerson Hospital  Bournewood Hospital  McLean Hospital  Caritas St Elizabeth's Medical Center  Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for the Aged  Franciscan Hospital for Children  Faulkner Hospital  Kindred Hospital Boston  Arbour Hospital  Arbour HRI Hospital  Mount Auburn Hospital  VA Boston Healthcare System Jamaica Plain Campus  Lemuel Shattuck Hospital  Massachusetts Mental Health Center  Brigham & Women's Hospital  New England Baptist Hospital  Dana Farber Cancer Institute  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center  Children's Hospital Boston  Massachusetts Hospital School  Radius Specialty Hospital Boston  Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital  Youville Hospital and Rehabilitation Center  Cambridge Hospital  Milton Hospital  Somerville Hospital  Lahey Clinic Medical Center  UMass Memorial Clinton Hospital  M I T Medical  UMass Memorial Medical Center University Campus  Boston Medical Center  Caritas Carney Hospital  HEALTHSOUTH New England Rehabilitation Hospital  Worcester State Hospital  Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary  Lawrence Memorial Hospital  Massachusetts General Hospital  Shriners Hospitals for Children Boston Burn Hospital  Tufts New England Medical Center  New England Sinai Hospital & Rehabilitation Center  Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital  UMass Memorial Medical Center Memorial Campus  Landmark Medical Center  Adcare Hospital of Worcester  St Vincent Hospital at Worcester Medical Center  Winchester Hospital  Quincy Medical Center  Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital  Kindred Specialty Hospital Stoughton  Whidden Memorial Hospital  Rehabilitation Hospital of Rhode Island  Lawrence F Quigley Memorial Hospital  Fairlawn Rehabilitation Hospital  Caritas Good Samaritan Medical Center  Melrose Wakefield Hospital  Nashoba Valley Medical Center  Kindred Specialty Hospital Braintree  Boston VA Healthcare System Brockton  Sturdy Memorial Hospital  Arbour-Fuller Hospital  South Shore Hospital  Tewksbury Hospital  HealthAlliance Hospital Leominster Campus 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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