Chest Pain Center - Palo Alto, 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 PainSmoking (How to Quit Smoking) » Smoking and quitting smoking facts
Other Related Chest Pain ArticlesEmergency Contact for Palo Alto
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