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Chest Pain Center - Pittsfield, MA

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Pittsfield, Massachusetts

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Chest Pain

Introduction

Chest 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:

  • the chest wall including the ribs, the muscles, and the skin;
  • the back including the spine, the nerves, and the back muscles;
  • the lung, the pleura (the lining of the lung) or the trachea;
  • the heart including the pericardium (the sac that surrounds the heart);
  • the aorta;
  • the esophagus;
  • the diaphragm, the flat muscle that separates the chest and abdominal cavities;
  • referred pain from abdominal organs like the stomach, gallbladder, and pancreas.

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 Pain

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Emergency Contact for Pittsfield

  • In case of Emergency, call 911

Nearby Pittsfield Hospitals *

Berkshire Medical Center
725 North St
Pittsfield, MA 01201
(413)447-2000

BMC Hillcrest Campus
165 Tor Ct
Pittsfield, MA 01201
(413)443-4761

Austen Riggs Center
25 Main St
Stockbridge, MA 01262
(413)298-5511

Fairview Hospital
29 Lewis Ave
Great Barrington, MA 01230
(413)528-0790

North Adams Regional Hospital
71 Hospital Ave
North Adams, MA 01247
(413)664-5000

Samaritan Hospital
2215 Burdett Ave
Troy, NY 12180
(518)271-3300

Southwestern Vermont Medical Center
100 Hospital Dr
Bennington, VT 05201
(802)442-6361

Albany Memorial Hospital
600 Northern Blvd
Albany, NY 12204
(518)471-3221

St Mary's Hospital Troy
1300 Massachusetts Ave
Troy, NY 12180
(518)268-5000

Northampton VA Medical Center
421 N Main St
Leeds, MA 01053
(413)584-4040

Stratton VA Medical Center at Albany
113 Holland Ave
Albany, NY 12208
(518)626-5000

Albany Medical Center
43 New Scotland Ave
Albany, NY 12208
(518)262-3125

Albany Medical Center South Clinical Campus
25 Hacket Blvd
Albany, NY 12208
(518)262-1200

Capital District Psychiatric Center
75 New Scotland Ave
Albany, NY 12208
(518)447-9611

Columbia Memorial Hospital
71 Prospect Ave
Hudson, NY 12534
(518)828-7601

St Peter's Hospital
315 S Manning Blvd
Albany, NY 12208
(518)525-1550

Cooley Dickinson Hospital
30 Locust St
Northampton, MA 01060
(413)582-2000

Noble Hospital
115 W Silver St
Westfield, MA 01086
(413)568-2811

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