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Chest Pain Center - Watsonville, CA

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Watsonville, California

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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...

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Emergency Contact for Watsonville

  • In case of Emergency, call 911

Nearby Watsonville Hospitals *

Watsonville Community Hospital
75 Nielson St
Watsonville, CA 95076
(831)724-4741

Saint Louise Regional Hospital
9400 No Name Uno
Gilroy, CA 95020
(408)848-2000

Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center
2900 Chanticleer Ave
Santa Cruz, CA 95065
(831)477-2200

Dominican Hospital
1555 Soquel Dr
Santa Cruz, CA 95065
(831)462-7700

Natividad Medical Center
1441 Constitution Blvd
Salinas, CA 93906
(831)755-4111

Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System
450 E Romie Ln
Salinas, CA 93901
(831)757-4333

Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital
911 Sunset Dr
Hollister, CA 95023
(831)637-5711

Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center
250 Hospital Pkwy
San Jose, CA 95119
(408)972-7000

Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula
23625 Holman Hwy
Monterey, CA 93940
(831)624-5311

Good Samaritan Hospital Mission Oaks
15891 Los Gatos Almaden Rd
Los Gatos, CA 95032
(408)356-4111

Good Samaritan Hospital San Jose
2425 Samaritan Dr
San Jose, CA 95124
(408)559-2011

El Camino Hospital of Los Gatos
815 Pollard Rd
Los Gatos, CA 95032
(408)378-6131

Santa Clara Valley Medical Center
751 S Bascom Ave
San Jose, CA 95128
(408)885-5000

O'Connor Hospital
2105 Forest Ave
San Jose, CA 95128
(408)947-2500

Regional Medical Center of San Jose
225 N Jackson Ave
San Jose, CA 95116
(408)259-5000

Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center
700 Lawrence Expy
Santa Clara, CA 95051
(408)851-1000

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