Never Underestimate Atypical Chest Pain
There is a term used to indicate a condition in
which a person does not experience the classic symptoms of angina is called atypical chest pain. there is
association with atypical symptoms of heart problems as well as non cardiac. When
you feeling of pressure or squeezing chest pain that is usually felt when the
activity that in medical terms is referred to as stable angina. Angina is the
most common symptom of coronary artery disease, which is a heart condition
characterized by a reduced supply of oxygenated blood to the heart. a person can be said to suffer
from atypical chest pain when the
pain experienced by the patient does not have the attributes of atypical angina.
Unlike the atypical
chest pain, which is brought about by physical exertion, and is felt under
the breastbone, it may not be felt under the sternum and may also radiate to
other regions. Seen
from the number
of cases is
believed that men
were more likely
to experience typical
chest pain during
a heart attack than
women. In case of a typical
heart attack, chest pain is experienced towards the left section of the chest,
and usually radiates to the left shoulder and arm, jaw, and the back. When the
pain is radiating to other regions and other symptoms are experienced, one is
said to be experiencing atypical symptoms.
Atypical Chest Pain symptoms
There may be mild to moderate chest pain, followed by profuse sweating and when a person gets heart attack, the pain may spread to back or even left shoulder shortly. Chest pain originating from other causes may have similar symptoms with discomfort feeling in the chest.
Atypical Chest Pain Causes
Contrary to many people’s belief, heart attack is not the only cause behind chest pain. There are many moderate to serious condition which may cause chest pain.
Heart attack occurs when normal blood flow is disrupted or when the arteries get blocked. It may cause severe chest pain and people who are obese, smoke, drink and having diabetic are more prone to heart attack.
Angina is a condition in which there is there is not sufficient supply of oxygen to the heart through blood-flow. It can be because of any reason like blockage in blood vessels or narrowing of blood vessels.
This may cause atypical chest pain but it is not life threatening. Some people may get angina while doing exercises and during heightened emotions which will fade away when they rest for a while.
Atypical chest pain is also caused by aortic dissection (tear in the lining of aorta), pulmonary embolism, and due to collapsed lung. Rarely when there is a hole in the wall of Gastrointestinal (GI) tract, it may cause chest pain. Pulmonary embolism is caused due to obesity, fracture or even sedentary lifestyle.
Atypical Chest Pain Treatment
Currently more number
of patients as well as the physicians are aware
of the looming epidemic of CAD. The other major reason is the lack of application
of mind during foirst clinical appraisal and examination. Many of
the patients with non cardiac chest pain (Muscle, nerve , pleura )
are termed as atypical chest pain. Though some of the popular texts use
atypical chest pain and non cardiac chest pain interchangeably , it
is not correct to do so. For
example don’t ever label a patient with chest pain with chest wall
tenderness as atypical chest pain and order a cardiac work up .It
is a poor model to emulate , that consumes time and resources!.Instead they should be diagnosed a confident
non cardiac chest pain and dealt properly.
They should get a complete
physical examination,ECG, and undergo exercise stress test. In the
screening of CAD , angina can be termed a hard sign, atypical chest
pain is a soft sign, resting ECG is surprisingly a soft sign again
(unless you record it during chest pain). Exercise stress testing is
the ideal investigation in evaluation of chest pain.( 70-80%
accuracy). This can be improved upon by Thallium, SPECT, stress echo etc. As of
now coronary angiogram is considered the ultimate gold standard (Not pure gold
!) to rule out CAD.
You can read my other guide on Pain Behind Knee
No comments:
Post a Comment