Chest pain

Chest pain is pain or discomfort in the chest, usually in the front of the chest. It may be sharp or heavy pains. It can be caused by heart-related and non-heart-related problems.^[2] Pain is caused by not enough blood flow to the heart.^[5]

Chest pain
Other names	Pectoralgia, stethalgia, thoracalgia, thoracodynia
Potential location of pain from a heart attack
Medical specialty	Emergency medicine, internal medicine, cardiology
Symptoms	Discomfort in the front of the chest[1]
Types	Cardiac, noncardiac[2]
Causes	Serious: Acute coronary syndrome (including heart attacks), pulmonary embolism, pneumothorax, pericarditis, aortic dissection, esophageal rupture[3] Common: Gastroesophageal reflux disease, psychological problems such as anxiety disorders, depression, stress etc, muscle or skeletal pain, pneumonia, shingles[3]
Diagnostic method	Medical history, physical exam, medical tests[3]
Treatment	Based on the underlying cause[1]
Medication	Aspirin, nitroglycerin[1][4]
Prognosis	Depends on the underlying cause[3]
Frequency	~5% of ER visits[3]