chest pain

Last reviewed 01/2018

Various features of chest pain can provide clues to possible underlying pathology.

Features concerning the chest pain that should be elucidated include:

• site
• nature of the pain
• radiation
• precipitating factors
• relieving factors
• associated factors

Note that chest pain is very non-specific symptom and may be the result of a variety of pathologies. A chest pain with classical features may not always be caused by the most usual pathologies. For example classical angina, ie chest pain that is precipitated by exercise and relieved by rest, may be caused by pathologies other than coronary artery disease (e.g. anaemia or left ventricular outflow obstructions such as aortic stenosis and hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy).