Question
What are the 5 main life-threatening causes of chest pain?
Answer
The 5 main life-threatening causes of chest pain you should ALWAYS think of are:
- Acute Myocardial Infarction
- Pulmonary Thromboembolism
- Pneumothorax (risk of tension)
- Pericarditis (risk of tamponade)
- Aortic Dissection
There are a few others that should also cross your mind:
- Esophageal Rupture (Boerhaave’s Syndrome)
- Acute Chest Syndrome in Sickle Cell patients
- Unstable angina
References
- The Five Deadly Causes of Chest Pain Other than Myocardial Infarction. JEMS. 2017
- Chest Pain. Life in The Fastlane.
- Woods WA, Young JS, Just JS. Emergency Medicine Recall. 2000.