First consider and
exclude life-threatening causes:
- Acute myocardial infarction
- Angina/acute coronary
syndrome
- Aortic dissection
- Tension pneumothorax
- Pulmonary embolism
- Oesophageal rupture
Then consider others
potential causes of chest pain:
- Pneumonia
- Gastro-oesophageal reflux
- Pleurisy
- Empyema
- Pericarditis
- Oesophageal spasm
- Herpes zoster
- Cervical spondylitis
- Chest wall pain
- Muscular
- Rib fracture(s)
- Costochondritis
- Intra-abdominal
- Cholecystitis
- Peptic ulceration
- Pancreatitis
- Sickle-cell crisis
Adapted
from the Oxford
Handbook of Clinical Medicine.