Emergency department and office-based evaluation of patients with chest pain.

ABSTRACT: The management of patients with chest pain is a common and challenging clinical problem. Although most of these patients do not have a life-threatening condition, the clinician must distinguish between those who require urgent management of a serious problem such as acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and those with more benign entities who do not require admission. Although clinical judgment continues to be paramount in meeting this challenge, new diagnostic modalities have been developed to assist in risk stratification. These include markers of cardiac injury, risk scores, early stress testing, and noninvasive imaging of the heart. The basic clinical tools of history, physical examination, and electrocardiography are currently widely acknowledged to allow early identification of low-risk pati

SUBMITTER: Kontos MC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2843115 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature