OVERVIEW OF THE PROBLEM From 10% to 30% of patients who undergo cardiac catheterization for chest pain are found to have normal epicardial coronary arteries (1,2). These patients are considered to have noncardiac chest pain (NCCP) and many are referred for evaluation of their upper gastrointestinal tract. By extrapolating American data, a conservative estimate for the Canadian incidence of NCCP...

The evaluation of patients with chest pain is a common problem for every cardiologist and one of the most frequent reasons for presentation to the emergency room. After diagnostic evaluation, only 15–25% of patients with chest pain are found to have an acute coronary artery syndrome (ACS). Improved strategies for stress testing, myocardial imaging, and the availability of sensitive biomarkers f...

Introduction: Psychological symptoms of non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP) including perceptual, emotional, and behavioral problems can effect patient perception of chest pain. This study was conducted to determine the effect of metaphor therapy on mitigating depression, anxiety, stress, and pain discomfort in patients with NCCP. Materials and Methods: This randomized, controlled, trial was conducte...

We compare the prevalence of somatization in women and men with NCCP relation to general Swedish population, analyze overlap between somatization, cardiac anxiety, depressive symptoms, explore variables associated somatization. A cross sectional design is implemented data collected late October 2013 early January 2014 from 552 patients (mean age 64 ​± ​17 years, 51% women) four hospitals southe...

Increased psychiatric comorbidity, predominantly anxiety and depressive symptoms, and lower quality of life (QoL) are associated with noncardiac chest pain (NCCP). We aimed to investigate the roles of anxiety and depression in the impaired QoL of NCCP patients in Central China.In this hospital-based cross-sectional study, 200 consecutive patients who complained of chest pain with normal coronar...

BACKGROUND/AIMS In patients with non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is the commonest cause and ambulatory pH is of great value in identifying these patients. However, parameters in the context of predicting therapeutic response are still unknown. By extending the monitoring period, we could better evaluate the best evidence for GERD association. Our aims were ...

BACKGROUND Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is common in patients with noncardiac chest pain (NCCP). Results of studies evaluating the accuracy of a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) treatment as a diagnostic test for GERD-related NCCP have varied. We evaluated the overall accuracy of this modality. METHODS We searched the PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Cochrane databases to May 2004 an...

Despite good physical prognosis, patients who receive a diagnosis of non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP) may experience persistent pain and distress. While cognitive-behavioural interventions have been found to be effective for this group, they are difficult to deliver in busy emergency department (ED) settings. Addressing the acceptability and relevance of self-help interventions is an important ini...

OBJECTIVE This study investigated factors related to health care utilization (HCU) among patients presenting to pediatric cardiologists with symptoms of chest pain later diagnosed as noncardiac chest pain (NCCP). METHODS Participants included 67 children and adolescents diagnosed with NCCP and their parent. Measures of HCU, pain severity, and child self-report and parent self-report of anxiet...