Chest pain is pain or discomfort in the chest, typically the front of the chest. It may be described as sharp, dull, pressure, heaviness or squeezing. Associated symptoms may include pain in the shoulder, arm, upper abdomen, or jaw, along with nausea, sweating, or shortness of breath. It can be divided into heart-related and non-heart-related pain. Pain due to insufficient blood flow to the heart is also called angina pectoris. Those with diabetes or the elderly may have less clear symptoms.Serious and relatively common causes include acute coronary syndrome such as a heart attack (31%), pulmonary embolism (2%), pneumothorax, pericarditis (4%), aortic dissection (1%) and esophageal rupture. Other common causes include gastroesophageal reflux disease (30%), muscle or skeletal pain (28%), pneumonia (2%), shingles (0.5%), pleuritis, traumatic and anxiety disorders. Determining the cause of chest pain is based on a persons medical history, a physical exam and other medical tests. About 3% of heart attacks, however, are initially missed.Management of chest pain is based on the underlying cause. Initial treatment often includes the medications aspirin and nitroglycerin. The response to treatment does not usually indicate whether the pain is heart-related. When the cause is unclear, the person may be referred for further evaluation.Chest pain represents about 5% of presenting problems to the emergency room. In the United States, about 8 million people go to the emergency department with chest pain a year. Of these, about 60% are admitted to either the hospital or an observation unit.
Risk scores
The Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events score and the Thrombosis in Myocardial Infarction performed at time of admission may help stratify persons into low, intermediate and high risk groups for acute coronary syndrome. However these scores do not provide management guidelines for risk-stratified persons. The HEART score, stratifies persons into low-risk and high-risk groups, and recommends either discharge or admission based upon the score. Cumulative score:

0-3: 2.5% risk of adverse cardiac event. Patients can be discharged with follow-up. 4-6: 20.3% risk of adverse cardiac event. Patients should be admitted to the hospital for trending of troponin and provocative testing. ≥7: 72.7% risk of adverse cardiac event, suggesting early invasive measures with these patients and close coordination with inpatient cardiology.If acute coronary syndrome ("heart attack") is suspected, many people are admitted briefly for observation, sequential ECGs, and measurement of cardiac enzymes in the blood over time. On occasion, further tests on follow up may determine the cause.