Chest pain - is it infarction or not?

The presentation of the chest pain, then, can be a final pathway of a large number of abdominal lesions. What appears to be a indigestion may well prove to be a Myocardial Infarction, or an Heart Attack; what is perceived by the patient to be angina may prove to be indigestion/ the list of possibilities can be narrowed through a careful history and physical examination.

Physical examination may disclose the chest pain to be reproducible with palpation, respiration, or certain motions. History might indicate the chest pain was associated with inhalation of certain vapors, was slow or rapid in onset, or began after a cough or fever. Careful attention should be directed toward family history and the review of major coronary risk factor such as Hypertension, cigarette smoking, obesity, diabetes mellitus, and hypercholesterolemia.

The characteristics of the chest pain are important in developing a differential diagnosis. Patients with chest pain should be questioned regarding several factors relating to their pain:

The chest pain should be described in terms of PQRS as follows:

• Palliative-provocative factors - What makes it better? Worse? What initiates the pain?
  
• Quality - pressure, sharp, dull, aching, squeezing, burning, tearing
  
• Region and radiation - where does it starts? Does it irradiate? Where?
  
• Severity - is it severe, mild or moderate?
  
• Timing - does it start right away? Is it intermittent or continuous? Is there a lag period? How long does it last?
  

Also, I thought you may be interested in reading also the symptoms of the chest pain