Cardiac Chest Pain Treatment

Treatment for cardiac problems will depend, largely, on the condition from which you suffer. In addition, your doctor will take your overall health as well as your lifestyle into consideration when determining a course of treatment.

In many cases, cardiac problems will respond well to medications and lifestyle changes. In more severe cases, surgery may be required.

In this section, we'll discuss the various methods doctors use to treat both cardiac-related chest pain and non-cardiac-related chest pain. We'll offer information on both the benefits and the possible side effects of each. We'll also give you tips on providing first aid to someone who is having chest pain.

Cardiac vs. Non-Cardiac Treatments

In order to treat chest pain, your doctor must first decide if your chest pain is being caused by a cardiac-related condition, such as a heart attack, or a non-cardiac-related condition, such as a pulled muscle. In order to do this, he will likely ask you to undergo a serious of tests, which may include:

• blood tests
• electrocardiograms (ECG)
• stress tests
• X-rays.

Once he has determined the cause of your symptoms, he will be able to decide the best method of treatment.

For cardiac causes, you doctor may give you such medications as:

• Aspirin: Aspirin inhibits blood clotting and can help blood move properly through narrowed heart arteries. Aspirin is particularly helpful for people who are having heart attacks.
• Beta Blockers: Beta blockers help your heart muscle relax, reduce blood pressure and slow your heart rate.
• Calcium Channel Blockers: These medications help relax the arteries in the heart and can help prevent spasm.
• Nitroglycerin: Often used to treat angina, nitroglycerin temporarily widens blood vessels that have been narrowed, helping blood flow in and out of the heart.

Non-cardiac causes of chest pain include heartburn, panic attack and pinched nerves, among other conditions. If your pain is being caused by heartburn, your doctor may suggest removing certain foods from your diet and taking over-the-counter or prescription stomach acid blockers.

If, however, your symptoms are being caused by pinched nerves, your doctor will likely suggest self-care and patience, as pinched nerves will eventually resolve themselves on their own.

No matter whether your symptoms are caused by cardiac or non-cardiac factors, it is important to take your chest pain seriously and to consult your doctor.

First Aid for Chest Pain

Learning first aid for chest pain is important, as you never know when chest pain will strike you or someone near you. Knowing first aid can help you provide necessary medical care until emergency medical technicians can arrive at your location.

If someone near you is suffering from chest pain, follow these steps:

1. Have the person sit down and tell them to try to remain calm.
2. Loosen any tight clothing.
3. Ask the person if he takes any medication for chest pain. If he does, help him take his medication.
4. If the pain continues after three minutes, call 911.

First aid will differ if the person is unconscious or unresponsive or if the person is an infant of child.

Resources

Mayo Clinic Foundation for Medical Education and Research Staff. (2007). Chest pain. Retrieved October 24, 2007, from the CNN Health Web site: http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/DS/00016.html.

Perez, E. (2006). Heart attack first aid. Retrieved October 24, 2007, from the MedlinePlus Web site: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000063.htm.