It is well known that non-cardiac chest pain is closely related to gastroesophageal reflux diseases (GERD). Chest pain of esophageal origin can be difficult to distinguish from that caused by cardiac ischemia because the distal esophagus and the heart share a common afferent vagal supply, and GERD can cause episodes of non-cardiac chest pain that resemble ischemic cardiac pain.

Each year, many people seek emergency treatment for unexplained chest pains. A thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, indicates several common factors among those affected, including stress at work, anxiety, depression and a sedentary lifestyle.

If you're committed to fitness, the decision to climb a couple of flights of stairs rather than take the elevator is clear. But if you develop chest pain on the way up, deciding how to treat the symptoms of clogged arteries in your heart is much more complicated.

Chest pain and shortness of breath are common symptoms that send tens of thousands of heart failure (HF) patients into U.S. hospitals each month.

A new study from Duke University Medical Center finds that patients treated solely with medications after suffering from chest pain, heart attack or coronary artery disease are more likely to die during the first year following their initial hospitalization.

A nuclear medicine imaging test was used to confirm that children with respiratory problems may be more likely to develop gastroesophageal reflux disease, according to researchers at SNM's 55th Annual Meeting. The nuclear imaging technique, known as scintigraphy, was also shown to be more effective in detecting the disease in these children than traditional barium X-ray technology.

Eight million Americans visit U.S. emergency departments for chest pain each year. Although just five to 15 percent of them are found to be suffering from heart attacks or other cardiac diseases, more than half of these patients are admitted to the hospital for observation and further testing.

Tears in the aorta which affect thousands of people each year coast to coast, may soon be treated with a much less invasive technique that could dramatically improve patients’ chances of survival.

In the future, patients who arrive at a hospital Emergency Department complaining of chest pain may be diagnosed with a sophisticated CT scan. If the diagnosis is negative, the patient can go home—and the total time at the hospital will be much shorter than it is today.

Computed tomography (CT) angiography is as accurate as an invasive angiogram in detecting coronary artery disease, according to the findings of the first two prospective multicenter 64-slice scanner trials presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

Research will be reported at TCT 2007, the annual scientific symposium of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), that demonstrates that early intervention saves lives in women who have a heart attack or unstable chest pain.

Many people may not realize that symptoms such as chronic cough or chest pain can be caused by acid reflux into the esophagus, because they do not experience classic heartburn symptoms or acid regurgitation.