Chest Pain

Vascular Cardiology located in Yonkers, Brewster, Bronx and Washington Heights, NY

Chest pain is an alarming symptom that might mean you have heart problems. If you're experiencing chest pain, Sachin Kumar Amruthlal Jain, MD, FACC, RPVI, and the team at Jain Cardiovascular in Brewster and Yonkers, New York, and the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan and the Bedford Park neighborhood in the Bronx, can help. They have state-of-the-art diagnostic facilities on-site and can deliver a range of advanced treatments to address the cause of your chest pain. Call Jain Cardiovascular to schedule a consultation or request an appointment online today.

Chest Pain Q & A

Why do I have chest pain?

If you have chest pain along with symptoms like nausea, trouble breathing, and feeling like your chest is being crushed, it’s possible you’re having a heart attack. This is a medical emergency, and you should call 911.

Fortunately, most causes of chest pain aren’t life-threatening. Many have nothing to do with your heart at all. For example, it may be due to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), pleurisy, gallstones, and panic attacks.

One common type of chest pain is angina. This is a symptom rather than a condition, developing when something’s affecting the delivery of oxygen-rich blood to your heart muscle.

Angina is a common symptom of coronary heart disease (CHD) and coronary microvascular disease (MVD). These conditions develop when the narrowing of your arteries reduces blood flow.

How is chest pain diagnosed?

The first concern when diagnosing chest pain is to determine whether it’s due to an emergency like a heart attack. An electrocardiogram (ECG) that records your heart’s electrical activity is likely to be one of the first tests you have.

Other diagnostic tests you might need to undergo include:

Chest X-ray
Computerized tomography (CT) scan
Doppler and color flow 3D echocardiography
Echocardiogram
Contrast- and bubble-enhanced echocardiogram
Stress echocardiogram
Dobutamine stress echocardiogram
Holter and event monitoring
Cardiac stress test
Nuclear myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI)
Multiple-gated acquisition (MUGA) scan

You might need an angiogram in some circumstances. In this procedure, the Jain Cardiovascular team uses coronary catheterization to access your heart via one of your arteries.

Dr. Jain injects a contrast dye, then uses moving X-ray technology called fluoroscopy to see how well your heart is working.

What are the treatments for chest pain?

Accurate diagnosis is essential to ensure you receive the right treatment for your chest pain. If the cause is heart-related, medications can often help reduce pain and other symptoms. Types of medication include:

Thrombolytic clot-busting drugs
Anticoagulants like warfarin
ACE Inhibitors
Beta-blockers
Calcium-channel blockers
Cholesterol-lowering medicines
Digitalis
Angiotensin II receptor blockers
Antiarrhythmics
Diuretics
Nitrates

If you have narrowed or blocked arteries, you might need to undergo a procedure to widen the blood vessels. Dr. Jain performs advanced, minimally invasive techniques like angioplasty with or without a stent to open your arteries.

Angioplasty involves using a balloon that goes along an artery to the area affected by plaque. Inflating the balloon squeezes the plaque to make more room for blood to flow. A stent (small mesh tube) can help keep the artery open.

To find the cause of your chest pain and ensure you receive optimal care, call Jain Cardiovascular or request an appointment online today.