Premium
Understanding and treating pediatric noncardiac chest pain
Author(s) -
Jandasek Barbara
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the brown university child and adolescent behavior letter
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1556-7575
pISSN - 1058-1073
DOI - 10.1002/cbl.30486
Subject(s) - chest pain , medicine , presentation (obstetrics) , physical therapy , surgery
Experiences of pain, especially chest pain, can be not only uncomfortable but also frightening. Among children and adolescents, symptoms of chest pain are relatively common, affecting about one in 10 youth. Chest pain symptoms can vary widely in presentation, in terms of their quality, frequency, severity, and history. When presenting during childhood and adolescence, chest pain rarely signifies a cardiac or health problem. Identifiable causes of chest pain typically are related to underlying pulmonary or gastrointestinal conditions. Less than 5% of pediatric chest pain cases are estimated to be related to actual heart disease. The vast majority of cases of chest pain, estimated at 80% to 85%, are benign and are described as “idiopathic,” with an unknown cause. These cases are generally labeled as noncardiac chest pain (NCCP).