Approach to Chest Pain

Clinical factors that INCREASE likelihood of ACS/AMI:

  • CP radiating bilaterally > right > left
  • Diaphoresis associated with CP
  • N/V associated with CP
  • Pain with exertion

Clinical factors that DECREASE likelihood of ACS/AMI:
Chest pain that is:

  • Pleuritic
  • Positional
  • Sharp, stabbing
  • Reproducible with palpation

The Heart Score

  • The risk of ACS in patients with negative biomarkers and normal ECGs approaches 0.2%.
  • Prior risk scores, such as TIMI and GRACE, provide little, if any benefit, in risk stratification for ED chest pain patients.
  • The HEART score and pathway can risk stratify patients into three separate categories: low (0-3), moderate (4-6), and high score (> 7).
  • Low-risk patients on the HEART pathway demonstrate likelihood of ACS that approaches < 1%, and it is easy to use in the ED.
  • Risk factors, history, ECG, troponin, follow up, gestalt, patients with points 3 or 4, and research design are areas of potential weakness.
  • Further improvement of the HEART pathway at this time is difficult, but in patients at moderate risk, CCTA may hold promise for evaluation of risk. This requires further study.

 

NSAIDS increase risk of Heart Attacks

A cohort of 446 763 individuals including 61 460 with acute myocardial infarction was acquired. Taking any dose of NSAIDs for one week, one month or more than a month was associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction. With use for one to seven days, the probability of increased myocardial infarction risk (posterior probability of odds ratio >1.0) was 92% for celecoxib, 97% for ibuprofen, and 99% for diclofenac, naproxen, and rofecoxib. The corresponding odds ratios (95% credible intervals) were 1.24 (0.91 to 1.82) for celecoxib, 1.48 (1.00 to 2.26) for ibuprofen, 1.50 (1.06 to 2.04) for diclofenac, 1.53 (1.07 to 2.33) for naproxen, and 1.58 (1.07 to 2.17) for rofecoxib. Greater risk of myocardial infarction was documented for the higher dose of NSAIDs. With use for longer than one month, risks did not appear to exceed those associated with shorter durations.