Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine (Mar 2024)

54-year-old Woman with Chest Pain

  • Zachary R. Wynne,
  • Kami M. Hu,
  • Laura J. Bontempo,
  • J. David Gatz

DOI
https://doi.org/10.5811/cpcem.1666
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 2
pp. 83 – 89

Abstract

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Chest pain is a common presentation to the emergency department (ED) that can be caused by a multitude of etiologies. It can be challenging to differentiate life-threatening conditions from more benign causes. A 54-year-old woman presented to the ED complaining of chest pain with dyspnea in the setting of recent blunt trauma. This case offers a thorough yet practical approach to the diagnostic workup of chest pain with dyspnea in the ED setting. The surprising final diagnosis and case outcome are then revealed.