What is chest pain?
Chest pain is a concerning symptom that you shouldn’t ignore. While it doesn’t always point to a serious issue, you should consider booking a test at Life Imaging Fla just in case it does. The team conducts tests that can either identify or rule out potential causes for chest pain.
If you experience chest pain, it can take on various characteristics. It might be dull and prolonged or sharp and stabbing.
Since there are many possible causes, you should be as specific as possible while describing your chest pain to your primary care providers, emergency providers, and the screening team at Life Imaging Fla.
What can chest pain indicate?
Chest pain can originate in the heart, lungs, or the portion of your gastrointestinal system located in your chest. It can also arise from soft or hard tissue injuries in the chest region.
The results of the scans available at Life Imaging Fla can help the team narrow down the list of potential injuries or illnesses causing your chest pain. They include:
- Heart attack
- Angina (blood vessel blockages leading to the heart)
- Pericarditis (inflamed sac around the heart)
- Myocarditis (heart muscle inflammation)
- Acid reflux (heartburn)
- Gallstones
- Esophageal disorders
- Pneumonia
- Bronchitis
- Bruised or broken ribs
- Compression fractures
Serious heart issues, which account for about 13% of all emergency room chest pain diagnoses, often come with other symptoms like pain in nearby regions, lightheadedness, or shortness of breath. However, heart issues can also come with no symptoms at all.
Even if you’re not experiencing chest pain, if you’re between ages 45 and 75, you can come in for a free heart screen to assess your risk for heart disease.
How is the cause of chest pain identified?
Life Imaging Fla performs low-dose CT scans to create detailed images of many of your most essential internal organs, like your heart and lungs. These scans give the team the ability to see complications affecting these organs that may cause or contribute to your chest pain.
Ultrasounds and nuclear stress testing cannot adequately identify certain complications, like coronary artery disease. Low-dose CT scans, on the other hand, can show your risks for heart complications while they’re still preventable. These scans don’t require dye or needles, making them quick, comfortable, and accurate.
Lung screening at Life Imaging Fla can identify lung complications causing chest pain or pressure, like emphysema, pneumonia, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This screening test is so detailed and advanced that it can detect lung complications in very early stages, even if they’re as small as 1 millimeter.
If you have chest pain and would like to take advantage of the precise tests and screenings available at Life Imaging Fla, schedule an appointment by phone or request online today.
