Chest pain in the dental surgery: a brief review and practical points in diagnosis and management

If a dental patient develops chest pain it must always be managed promptly and properly, i.e., the practitioner immediately stops the procedure and, being aware of the patient's medical history, questions the patient regarding the nature of the pain to help determine the likely diagnosis. It will most likely be a manifestation of coronary artery disease (synonymous with ischaemic heart disease), i.e., angina pectoris or acute myocardial infarction, most usually the former. Angina will usually resolve with proper intervention whereas up to about one-half of myocardial infarction cases will develop cardiac arrest, mostly in the first few hours, and this will be fatal in up to two-thirds of cases. As health care professionals, dental practitioners have an inherent duty of care to be able to initiate appropriate care if such a medical emergency occurs.