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Cardiac chest pain in children

Deniz N Cağdaş1, F Ayşenur Paç

  • 1Section of Pediatric Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, Türkiye Yüksek Ihtisas Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.

Anadolu Kardiyoloji Dergisi : AKD = the Anatolian Journal of Cardiology
|October 13, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Pediatric chest pain (CP) evaluation revealed cardiac diseases in 42.5% of children, with older children having a significantly higher risk. Further investigation is crucial for accurate diagnosis and management of pediatric cardiac conditions.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Cardiology
  • Cardiovascular Diseases in Children
  • Diagnostic Evaluation

Background:

  • Chest pain (CP) is a frequent reason for pediatric hospital referrals, not always indicative of cardiac disease (CD).
  • Understanding the specific causes of cardiac CP in children is essential for appropriate management.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the causes of cardiac chest pain in children.
  • To compare the prevalence and risk of cardiac diseases in different pediatric age groups presenting with chest pain.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional and retrospective study of 120 children admitted with CP to a pediatric cardiology clinic.
  • Evaluation included chest X-ray, electrocardiography, echocardiography, and further tests (Holter, stress test, tilt-table) as needed.
  • Statistical analysis utilized Chi-square test and odds ratios to compare risk between age groups (5-12 and 13-16 years).

Main Results:

  • Cardiac diseases were identified in 42.5% of children with chest pain.
  • Older children (13-16 years) had a significantly higher risk of structural cardiac disease (OR=2.84) and arrhythmias (OR=3.53).
  • The overall risk of cardiac disease was 4.12 times higher in older children compared to younger ones (p<0.0001).

Conclusions:

  • Most children presenting with chest pain were older than 12 years.
  • Cardiac diseases are frequent in children with chest pain, with a substantial proportion directly causing symptoms.
  • Standard diagnostic algorithms and further investigations are necessary for children with chest pain, especially older children due to increased cardiac disease risk.
Abstract

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