[Management of the patient presenting chest pain]

A variety of diseases cause chest pain. Some entities such as acute coronary syndrome, aortic dissection, and pulmonary embolism are Life-threatening and immediate medical interventions may be required. Acute coronary syndrome is a disease due to disruption of plaque in coronary arteries. The echocardiography can be utilized to diagnose these situation by detecting wall motion abnormalities. Aortic dissection occurs when a tear in the inner wall of the aorta causes blood to flow between the layers of the wall and force the layers apart. The diagnosis can be made by pointing out the intimal flap by echocardiographic examination. A pulmonary embolism is a sudden blockage in a lung artery, which usually caused by a blood clot in a deep vein thrombosis. The echocardiography can prove the existence of pulmonary hypertension and right ventricular over loading. When one performs echocardiography in patients with chest pain in the emergency room, it is important to observe patient's condition, physical findings, and the electrocardiogram. The life-threatening diseases such as acute coronary syndrome, aortic dissection and pulmonary embolism should be considered in the first. If these lethal diseases are ruled out, every possibility including diseases other than cardiovascular disease must be considered. In the emergency echocardiography, incomplete knowledge and skills may lead misdiagnosis and patient's life is threatened. Thus, expert sonographer should perform the examination. The most important issue is to save the patients not to complete the echocardiographic study in this situation.