Cervical angina: an overlooked source of noncardiac chest pain

Walter I Sussman1, Steven A Makovitch1, Shabbir Hussain I Merchant1

  • 1Department of Medicine, Saint Vincent Hospital, Worcester, MA, USA.

The Neurohospitalist
|January 2, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Cervical angina, a cause of chest pain, is often underrecognized. Prompt diagnosis requires awareness of its varied symptoms and clinical findings.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Neurology

Background:

  • Cervical angina is a recognized cause of chest pain.
  • It is frequently underdiagnosed in clinical practice.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To highlight the varied clinical presentations of cervical angina.
  • To emphasize the diagnostic delays and unnecessary cardiac evaluations patients undergo.
  • To improve recognition of cervical angina in patients presenting with acute chest pain.

Main Methods:

  • Case series review.
  • Analysis of clinical presentations.
  • Evaluation of diagnostic pathways.

Main Results:

  • Patients exhibit diverse symptoms and clinical findings.
  • Significant delays in diagnosis are common.
  • Extensive cardiac workups are frequently performed before a correct diagnosis.

Conclusions:

  • Cervical angina requires a high index of suspicion for accurate diagnosis.
  • Clinicians must be aware of the common features of cervical angina.
  • Timely recognition can prevent unnecessary cardiac investigations.

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