Quality of Chest Pain According to Causal Diseases and Description of Chest Pain in Patients with Coronary Artery Diseases in Emergency Departments

응급실을 내원한 흉통 환자의 원인질환에 따른 흉통의 질 및 관상동맥질환자의 흉통 표현

Purpose: The purpose was to identify quality of chest pain according to causal diseases and pain expression of patients with coronary artery diseases. Method: Participants were 1,964 patients with pain who visited the emergency department of A hospital from January to December 2006. Data were collected from nurses' and doctors' records as to causal disease, and quality and expression of chest pain. Results: Causal diseases were coronary artery diseases, non-specific chest pain, respiratory diseases, non-coronary artery heart diseases and digestive diseases in that order of frequency. Every disease except respiratory disease caused mostly dull and tract pain, but 63.7% of patients with coronary artery diseases complained of typical angina pain and 24.9% complained of atypical angina pain. Patients with coronary artery diseases mostly used word 'heaviness' in describing their dull pain, and 'squeezing' for tract pain. Both male and female patients who were diagnosed with coronary artery disease complained mostly frequently of dull pain and tract pain. Conclusion: The most common causal disease for patients with chest pain was coronary artery disease. Patients with other diseases also frequently complained of dull and tract pain, the same as patients with coronary artery diseases. A considerable number of patients complained various types of atypical angina pain in coronary artery diseases.