Chest Pain Treatment & Emergency Care | Astra Hospital, OMR Chennai

Chest Pain Evaluation and Emergency Care

Chest Pain

If chest pain is severe, sudden or lasting more than a few minutes - especially with sweating, breathlessness, nausea or pain spreading to the arm, jaw or back - treat it as an emergency.

Call +91 96771 11775 and come to Astra Speciality Hospital, Semmancheri, immediately. Do not drive yourself. Do not wait to see whether it settles.

Chest Pain Department

Our Treatment Department specializes in providing comprehensive and advanced medical care using the latest clinical techniques and cutting-edge technologies.

Conditions

  • Angina - chest tightness or heaviness brought on by exertion or stress and relieved by rest
  • Heart attack - persistent pain, often with sweating and breathlessness; a medical emergency
  • Pericarditis - sharp pain worse lying flat, easing on sitting forward
  • Aortic dissection - sudden severe tearing pain, often in the back; rare and a true emergency
  • Pulmonary embolism - sudden breathlessness with sharp chest pain
  • Pneumonia and pleurisy - pain worse on deep breathing or coughing
  • Acid reflux and GERD - burning pain behind the breastbone, often after meals
  • Costochondritis and muscle strain - tender to press, worse on movement
  • Panic attack - genuine tightness and palpitations; diagnosed only after cardiac causes are excluded

Treatments & Procedures

We provide rapid assessment and specialized interventions for all types of chest pain to quickly diagnose underlying cardiac or pulmonary issues. Our expert team ensures you receive immediate, life-saving treatments tailored to your specific diagnosis.

  • On arrival

    You are triaged immediately. An ECG is performed straight away, along with pulse, blood pressure and oxygen saturation.

  • Blood tests

    Troponin detects heart muscle damage and may be repeated, because it can be normal very early in a heart attack.

  • Chest X-ray

    Identifies pneumonia, fluid on the lungs, lung collapse and other non-cardiac causes.

  • Echocardiography

    An ultrasound of the heart assessing pumping function, valves and evidence of prior damage.

  • Treadmill test

    Where the story suggests exertional angina but resting tests are normal, an exercise ECG can reveal narrowing that appears only under load.

  • What happens next

    Most patients with a non-cardiac cause go home the same day with a clear explanation. Nobody is sent home with unexplained chest pain simply because the first test was normal.

Heart Pain or Acidity? How to Tell - and Why You Shouldn't Rely on It

More typical of a cardiac causeMore typical of acidity or muscular pain
CharacterPressure, heaviness, squeezingBurning, sharp, stabbing
TriggerExertion, climbing stairs, stressMeals, spicy food, lying down
ReliefRest or prescribed nitrate medicationAntacids, sitting upright
SpreadLeft arm, jaw, neck, upper backUsually stays in one place
Associated withSweating, nausea, breathlessnessBelching, sour taste, tenderness on pressing

Now the important caveat. This table describes tendencies, not rules. Plenty of heart attacks present atypically - particularly in women, in adults over 65 and in people with diabetes. If you are consulting a table to decide whether to go to hospital, the safer answer is to go. An ECG takes minutes and is available at Astra on arrival. Related care: cardiology, lung and breathing conditions and acid reflux and gastritis.

Frequently asked questions

Go to emergency if the pain is sudden, severe, lasting more than a few minutes or accompanied by sweating, breathlessness, nausea or pain spreading to the arm or jaw. When you are unsure, choose emergency.

You shouldn't. In a heart attack, heart muscle dies progressively from the moment the artery blocks. Waiting to see is the most common and most costly mistake.

Yes. Intermittent chest discomfort brought on by exertion and relieved by rest is a classic pattern of angina and it often precedes a heart attack by days or weeks.

Yes. Indians develop coronary disease earlier than most other populations and heart attacks in the thirties and forties are increasingly common. Age is not a reason to dismiss chest pain.

Yes. Astra's emergency department operates 24 hours, every day and chest pain is triaged as a priority at any hour. Call +91 96771 11775.

In an emergency? Need help now?

Our emergency team is available around the clock to provide immediate medical attention for critical conditions. Call us or visit Astra Speciality Hospital for urgent care.

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