Noncardiac chest pain: the role of the cardiologist--a national survey.
BACKGROUND
The current assumption is that noncardiac chest pain (NCCP) patients diagnosed by a cardiologist are commonly referred to a gastroenterologist for further evaluation. Thus far, there are no studies that assess the clinical approach and referral patterns of cardiologists when evaluating subjects with NCCP.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the extent of involvement of cardiologists in the management of NCCP patients.


METHODS
Cardiologists were randomly selected from the American College of Cardiology national membership list and sent a 20-item questionnaire that included demographic information, characteristics of practice, preferences of diagnostic tests, referral patterns, and treatment plans.


RESULTS
A total of 246 (33%) cardiologists returned the questionnaire. A mean of 12.6% of patients were diagnosed with NCCP and 45.5% were treated by a cardiologist in the past 6 months. Of the NCCP patients that were referred, most ended up in the primary care physician clinic (45.9%) followed by gastroenterologist clinic (29.3%). Most cardiologists are either comfortable (35%) or very comfortable (43.1%) in diagnosing NCCP. Proton pump inhibitors (44.9%), lifestyle modifications (28.7%), and H2 blockers (11.8%) are the three most commonly used therapeutic modalities for NCCP.


CONCLUSIONS
Cardiologists manage about half of the diagnosed NCCP patients by themselves. Of those NCCP patients that are referred, cardiologists prefer to send them to a primary care physician rather than a gastroenterologist.
Wong
Wai-Man
WM
Neuro-Enteric Clinical Research Group, Section of Gastroenterology, Southern Arizona VA Health Care System, 3601 South Sixth Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85723, USA.
Risner-Adler
Sara
S
Beeler
Joy
J
Habib
Sara
S
Bautista
Jimmy
J
Goldman
Steven
S
Fass
Ronnie
R
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002309:Cardiology; D002637:Chest Pain / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005762:Gastroenterology; D005764:Gastroesophageal Reflux / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D008875:Middle Aged; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D010819:Physician's Role; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology