Facial pain of cardiac origin: a case report.
BACKGROUND
Cardiac pain may radiate to the face and lead patients to seek dental care. Dentists may contribute towards the diagnosing of ischemic heart disease and thus refer patients for cardiological evaluation.


METHODS
A 50-year-old female patient was referred to a dentist for evaluation of a suspected temporomandibular disorder after repeated visits to medical emergency departments due to excruciating facial and left temporal pain associated with exertion. The pain would start in the chest and radiate to the neck, face and left temporal region. The patient's chief complaint was the facial pain; hence, she sought dental care. The dental examination revealed an edentulous upper jaw and partially edentulous lower jaw with full upper prosthetic set of teeth and decreased vertical dimension. X-ray of facial bones did not reveal any bone abnormalities. A diagnosis of temporomandibular disorder was made. However, she was referred for cardiological evaluation, since her pain was starting in the chest and because she had a past medical history of surgical treatment for coronary artery disease. A diagnosis of angina pectoris was made, the therapeutic regimen was optimized and her angina was brought under control.
Franco
Ana Carolina de Oliveira
AC
Hospital das Clínicas, Instituto do Coração, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua Capote Valente 668, Pinheiros, CEP 05409-002 São Paulo, Brazil. carolina_of@hotmail.com
Siqueira
José Tadeu Tesseroli de
JT
Mansur
Alfredo José
AJ
D000787:Angina Pectoris / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005157:Facial Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D013705:Temporomandibular Joint Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis