Chest pain without established ischaemic heart disease in primary care patients: associated comorbidities and mortality.
BACKGROUND
Ischaemic heart disease (IHD) can be excluded in the majority of patients with unspecific chest pain. The remainder have what is generally referred to as non-cardiac chest pain, which has been associated with gastrointestinal, neuromusculoskeletal, pulmonary, and psychiatric causes.


OBJECTIVE
To assess morbidity and mortality following a new diagnosis of non-specific chest pain in patients without established IHD.


METHODS
Population-based cohort study with nested case-control analysis.


METHODS
UK primary care practices contributing to the General Practice Research Database.


METHODS
Patients aged 20-79 years with chest pain who had had no chest pain consultation before 2000 and no IHD diagnosis before 2000 or within 2 weeks after the index date were selected from the General Practice Research Database. The selected 3028 patients and matched controls were followed-up for 1 year.


RESULTS
The incidence of chest pain in patients without established IHD was 12.7 per 1000 person-years. In the year following the index date, patients who had chest pain but did not have established IHD were more likely than controls to receive a first IHD diagnosis (hazard ratio [HR] = 18.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 11.6 to 28.6) or to die (HR = 2.3, 95% CI = 1.3 to 4.1). Patients with chest pain commonly had a history of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD; odds ratio [OR] = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.5 to 2.7) or went on to be diagnosed with GORD (risk ratio 4.5, 95% CI = 3.1 to 6.4).


CONCLUSIONS
Patients with chest pain but without established IHD were found to have an increased risk of being diagnosed with IHD. Chest pain in patients without established IHD was also commonly associated with GORD.
Ruigómez
Ana
A
Spanish Centre for Pharmacoepidemiologic Research (CEIFE), Madrid, Spain. aruigomez@ceife.es
Massó-González
Elvira L
EL
Johansson
Saga
S
Wallander
Mari-Ann
MA
García-Rodríguez
Luis A
LA
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002637:Chest Pain / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D005764:Gastroesophageal Reflux / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult