Health Management for Older Adults III - Early Evaluation of Patients with Chest Pain -- The Electrocardiogram

< i > Early Evaluation of Patients with Chest Pain -- The Electrocardiogram

What should the physician do next?

Well, in my opinion an electrocardiogram is an essential part of the physical examination. Despite a non-classical presentation, one can still never be certain that cardiac ischemia is not the cause of the patient's symptoms.

Thus I think it is worth to perform an electrocardiogram while the patient is having chest pain. If the electrocardiogram is normal in all 12 leads, it is unlikely that the patient's chest pain is related to myocardial infarction or myocardial ischemia.