Josyann Abisaab on Chest Pains

Chest Pains: A Leading Cause of Er Visits

Josyann AbisaabAccording to AHRQ News and Numbers which is based on data in Emergency Department Visits for Adults in Community Hospitals from Selected States, 2005, chest pains are one of the leading reason that people visit the emergency room.  Chest pains that did not appear to be a heart attack upon examination accounted for 1.6 million visits in 23 states in 2005.

The top four reasons to visit the emergency room, as reported by this study were: sprains and strains (2.4 million visits), bruises and superficial injuries (2 million), abdominal pain (1.7 million), and then chest pains at 1.6 million.  In less than 5% of the cases, the patient was actually admitted to the hospital.

Five additional conditions that were seen a great deal by the emergency room were: back problems (1.4 million), leg and arm open wounds (1.3 million), headaches (1.2 million), nose and throat infections (1.1 million), and skin infections/urinary tract infections (1 million).