chest pain (medical term, angina pectoris): a symptom of a condition called myocardia ischemia, in which the heart muscle is not receiving enough blood for a given level of activity, resulting in pain in the chest area.

Can be caused by coronary heart disease.

There are many causes of chest pain, principally angina (which results from inadequate oxygen supply to the heart muscle, also caused by coronary artery disease or spasm of the coronary arteries) and heart attack (coronary occlusion). A diagnosis of chest pain upon discharge from the hospital can indicate that the underlying cause of the pain was not discovered during the hospital stay.

see angina.

There are many causes of chest pain. One is angina which results from inadequate oxygen supply to the heart muscle. Angina can be caused by coronary artery disease or spasm of the coronary arteries. Chest pain can also be due to a heart attack (coronary occlusion) and other important diseases such as, for example, dissection of the aorta and a pulmonary embolism. Do not try to ignore chest pain and "work (or play) though it." Chest pain is a warning to seek medical attention.

In medicine, chest pain is a symptom of a number of conditions and is generally considered a medical emergency, unless the patient is a known angina pectoris sufferer and the symptoms are familiar (appearing at exertion and resolving at rest, known as "stable angina"). When the chest pain is not attributed to heart disease, it is termed non-cardiac chest pain.