Acute Medicine | Cardiovascular | Differential diagnosis investigation and treatment of chest pain in pregnancy

Differential Diagnosis Investigation and Treatment of Chest Pain in Pregnancy
Session Overview
Description
This session looks at the causes of chest pain in pregnant women. It covers how to differentiate and investigate the pain as well as how to treat the causes, concentrating predominantly on thromboembolism, ischaemic heart disease and dissection.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Identify the common causes of chest pain in pregnancy and know how to identify women at risk of such conditions
• Differentiate between the common causes based on clinical history and examination
• Describe how to manage investigations in a pregnant women with chest pain appropriately and safely
• Explain how to treat a woman who is both presumed to have and diagnosed with pulmonary thromboembolic disease

Chest pain commonly presents in pregnancy and whilst most causes are benign, it is important to diagnose the more severe causes and manage them appropriately. Some causes are potentially fatal to both mother and baby and prompt recognition is paramount in treating the problem and optimising outcome.

This session looks at each of these in turn and describes the investigations which both distinguish and diagnose each condition.

In particular, the session will review which diagnostic tests can be falsely positive in pregnancy and explain which imaging modalities can be safely used in pregnancy.