https://paulnystrom.com/tags/chest-pain/Recent content in Chest Pain on Paul NystromHugoen-usWed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://paulnystrom.com/posts/persistent-and-severe-pain/Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://paulnystrom.com/posts/persistent-and-severe-pain/<p>Pain is a frequent complaint that brings patients to the ER. Abdominal and chest pain are some of the most common. I often get asked by patients, usually at the end of a negative abdominal or chest pain workup, when they should come back.</p> <p>This is difficult to answer. The older the patient and the more chronic medical problems they have, the higher the chance that something significant is causing their symptoms. The younger and healthier they are, the lower the chance, but diseases and disasters don’t exclude anyone 100%. Everyone knows a story of someone, often young, dropping dead with no warning. Is it likely when you are young and healthy that you can ignore most symptoms? Yes, but there are no guarantees.</p>https://paulnystrom.com/posts/ekgs-in-the-er/Sat, 13 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000https://paulnystrom.com/posts/ekgs-in-the-er/<p>When you go to the ER with chest pain, you enter a generally well-functioning system that prioritizes you. You will almost always have an EKG done within 10 minutes. This is not a guarantee, but it’s a standard metric that most emergency departments strive to meet.</p> <p>So, when you present at triage, you’ll likely be escorted to a private-enough area where a nurse or technician will perform the EKG. If the department is busy, you may then be sent back to the waiting room until a provider can speak with you or an actual treatment room becomes available. If you’re fortunate enough to be placed directly into a room, you might still wait a while for the EKG results or for a provider to discuss them with you.</p>https://paulnystrom.com/posts/everything-is-negative/Sat, 13 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000https://paulnystrom.com/posts/everything-is-negative/<p>Patients often arrive with various ideas about their condition—drawn from personal worries, discussions with others, or online searches like Google. As a doctor, it may seem unnecessary to explicitly name conditions I know from the start are unlikely or absent. However, listing the specific things I ruled out can be valuable. It reassures patients that I took their concerns seriously, demonstrates that I thoroughly evaluated them, and builds trust and goodwill.</p>