What may increase your risk for problems from chest pain?
Many conditions, lifestyle choices, medicines, and diseases interfere with your ability to heal or fight infection. You may be at risk for a more serious problem from your symptoms if you have any of the following. Be sure to tell your doctor.
Conditions
- Bed rest for a few days or longer
- Being a man older than age 35
- Being a woman past menopause
- Being overweight
- Physical inactivity
- Previous medical procedure or surgery to the chest or heart, including angiography
- Recent surgery, especially involving the lower abdomen, pelvis, or legs
- Use of a cast or splint for a long time, especially on a leg
Lifestyle choices
- Alcohol abuse or withdrawal
- Drug abuse or withdrawal (especially cocaine and amphetamines)
- Smoking or other tobacco use
Medicines
- Corticosteroids, such as prednisone
- Estrogen and oral contraceptive use
- Medicines to prevent organ transplant rejection
- Medicines used to treat cancer (chemotherapy)
- Radiation therapy
Diseases
- Bleeding disorders, such as hemophilia and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)
- Blood clotting problems, such as deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism
- Cancer
- Connective tissue disorders, such as lupus and scleroderma
- Coronary artery disease
- Cystic fibrosis
- Diabetes
- An enlarged heart (cardiomyopathy)
- Heart failure
- Heart valve disease, such as mitral valve prolapse and aortic stenosis
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol levels
- Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection
- Irregular heart rates (arrhythmias)
- Kidney disease
- Lung diseases, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Malnutrition or an eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia
- Marfan's syndrome
- Pulmonary hypertension
- Sickle cell disease
- Thyroid disease
- Tuberculosis (TB)
| Author: | Jan Nissl, RN, BS | Last Updated: June 22, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | William M. Green, MD - Emergency Medicine H. Michael O'Connor, MD - Emergency Medicine | |
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