Although chest pain is one of the most common presenting
symptoms to the emergency department, after diagnostic
evaluation only 15–25% of patients are found to
have ACS according to Sabatine and Cannon (2011). Nonischaemic
causes of chest pain include aetiologies involving
the vascular, pulmonary, musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal
systems. Table 2 provides an overview of
common non-ischaemic causes of chest pain. Chest pain
associated with pericarditis, aortic dissection, pulmonary
and gastrointestinal conditions will be discussed in detail.