Chest Pain in Pediatric Patients Presenting to a Cardiac Clinic

Records of 67 pediatric patients with a primary complaint of chest pain were reviewed to determine the frequency of associated cardiac disease. Only four of 67 (6%) had chest pain associated with cardiac diseases that usually cause chest pain. Fifty-seven (85%) patients had chest pain in which no clear cause could be determined. Of these 57, 20 patients also had isolated congenital cardiac anomalies, i.e., atrial septal defect. A causal relationship of these lesions to the chest pain could not be established. Thirty-four of the 37 patients with chest pain and no cardiac abnormalities were evaluated by telephone at a mean of 13 months after their clinic assessment. Twenty-nine of the 34 were either asymptomatic or had reduced symptoms. There was no correlation between duration of symptoms prior to their clinical study and the persistence of chest pain at follow-up. From this study, we conclude that chest pain in pediatric patients is infrequently due to cardiac disease even when associated with previously unsuspected, isolated congenital cardiac lesions. Idiopathic chest pain tends to be self-limited.