Chest pain (patient fact sheet)

Key messages

When a patient presents to an emergency department or urgent care centre, they should be given the best available information.

This updated fact sheet helps ensure clinicians and patients have access to easy-to-read information about different emergency conditions.

Give this fact sheet to your patients when discharging them from an emergency department or urgent care centre.

On this page

Download our fact sheet to provide your patients with easy to follow guidance on chest pain.

This fact sheet has the #withconsumers tick from the Consumers Health Forum of Australia

Chest pain is any pain that is felt in the chest. Chest pain may come from many parts of the chest including:

the heart
the lungs
the oesophagus (food pipe)
muscles
bones – including your ribs and sternum (breastbone)
the abdomen (stomach) – the pain is felt as being in the chest due to a complex network of nerves and skin.

All chest pain is considered to be heart-related until proven otherwise.

Clinical Guidance Team

Safer Care Victoria

First published: September 2021
Due for review: September 2024