Association between subjective descriptors of coronary pain and disease characteristics: a pilot study in a Hellenic rural population.

Purpose: We explored whether the way Hellenic patients describe their cardiac chest pain (verbal descriptions of the nature, intensity, temporal quality, location and radiation) associates with the diagnosis [acute myocardial infarction (AMI) versus unstable angina (UA)] as well as with the location of the coronary lesions.

Methods: A cross-sectional correlational design was employed to study 80 consecutive coronary care patients (44 with AMI, 36 with UA) from northwestern Hellas.

Results: Pain intensity did not differ significantly between AMI and UA, in contrast to treatment-seeking behaviour and accompanying symptoms (p< or =0.03). Of AMI patients, women used more often the word "pain" (p=0.011), and indicated pain at the left shoulder (p=0.004). AMI patients used fewer words (p=0.03), and experienced pain at the back of the neck (p=0.03) and of the left arm (p=0.02) less often. The descriptions "knob", "constriction" and "drill" were more prevalent in UA patients (p<0.01). The description "drill" discriminated between diagnostic groups in a multivariate model (p=0.03). Associations between the infarct and pain location (p< or =0.03), and the use of some sensory descriptors (p< or =0.02) were detected. Pain locations associated with ECG findings (p< or =0.005).

Conclusions: Subjective acute coronary pain descriptions and pain characteristics may associate with the pathophysiological processes in coronary syndromes.