The clinical diagnosis of nonanginal chest pain: the differentiation of angina from nonanginal chest pain by history.

For the first time an attempt has been made to systematize nonanginal pain questions so that physicians will ask the nonanginal questions and not simply divide all angina-like symptoms into the two categories of typical and atypical angina. A definite nonanginal chest pain category is defended with the possibility of avoiding diagnoses such as "atypical chest pain" or "atypical angina." Confidence in diagnosing chest pains as nonanginal can be attained if attention is paid to new criteria for duration, the effect of respiration, arm or chest movement, local compression, and body position. Because of this novel approach to the diagnosis of chest pain, it has become necessary to point out many of the pitfalls into which the unwary may fall with each nonanginal question.