Sufferers' perspectives of non-cardiac chest pain

Background: Both in primary care and emergency departments, chest pain has been a common presentation. However, it has frequently been identified having a non-cardiac pathology. This non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP) has been diagnosed for as much as 50 percent of referrals to cardiologists (Mayou, 1997). Nevertheless, the pain often persists after heart related diseases and other aetiologies have been ruled out. Psychological treatment studies have shown some positive results, but recruitment was low. Often, the sufferers who did not engage in the research believed that the NCCP had no psychological components. The aim was to gain a better understanding of the experience of NCCP from the sufferer's perspective. Method: Five NCCP sufferers were recruited from a rapid access chest pain clinic. They were interviewed by a psychologist for up to one hour. The semi-structured interviews were transcribed and the data analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, 1996). Analysis: Three main themes emerged from the data. (1) Understanding: which included sub-themes cause, not knowing, comparison and context. (2) Impact: which included sub-themes daily activity, emotion, symptoms, control, image and chest pain results. (3) Support: which included sub-themes self-support, availability of support and support from others. Implications: The main clinical implication related to: communication with health care professionals interventions and information dissemination.