The impact of an acute chest pain pathway on the investigation and management of cardiac chest pain

ABSTRACT Emergency department (ED) presentation with chest pain accounts for approximately 20% of acute hospital admissions, and delays in the investigation and management of these patients increase the pressure on emergency and medical departments. We implemented a pathway within our trust to improve the efficiency of acute chest pain management. This included the development of a chest pain management algorithm, a short-stay heart assessment centre and a policy to immediately transfer acute coronary syndrome patients to cardiology. The introduction of the chest pain pathway resulted in fewer admissions from the ED with chest pain (34.2% vs 19.0%; p