Understanding and treating pediatric noncardiac chest pain

Experiences of pain, especially chest pain, can be not only uncomfortable but also frightening. Among children and adolescents, symptoms of chest pain are relatively common, affecting about one in 10 youth. Chest pain symptoms can vary widely in presentation, in terms of their quality, frequency, severity, and history. When presenting during childhood and adolescence, chest pain rarely signifies a cardiac or health problem. Identifiable causes of chest pain typically are related to underlying pulmonary or gastrointestinal conditions. Less than 5% of pediatric chest pain cases are estimated to be related to actual heart disease. The vast majority of cases of chest pain, estimated at 80% to 85%, are benign and are described as “idiopathic,” with an unknown cause. These cases are generally labeled as noncardiac chest pain (NCCP).