Chest tightness or pain can signal anything from pneumonia to muscle strain to a heart attack. If you arrive at St. Mary's Emergency Department with unexplained chest pain, an experienced physician and emergency department nurse will conduct an immediate evaluation to identify the source of your discomfort.

As appropriate, your primary care physician and/or cardiologist will be consulted and if the cause of your pain is not clear, you will be placed in the Chest Pain Evaluation Unit (CPEU) for further evaluation.

The CPEU team uses a state-of-the-art protocol to identify or rule out serious or immediately life-threatening heart disease. A cardiologist joins the team in the CPEU to oversee stress testing and order any additional necessary tests.

The CPEU is available 24 hours a day.