Chest pain is a common presentation in primary care. One study has shown that 97% of patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) contact their GP first in rural areas and, even in urban areas, this figure is about 67%. However, although coronary heart disease (CHD) is still the biggest killer in the UK, the majority of people presenting with chest pain in general practice do not have angina or MI and musculoskeletal pain is much more common.
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