Pain in the arm: A symptom of heart disease

Abstract

The typical chest pain of ischaemic heart disease (angina pectoris and cardiac infarction) is often transmitted to one or both shoulders and arms. Occasionally, it is felt first in the forearm or arm and spreads upwards to the shoulder and across the chest. Rarely, it may be confined to the arms. The correct diagnosis may be missed when the pain is dominantly in the arms or shoulders. The shoulder-hand syndrome is an uncommon sequela of acute cardiac infarction. It consists of stiffness of the shoulder, and in its severe form, of great pain on moving the arm and trophic changes in the hand. The condition may respond only slowly to treatment, and may be troublesome for many months after an acute infarction.