Anxiety Symptoms, Parent Anxiety and Functional Impairment in Pediatric Cardiology Patients with Noncardiac Chest Pain and Benign Cardiac Complaints

Chest pain is regularly encountered in pediatric medical settings. Because of the popular association of chest pain with coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction adults, it is often frightening for both patients and parents. However, up to 88% of pediatric chest pain patients receive no medical explanation for their pain. Chest discomfort in the absence of medical explanation that is characterized by no more than one typical angina symptom is classified as non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP). This study examined parent anxiety, child anxiety and chest pain related functional impairment in a sample of pediatric patients with NCCP in comparison to a sample of pediatric patients with benign cardiac complaints (BCC). Analyses did not indicate significant differences between groups on any variables (p > .05). Among patients with NCCP, there was a positive correlation between parent anxiety and functional impairment. These findings suggest the importance of considering family factors during future research and intervention with this population.