Categories: GERD, Proton-Pump Inhibitors

April 2007 Volume 3, Issue 4

Ron Schey, MD, Autumn Villarreal, MS, and Ronnie Fass, MD, FACP, FACG

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Noncardiac chest pain (NCCP) is very common, affecting up to 25% of the adult population in the United States. Treatment for NCCP has markedly evolved in the past decade and is presently focused on gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and visceral hypersensitivity. Aggressive treatment with proton pump inhibitors has become the standard of care for GERD-related NCCP. Pain modulators such as tricyclics, trazodone, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are considered the mainstay of therapy for non-GERD-related NCCP. Other therapeutic modalities such as botulinum toxin injections and hypnotherapy have demonstrated promise in small clinical trials.