Pseudo-chest pain ... eight hours in the Casualty Dept!

At about 4pm, a man in his late thirties, came in limping and bent-over. His right knee joint was swollen almost the size of a football. He related how he went to the hospital emergency department complaining of chest pain and pain in his right knee the previous day. He was investigated for possible heart attack and was put under observation for about eight hours till he became so bored that he discharged himself!

One look at his face, his swollen knee and the way he stood coupled with the sorry tale of intense pain of his knee joint and inability to sleep, a trained medical practitioner would have concluded that his left-sided chest pain was in fact, muscle pain as the result of his abnormal bent-over posture to support his painful right knee and possibly aggravated by an abnormal sleeping position due to unbearable pain.

He diagnosed himself that he had gout, a painful swelling of joint due to high uric acid in the body. He even stated the amount of uric acid in the blood test ordered by his previous doctor without being solicited.

He was given the appropriate painkiller for "gouty joint" and at 3pm today he came walking normally with size of knee swelling much reduced and even managed to swing his right leg to show the nurse that he was fine, pain-free and yes sir! No more chest pain,(demolished by the same painkiller!).....by the way his ECG was normal yesterday itself.. no evidence of heart involvement.