8 year old with chest pain

My 8 year old child is having severe chest pain for the last 8 days. She has normal blood work. Her EKG and echo showed ectopic atrium rhythm but the cardiologist said this is not causing her pain. What could be going on? Is the ryhtm really not an issue?

[Jeffrey R Boris, M.D.]

Dear Kadrie,

Chest pain in children and adolescents is typically, though not always, benign, and nearly never associated with the heart.  Ectopic atrial rhythm is a normal variant in the source of the electrical signal that initiates the heart beat.  However, it does not cause any heart rhythm problems that lead to pain or to palpitations.  The most common reason for chest pain is chest wall (musculoskeletal), for which we don’t have a real reason.  However, it is benign.  There are certainly other potential reasons that your physician should evaluate and make sure aren’t involved here.  I recommend that you go back to or call your cardiologist and make sure you understand what is causing the chest pain, and know if the pain is benign, or not.