A woman had severe chest pain for years. What was causing it?

Advisory Board October 9, 2024

For years, Rachel Hunt was regularly jolted awake by intense pain in her chest and back and a racing heart. Throughout many doctor’s visits, tests, and misdiagnoses, her symptoms only worsened — and got stranger. Writing for The Washington Post, Hunt explains how she finally found a path to diagnosis.

Expedite patient diagnosis

It started with nightly chest pain

In college, Hunt began waking every night with chest pain and a high heart rate. Her roommate even said she sometimes heard Hunt choking at night through the thin walls.

Hunt had experienced insomnia as a child, but waking every night in agonizing pain was a new development. “I’d wake up, heart thumping, and chug water to make the pain...

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