July 2025 Medical Image of the Month: A Case of Severe Hiatal Hernia Presenting as Atypical Chest Pain

By: Goduguchinta V, Patel R, Al-Mubaid A, Hammad M
Abstract: No abstract available. Article truncated after first 150 words. A 73-year-old woman with a past medical history including coronary artery disease (CAD), prior myocardial infarction (MI), cardiomyopathy, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) on CPAP, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD),and a history of pulmonary embolism on apixaban presented to the emergency department with six hours of chest pain. She described the pain as pressure-like, radiating from beneath the left breast to the left axilla and back. She also reported associated nausea without vomiting and poor oral intake but maintained normal bowel movements. She denied fever, chills, dyspnea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, or abdominal pain. The patient recalled a similar episode during her MI ten years prior, prompting her to seek medical care.
Vital signs were stable. Cardiac workup included serial troponins, both of which were negative (at 8 and 7 respectively), and an electrocardiogram (EKG) showing normal sinus rhythm without ST-T wave abnormalities. Chest x-ray (Figure 1) demonstrated a retrocardiac opacity suggestive …