Chest pain reproducible with palpation is most consistent with which diagnosis?

• A. Aortic dissection
• B. Costochondritis
• C. Myocardial infarction
• D. Esophageal spasm

Answer: (B)

Chest wall tenderness that can be reproduced by pressing on a specific spot indicates a musculoskeletal chest pain source, such as costochondritis. Inflammation of the costochondral joints commonly causes localized, point‑tender pain at the anterior chest wall that the patient can reliably reproduce with palpation. This is in contrast to heart-related causes like myocardial infarction, which typically produce a pressure-like, diffuse chest pain not reproducible with palpation and often come with other symptoms such as sweating or shortness of breath. Aortic dissection presents with a sudden, severe tearing pain and often different radiation, while esophageal spasm can cause chest pain but usually isn’t tied to focal chest wall tenderness on palpation. So the reproducible chest wall pain points most strongly to costochondritis.