ACSM
010-111 · Question #222
010-111 Question #222: Real Exam Question with Answer & Explanation
The correct answer is B. Muscular. Chest pain that occurs immediately after a chest and shoulder workout and is aggravated by respiration is most consistent with a musculoskeletal origin.
Question
Immediately following a chest and shoulder workout a 55-year-old male executive complains of a "dull ache" in the left side of the chest that is aggravated by respiration. What would you consider is the source of the pain?
Options
- ACardiac
- BMuscular
- CRespiratory
- DSoreness
Explanation
Chest pain that occurs immediately after a chest and shoulder workout and is aggravated by respiration is most consistent with a musculoskeletal origin.
Common mistakes.
- A. Cardiac pain is not characteristically worsened by respiration; it presents as pressure or tightness and may radiate to the arm or jaw independent of breathing.
- C. A primary respiratory cause such as pleuritis is less likely here because the pain arose directly after resistance exercise targeting the chest and shoulder muscles rather than from a respiratory illness.
- D. Delayed onset muscle soreness develops 24-72 hours after exercise and cannot explain pain that appears immediately post-workout.
Concept tested. Differentiating musculoskeletal from cardiac post-exercise chest pain
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