Can You Go To Urgent Care For Chest Pain? Should You? - Legacy ER

Chest pain can be extremely scary to experience, particularly if this pain is totally new to you. No matter what, it’s something that needs to be taken seriously.

However, contrary to popular belief, not all chest pain indicates a heart attack or even a cardiovascular problem. In some cases, it’s entirely appropriate to go to the emergency room; in other cases, you can receive much more affordable treatment at many 24-hour urgent care locations.

Ultimately, you don’t want to take a chance when it comes to this symptom. Still, it may be helpful to know a bit more about the potential causes of chest discomfort and when it may be appropriate to go to a walk-in urgent care center rather than an emergency room.

When to Go to the ER for Chest Pain:

Should you experience crushing or severe pressure or pain in the chest (particularly if it moves into the left shoulder, arm, or neck), you should absolutely go to the emergency room. If your chest discomfort is accompanied by sweating, dizziness, nausea or vomiting, shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat, or fatigue, this may indicate cardiac chest pain. It’s much better to err on the side of caution and go to the emergency room. To that end, you should not drive yourself to the hospital. Those who experience acute chest pain should chew two to four baby aspirin (or one adult aspirin) as a precaution. Even if it turns out that the pain isn’t attributed to a coronary issue, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

When to Go to 24-Hour Urgent Care Locations for Chest Pain:

In cases of non-cardiac chest pain, it may behoove you to go to one of the 24-hour urgent care locations in your area. Because 60% of all urgent care centers have less than a 15-minute wait time, it’s likely that you can get your urgent medical needs met in a shorter period of time than you might in a hospital.

Of course, it can be difficult to know whether your chest discomfort is life-threatening or not, which is why you should seek medical attention right away regardless of whether you have a heart problem. There are actually many causes of chest discomfort that have nothing to do with the heart. Esophageal spasms, gastrointestinal disorders (like heartburn or acid reflux), lung diseases, rib joint inflammation, panic attacks, and countless other conditions can cause pain in your chest. Your urgent care physician will take note of your symptoms and run tests if necessary to provide you with a diagnosis.

Generally speaking, if your chest pain is new, has changed (i.e., goes away and comes back), or is accompanied by other worrisome symptoms, it’s best to go straight to the emergency room. However, if you’ve been treated for chest pain conditions in the past and don’t experience some of those serious symptoms listed, you may find that urgent care centers can provide you with the treatment you need.

Legacy ER & Urgent Care Has Several Locations

Legacy ER & Urgent Care is here to meet your medical care needs by providing affordable pricing and quality care. As part of Intuitive Health’s innovative hybrid model ER and urgent care system, patients are only billed for the level of care they receive from professional and highly trained medical staff. With a total of six centers located in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, emergent and non-emergent care are accessible and transparent, focusing on superb customer service.

Legacy ER & Urgent Care has six convenient locations in the DFW area:

• Allen – Legacy ER & Urgent Care is located at 1310 W. Exchange Pkwy Allen, TX 75013, and may be reached at 972-526-5819.
• Coppell – Legacy ER & Urgent Care is located at 330 S Denton Tap Rd Coppell, TX 75019 and may be reached at 469-702-9917.
• Frisco East: Legacy ER & Urgent Care is located at 16151 Eldorado Pkwy Frisco, TX 75035 and may be reached at 972-526-7009.
• Frisco West: Legacy ER & Urgent Care is located at 9205 Legacy Dr. Frisco, TX 75033, and may be reached at 972-526-7020.
• McKinney – Legacy ER & Urgent Care is located at 2810 Hardin Blvd McKinney, TX 75072, and may be reached at 972-573-6688.
• North Richland Hills: Legacy ER & Urgent Care is located at 8950 N. Tarrant Pkwy North Richland Hills, TX 76182, and may be reached at 817-663-1247