I have chest pain.
PET-to — double 't', short stop. 'Dolore' — do-LO-re. Three syllables.
Report chest pain immediately to any healthcare provider. Always taken seriously in Italy — may trigger immediate ECG and evaluation.
'Dolore al petto' = chest pain. Always taken seriously — it is a potential cardiac emergency until proven otherwise. Describe: character (crushing 'oppressivo', sharp 'acuto', burning 'bruciante'), radiation (to arm, jaw, back), severity (0-10), associated symptoms (sweating, breathlessness, nausea). Heart attack in Italian: 'infarto del miocardio'.
Il dolore al petto è oppressivo, come se avessi un peso.
The chest pain is crushing, as if I had a weight on it.
Classic heart attack description — crushing or pressure-like pain, not sharp
Il dolore parte dal petto e va al braccio sinistro.
The pain starts in the chest and goes to my left arm.
Radiation to left arm — highly significant cardiac symptom
Ho un bruciore al petto dopo i pasti.
I have a burning sensation in the chest after meals.
Post-meal burning — more likely reflux than cardiac, but assess carefully
Chest pain is the most common reason for emergency hospital admission in Italy. Italian emergency medicine classifies chest pain using the 'chest pain unit' protocol — rapid assessment with ECG, troponin levels, and imaging. Italian hospitals increasingly have dedicated 'chest pain units' (CPU) for rapid diagnosis. STEMI (heart attack with ST-elevation) activates a 'codice IMA' — triggering the fastest possible response from cardiac catheterisation labs.