- If motility testing is nonspecific or nondiagnostic, {provocative testing} may be done. Provocative testing is based on the hypothesis that the esophagus is hypersensitive to normal or physiologic stimuli and that chest pain is simply an altered or heightened perception of these stimuli.
Most patients with [noncardiac chest pain] have personality traits similar to those of patients with [irritable bowel syndrome] (i.e., they are [anxious], [depressed], [hypochondriacal], and [neurotic]), and one third meet diagnostic criteria for [panic disorder].
Provocative tests include {perfusing the distal esophagus with acid} ({Bernstein test}), {intravenous infusion of a cholinergic agent} ({Tensilar}), or {inflation of a balloon in the esophagus} ({balloon distention})
Reproduction of [cardiac-type pain] is considered diagnostic of an esophageal source of the pain