Men making sense of their chest pain - niggles, doubts and denials

• Participant observation was undertaken of the early admission period of 25 men admitted to hospital with acute chest pain, followed by in‐depth interviews of 10 of the men after discharge. • Grounded theory methods were used in the analysis to develop a model of how the men came to interpret their experiences. • An emerging feature of the men’s experiences was that, although they had suffered intense pain prior to admission, there had been a series of delays whilst they tried to rationalize their symptoms. • We relate our discussion to literature on men and masculinity and the notion of Foucault (1975) of self‐surveillance, to offer an insight into the men’s self concept and social situation. • Our conclusions suggest that men’s self concept as ‘healthy’ may inhibit a speedy response to the signs and symptoms of acute coronary occlusion, increasing the risk of cardiac arrest without nearby life support.