A 72-year-old male presents with chest pain following recent surgery. What condition should be suspected?

When considering this scenario, a pulmonary embolism should be suspected due to several relevant factors. The patient is 72 years old, which places him at higher risk for venous thromboembolism, particularly following recent surgery. Surgical procedures often lead to prolonged immobility, increasing the likelihood of deep vein thrombosis, which can result in a pulmonary embolism when a thrombus dislodges and travels to the pulmonary arteries.

The presentation of chest pain, especially in the context of recent surgery, aligns with the symptoms associated with a pulmonary embolism, which can include sudden-onset chest pain, difficulty breathing, and an increased heart rate. These symptoms can often be misattributed to other causes, but the context of surgery and the patient's age highlight the need for immediate consideration of this life-threatening condition.

While other conditions like pneumonia, acute myocardial infarction, and aortic dissection should not be completely ruled out as potential causes of chest pain, they do not correlate as strongly with the recent surgical history and the risk factors associated with pulmonary embolism.