Angina is a form of chest pain that develops when a person has a reduction in blood flow to the heart. For patients with coronary artery disease. angina is a common occurrence. Some may refer to angina as angina pectoris, but it all means the same thing. Sometimes angina can be confused with indigestion or other heart conditions, so it's important to seek medical advice to ensure that you're not having a health emergency.
Since angina indicates coronary artery disease, it's vital that you see a cardiologist or family physician to prevent a heart attack or further damage. Once unexplained chest pain pops up, it's essential that you receive medical attention. Angina pectoris can present as both acute and chronic and treatments vary depending on the condition you have.
Causes of Angina
When your heart doesn't receive enough blood, you may begin to experience symptoms of angina, especially when you're exercising. If you have stable angina, physical activity like climbing stairs or a workout may trigger your symptoms. In unstable angina, symptoms arise when a blood clot forms or fatty deposits in the blood vessels burst. When this happens, blood flow to the heart is reduced. Unstable angina is considered a medical emergency and should be treated as such. Prinzmetal's angina is a sudden spasm within someone's coronary artery, which can be caused by stress, recreational drug use, or smoking. When the artery spasms, it cuts off blood flow to the heart. Some risk factors for developing coronary artery disease and angina include:
- Diabetes
- High cholesterol
- High blood pressure
- Smoking
- Poor exercise habits
- Family history of angina
- Being a male over 45
- Being a female over 55
- Being obese
- Stress
Signs and Symptoms of Angina
Depending on your type of angina, symptoms may vary. For women symptoms like nausea, abdominal pain, and stabbing pain in the chest may appear rather than chest pressure or discomfort. Typical symptoms of angina include:
- Sweating
- Chest pain or discomfort- pain might feel like pressure, squeezing, or burning
- Jaw or neck pain
- Fatigue
- Shoulder or back pain
- Feeling dizzy
- Arm pain
- Nausea
Stable angina attacks will usually occur during or right after physical activity. These attacks are more likely to be only a few minutes long and are quite predictable. Unstable angina symptoms occur while you're at rest and typically pop up out of nowhere. This form of angina lasts more than half an hour. Unsurprisingly, if you show any kind of symptoms of angina, you should go and see your doctor as soon as possible.
Treating Angina
Patients with stable angina will most likely have to make lifestyle changes like quitting smoking and losing weight to control symptoms. Some will have to have an angioplasty to widen the coronary artery, while more severe cases will require a coronary artery bypass. External counterpulsation helps increase blood flow to the heart, which may help certain patients. Medications are used to control angina. It can include some basica over the counter painkillers, cholesterol meds, clot preventers, medication to increase blood flow to the heart and several other types.