Angina

Angina is the most common symptom of coronary artery disease (CAD) and other heart diseases. During the heart does not receive enough blood or oxygen. In CAD, blockages in the coronary arteries, called plaques, prevent an adequate amount of blood from reaching the heart muscle. Situations that require increased blood flow to the heart may cause angina in people with CAD. These include exercise, heavy meals, and stress.

There are two types of angina: stable angina and unstable angina.

Risk Factors and Causes

Some risk factors for angina are:

• male gender
• age
• cigarette smoking
• high cholesterol levels (in particular, high LDL cholesterol and low HDL cholesterol)
• high blood pressure
• diabetes
• family history of heart disease before age 55
• inactive lifestyle (being busy at work or working long hours does not count)
• obesity

Occasionally, sudden overwhelming stress can cause an episode of angina.

Prevention & Planning Ahead

You can change your way of life and lower you chance of having angina attacks:

• Stop smoking, and avoid secondhand smoke.
• Maintain a healthy diet low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and salt.
• Avoid a sedentary lifestyle.
• Control high blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels.
• Manage stress.
• Avoid extreme temperatures.
• Avoid strenous activities.
• Participate in 30 minutes or more of continuous aerobic activity or exercise on most days of the week.

Symptoms

Stable angina is characterized by a feeling of tightness, heavy pressure, or squeezing or crushing chest pain that:

• is mid-sternal (under the breastbone) or slightly to the left
• is not clearly localized
• may radiate to shoulder, arm, jaw, neck, back, or other areas
• may feel similar to gas or indigestion.
• is precipitated by activity, stress, or exertion
• lasts 1 to 15 minutes
• is usually relieved by rest and/or nitroglycerin

You may experience angina when you climb steps, work in very hot or cold weather, or have sex. If symptoms are not relieved by 1 nitroglycerin tablet taken 5 minutes apartand lasts longer than 15 minutes, you may be experiencing unstable angina or a heart attack.

Diagnosis

Your doctor may give you the following to test to see if you have angina:

• Blood test
• Eclectrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)
• Treadmill exercise
• Cardaic catherization, which shows where the artery is blocked

Intervention/Treatment

Your doctor may give you nitroglycerin, a medicine to dilate the heart's blood vessels and relieve the discomfort. Ask you doctor why you are experiencing angina. You may be at risk for heart attack.

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