Angina

What Is Angina?
If you feel pressure or a squeezing in your chest, it may be angina. It can feel like a heart attack, but often it's a warning sign. The chest pain happens because there isn't enough blood flowing to part of your heart. It's a symptom of heart disease, and it's occurs when something blocks the arteries or there's a decreased blood flow in the arteries that bring oxygen-rich blood to your heart.

Angina usually goes away quickly. Still, it can be a symptom of a life-threatening heart problem. Call your doctor if you have it. It's important to find out what's going on and to talk about what you can do to avoid a heart attack. There's a lot you can do to stop it from happening. Usually, medicine along with lifestyle changes can control it. If it's more severe, you may need surgery, too. Or you may need what’s called a stent, a tiny tube that props open arteries.


What are different types of angina?
Stable Angina is the most common. Physical activity or stress can trigger it. It usually lasts a few minutes, and it goes away when you rest. It isn't a heart attack, but it can be a sign that you're more likely to have one. Tell your doctor if this happens to you.

Unstable Angina: You can have this while you're at rest or not very active. The pain can be strong and long-lasting, and come back again and again. It can be a signal that you're about to have a heart attack, so see a doctor right away.

Prinzmetal's Angina (also called variant angina) is rare. It might happen at night while you're sleeping or resting. The heart arteries suddenly tighten or narrow. It can cause a lot of pain, and you should get it treated.


Symptoms of Angina
Chest pain is the symptom, but it affects people differently. You may feel:
Aching
Burning
Discomfort
Feeling of fullness in the chest
Heaviness
Pressure
Squeezing
You’re likely to have pain behind your breastbone, but it can spread to your shoulders, arms, neck, throat, jaw, or back.
It's possible to mistake an aching or burning for heartburn or gas.
Men often feel pain in their chest, neck, and shoulders. Women may feel discomfort in their belly, neck, jaw, throat, or back. You may also have shortness of breath, sweating, or dizziness. One study found that women were more likely to use the words "pressing" or "crushing" to describe the feeling.
Stable Angina often gets better with rest. Unstable Angina may not, and it could get worse.


Possible Causes of Angina:
Angina is usually due to heart disease. A fatty substance called plaque builds up in your arteries, blocking blood flow to the heart muscle. This forces your heart to work with less oxygen. That causes pain. You may also have blood clots in the arteries of your heart, which can cause heart attacks.

Other, less common causes of chest pain include:

A blockage in a major artery of the lungs (Pulmonary Embolism)
An enlarged or thickened heart (Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy)
Narrowing of a valve in the main part of the heart (Aortic Stenosis)
Swelling of the sac around the heart (Pericarditis)
Tearing in the wall of the aorta, the largest artery in your body (aortic dissection)

What questions should you ask your Doctor?
Do I need any more tests?
What type of angina do I have?
Do I have heart damage?
What treatment do you recommend?
How will it make me feel?
What can I do to try to prevent a heart attack?
Are there activities I shouldn't do?
Will changing my diet help?


Angina Treatment:
It depends on how much damage there is to your heart. For people with mild angina, medicine and lifestyle changes can often help blood flow better and control symptoms.

Your doctor might prescribe medicines to:
Widen blood vessels, letting more blood flow to the heart
Slow the heart down, so it doesn't have to work as hard
Relax blood vessels, to let more blood flow to the heart
Prevent blood clots
If medicines aren't enough, you may need to have blocked arteries opened with a medical procedure or surgery. This could be:

Angioplasty /Stenting: The doctor threads a tiny tube, with a balloon inside, through a blood vessel and up to your heart. Then, he inflates the balloon inside the narrowed artery to widen it and restore blood flow. A small tube called a stent may be left inside the artery to help keep it open. The stent is usually permanent and made of metal. It can also be made of a material that the body absorbs over time. Some stents have medicine that helps keep the artery from getting blocked again.

The procedure usually takes less than 2 hours. You’ll probably stay overnight at the hospital.

Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG), or bypass surgery. The surgeon takes healthy arteries or veins from another part of your body and uses them to go around the blocked or narrowed blood vessels. You can expect to stay in the hospital about a week after you have this. You'll be in the intensive care unit for a day or two while nurses and doctors keep a close eye on your heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen levels. You'll then move to a regular room to recover.

Taking Care of Yourself
You can still lead an active life, but it's important that you listen to your body. If you feel pain, stop what you’re doing and rest. Know what triggers your angina, like stress or intense exercise. Try to avoid things that tend to set it off. For example, if large meals cause problems, eat smaller ones and eat more often. It's important to talk to your doctor to have your medications changed or to be evaluated for further testing or procedures if you are feeling pain. Because angina can be an ominous sign, it is important to get fully evaluated.

These lifestyle changes may help protect your heart:

Stop Smoking: It can damage your blood vessels and increase your heart disease risk.

Eat a heart-healthy diet to lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. When those are out of normal range, your chance for heart disease can rise. Eat mainly fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fish, lean meat, and fat-free or low-fat dairy. Limit salt, fat, and sugar.

Use stress-relieving measures like meditation, deep breathing, or yoga to relax.
Exercise most days of the week.
See your doctor regularly.
If you have chest pain that is new or unusual for you, and you think you may be having a heart attack, call 911 right away. Don't wait. Quick treatment is very important. It can protect you from more damage.