Angina

What is Angina?

Angina is a heart condition involving chest pain caused by insufficient blood flow into the heart. Angina is often an early indicator of coronary artery disease, and there are two types of anginas. Stable angina is when the chest pain is more constant but less severe, and people with stable angina often report that the pain becomes more pronounced following exercise or short-term physical exertion. Unstable angina is when the chest pain comes on suddenly and this is considered a more serious health risk as unstable angina can be an indicator of an oncoming heart attack.

What Causes Angina?

Angina is most often caused by atherosclerosis, which is when blood arteries into the heart become hardened and blocked by buildups of cholesterol plaques. Blood supply to the heart is limited by these blockages, and radiating pain occurs as a result. With stable angina there may be more to what causes angina, as triggers are a part of what can make stable angina worsen and along with exercise and physical exertion it may be that eating heavy meals or experiencing temperature extremes can make the pain worse.

Variant angina is a type of unstable angina where the person experiences chest pain when they are at rest, and this type of temporary angina is the result of vasospasm and can be triggered by stress, cold, smoking, cocaine, or the use of certain NSAID medications.

Angina Symptoms

Chest pain is the most prominent of angina symptoms, but other people may experience angina as chest pressure, tension, or a squeezing sensation in their upper thoracic cavity. Angina may also cause people to feel a dull sensation under their breastbone as if the skin there is numb to the touch. There can also be discomfort in the neck, arms, upper abdomen, back, or jaw.

Other angina symptoms can include nausea, light-headedness, palpitations, or sweating. Epigastric discomfort is also a possibility, which is discomfort at the upper abdomen just below the ribs.

Angina Treatment

The most conventional approach to angina treatment is to start on medications like Cardizem or Ranexa. Both are calcium channel blocker drugs that dilate blood vessels and slow the heart to reduce blood pressure and the pain of angina. Ranexa is very commonly prescribed when people with angina have shown themselves to be unable to continue on beta-blocker medications as they try to manage angina.

A doctor may also recommend supplementing this treatment regimen with aspirin to help thin blood, especially if the person has unstable angina and there is a timeframe needed to do cardiac health tests to determine if there is an imminent risk of heart attack for the patient.

Lifestyle changes may also be recommended as part of angina treatment, including getting more regular physical exercise, eating a more heart-healthy diet, and quitting smoking if the angina sufferer has been a smoker to this point.