Angina can be best described as chest pain that occurs when there’s reduced blood flow to the heart. It can resemble a heart attack, with you feeling pressure or tightness or squeezing in your chest and it’s also known as Angina pectoris. Although it is relatively common, it can be hard to distinguish from other kinds of chest pain and thus, it can often be confused with other heart diseases and conditions. To properly understand Angina, it’s important to know that Angina tends to go away pretty quickly and it can also potentially be the warning sign of a heart attack or other underlying heart conditions that you might possess. To begin with, different kinds of Angina can be distinguished based on certain symptoms, frequency and the state in which they tend to occur.
Stable Angina: This is the most common form of Angina and it can be triggered by physical activity or stress. Stable Angina lasts for a short time (such as five minutes or less) and can subside with sufficient rest or prescribed medication. The pain is predictable and its sensation is quite similar to that of chest pain
Unstable Angina: This is called unstable Angina because unlike stable Angina it can be hard to predict. Its pain is usually more severe and it lasts longer than stable angina, usually for about 20 minutes or longer. Rather than during heavy physical activity, unstable Angina tends to strike when one’s resting, sleeping or engaged in very light physical activity. The pain will not go away with sufficient rest or angina medications and it can be the warning sign of a heart attack that is to come. Hence, unstable angina is considered to be an immediate medical emergency and in case of an occurrence, you must seek medical help right away.
Variant Angina: This type of angina occurs when your heart arteries tighten or spasm, reducing your blood flow temporarily. The chest pain caused during it will be quite severe and they tend to occur during periods of sleep or rest and during mild acts of physical activity. Its pain can be relieved by angina medication and by far, it’s the rarest form of angina, which tends to typically occur in those that are younger.
Microvascular Angina: This occurs when your coronary arteries aren’t working in the way that they should, thus reducing the required amount of blood supply to your heart. They can occur along with coronary microvascular disease and they are the most common among women. They are more persistent than stable angina, usually lasting for about 10 minutes or much longer and medications might not treat it right away, with the treatment being more gradual than quick. They usually occur in a recurrent pattern during moments of rest or low physical activity.
As mentioned above, the symptoms of angina are similar to those of a chest episode. They often include:
Additionally, in women the symptoms might appear as:
Angina typically results from reduced blood flow to your heart. It can also result from the underlying conditions of coronary artery disease, coronary microvascular disease or coronary artery spasm. Besides the existence of an underlying heart condition, there are additional factors that increase the risk of being affected by angina, they are:
To diagnose angina, your doctor might ask you to do a physical exam, to further examine and notice the symptoms in detail and quiz about your family history, lifestyle and other risk factors that can cause it to occur. Besides, they might ask you to undergo certain tests and procedures such as:
EKG.:This is a commonly prescribed test for diagnosing heart conditions and it is done to measure your heart’s electrical activity and rhythm.
Stress Test: This might involve you undergoing some physical activity such as walking on a treadmill or exercising to monitor how your heart is working as you exercise. This will help determine what triggers your angina or other heart conditions that you might possess.
Blood tests: Here, your blood will be collected so that your doctor can check for proteins called troponins. They are usually released when your heart muscle is damaged, such as during a heart attack. Your doctor may also do more general tests like a metabolic panel or complete blood count (CBC) to examine your blood in detail for signs of underlying problems or heart conditions.
Imaging Tests: Imaging tests such as Chest X-rays, echocardiograms and CT and MRI scans can create images of your heart to help your doctor spot problems or rule out other possible causes of chest pain, such as lung disease or condition.
Cardiac Catheterization: In this procedure, your doctor inserts a long, thin tube into an artery in your leg and threads it up to your heart to check your blood flow and pressure. This can more accurately diagnose problems in your heart vessels and artery.
Coronary Angiography: During this procedure, your doctor injects dye into the blood vessels of your heart. The dye then shows up on an X-ray, creating an image of your blood vessels and this procedure might also be done during cardiac catheterization.
Treatment:
The treatment of your angina will depend on the type of angina that you have and your doctor will focus on the underlying heart condition that is responsible for your angina, with the goal generally being to improve blood flow and lower the risk of complications. It might either include medications, lifestyle changes or surgical procedures in some severe cases.
Medications: Medications such as anticoagulants or antiplatelets are prescribed drugs to lower your risk of blood clots. Sometimes, blood pressure medications and cholesterol medications are also prescribed and they can be used to treat your angina.
Lifestyle Changes: Some lifestyle changes can also play a huge role in reducing the complications of your angina. Usually, they might involve you,
Surgical Procedures: In case of a severe condition, your doctor might do surgery to lower the complications that might arise. Usually, the surgery performed to cure angina are relatively well-known procedures that are used to treat underlying heart conditions such as angioplasty, stenting etc. For complications relating to your arteries, a procedure like coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) might be done. Additionally, a procedure like Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) might be performed in case of continuous pain.
A condition like angina is usually influenced by factors like family history or other underlying heart conditions. However, if you are determined to live a healthy lifestyle that is long and free from complications, being updated with certain methods of precaution o can help avoid angina or other kinds of heart conditions in the future. These generally involve activities in your day-to-day life such as :
