Angina Symptoms

Angina is a painful condition that is a symptom of underlying heart disease. Over 9 million people in the United States suffer from the disorder, according to the American Heart Association, and nearly 500,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. A variety of surgical and non-surgical therapies are available to treat angina.

Identification

• Angina pectoris is the term used to describe chest pain that occurs due to coronary artery disease. Symptoms occur when the heart muscle does not get sufficient amounts of blood and oxygen due to a narrowing in one or more arteries.

Symptoms

• Symptoms of angina include pain, pressure or a squeezing sensation in the center of the chest. You may also feel discomfort in the shoulder, arm, back, jaw or neck. You may notice that angina symptoms begin when you are active, and the pain may be so intense that you have to stop what you are doing. This is because the heart needs more blood when you are exercising or exerting yourself, but due to the narrowing of your arteries, there is an insufficient blood flow through your heart. Angina symptoms also strike if you are feeling emotionally stressed or after you have eaten a heavy meal.

Risk Factors

• You are more likely to develop angina if you smoke, are overweight, have diabetes, high cholesterol or high blood pressure. Menopause can increase the risk of developing angina for women. Having a family member diagnosed with heart disease at a relatively young age may increase your risk, whether you are male or female.

Diagnosis

• Your first visit to a doctor because of angina symptoms may very well occur at an emergency room, as angina symptoms are frighteningly similar to heart attack symptoms. Whether an emergency room doctor or your own doctor diagnoses angina, you will also need to be evaluated by a cardiologist, a doctor who treats conditions and diseases of the heart. The cardiologist will want you to have an electrocardiogram (EKG), a test that records your heart's electrical activity. You will most likely undergo a stress test. During this test, you will walk on a treadmill, gradually increasing your activity level. Your heart will be monitored during the test, which will let your doctor know how hard your heart must work at various levels of exertion.

  Cardiac catheterization may be necessary in order to determine if any of your arteries are blocked and to evaluate the function of your heart muscle and valves. During catheterization, a thin tube is placed in an artery in your leg or arm and guided into the heart. After dye is injected into the arteries, an X-ray is taken. The dye helps to illuminate the precise areas of the arteries that are blocked or narrowed.

Treatment

• Angina is often treated with medications, such as nitroglycerin, that relax the blood vessels and improve blood flow to the heart. Lowering blood pressure and slowing the heart rate are important steps in reducing the heart's workload. In order to accomplish this, medications used to treat high blood pressure, such as calcium antagonists and beta blockers, may be prescribed.

  Depending on your symptoms and the severity of your coronary artery disease, your doctor may recommend percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, commonly called angioplasty. The angioplasty procedure begins with the insertion of a catheter into your arm or leg. A deflated balloon is attached to the end of the catheter and when the heart blockage is reached, the balloon is inflated, compressing the plaque deposits in your arteries and increasing blood flow. Laser angioplasty uses a laser on the end of the catheter to open the blockage, while a procedure called atherectomy uses a device that looks like a rotating shaver to cut through the plaque. At the end of any angioplasty procedure, a stent may be put in place to keep the newly cleared arteries open.

  Coronary artery bypass surgery may be needed in more serious cases. During this procedure, blood is rerouted around a section of clogged arteries using a blood vessel taken from another part of the body.

Warning

• Don't ignore increased pain or other symptoms if you have been diagnosed with angina. Stable angina can change to unstable angina, putting you at risk for heart attack. If your symptoms worsen after remaining fairly stable for a period of time, doctors recommend that you call 911 immediately.