Symptoms of Angina: Identifying Types and Effective Treatments

What is Angina? Understanding Symptoms, Types, and Treatments

Angina is a temporary discomfort or pain in the chest that can feel like tightness, squeezing, pressure, heaviness, or burning.

Angina is chest pain which happens when your heart is not getting sufficient oxygen-rich blood. Consequently, your heart may beat faster and harder to receive more blood, creating you noticeable pain. Angina is not a disease however a symptom and a warning sign of heart disease.

Types of Angina

There are several types of angina, including:

stable angina
unstable angina
vasospastic angina
microvascular angina.

Stable angina

This is the most common form of angina. It is likely to happen when your heart works harder, like when you are walking uphill, and it goes away when you rest.

You will normally know when it tends to happen, and the pain or discomfort is similar to what you’ve had before.

Stable angina lasts five minutes or less and improves if you rest or take your medication.

Unstable angina

Unstable angina is different from normal angina symptoms. It can happen even when you are resting. Unstable angina is more severe and lasts longer. Your symptoms may not improve when you rest or take medication.

If your symptoms don’t improve when you rest or take medication, you should call for emergency help.

Vasospastic angina

Also called as coronary artery spasm or Prinzmetal’s angina, Vasospastic angina is uncommon. It can happen during the night when you are resting, when a coronary artery supplying blood & oxygen to your heart goes into spasm and tightens, and lets less blood through.

Microvascular angina

Microvascular angina or cardiac syndrome X normally happens when you are under physical pressure, such as when you are exercising, or you have been stressed or anxious. The pain is often caused by spasms in the smallest coronary arteries limiting blood flow.

Symptoms

Angina normally feels like pressure, tightness or squeezing in your chest. This can feel painful or like a dull ache. You may also feel it in your shoulders, arms, jaw, neck, back or stomach.

Other symptoms of angina can include:

Fatigue
sweating
feeling sick
dizziness
shortness of breath.

Causes

Angina is caused by decreased blood flow to the heart muscle. Blood carries oxygen, which the heart muscle requires to survive. When the heart muscle is not getting sufficient oxygen, it causes a condition known as ischemia.

The most common cause behind limited blood flow to the heart muscle is coronary artery disease (CAD). The heart arteries, known as the coronary arteries, can become narrowed because of fatty deposits called plaques. This condition is called atherosclerosis.

Plaque in a blood vessel may cause a blood clot or rupture. These events can instantly block or reduce flow through a narrowed artery. This can suddenly and severely lower blood flow to the heart muscle.

The heart muscle can still work at times of low oxygen demand without stimulating angina symptoms. An example is when resting. But when the demand for oxygen increases, like when exercising, angina can result.

Risk factors

There are multiple risk factors for angina. Some factors increase your risk of heart problems that directly cause angina, such as coronary artery disease.

Other factors restrict how much oxygen-rich blood can reach your heart.

A few risk factors (like ageing) cannot be altered. You may be able to manage others through lifestyle changes and medications. Talk with your doctor about how to reduce your risk.

Anemia (low red blood cells).
Chronic stress.
Diet high in saturated fat, trans fat, sugar, sodium or refined carbohydrates.
Drinking too much alcohol.
Diabetes.
exposure to “particle” air pollution (like dust from roads, farms or construction sites).
Family history of early heart disease.
Heart failure.
Heart valve disease.
High blood pressure.
High cholesterol.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (enlarged heart).
Inflammation.
Older age
Smoking, vaping or using other tobacco products.
Use of street drugs.
Long-term exposure to secondhand smoke.
Metabolic syndrome.
Not moving around enough (physical inactivity).
Obesity.

Diagnosis

Your healthcare provider may be able to tell whether you have angina from your symptoms. Or, they may want to do a health check or send you for some tests like ECG, coronary angiogram or heart scan.

Treatment

Medication, like nitrate sprays, patches, and pills, may assist in managing your symptoms. Your doctor might also recommend you take medication to decrease your risk of a heart attack or stroke.

Some people require treatments such as a coronary angioplasty, where a special kind of balloon is gently inflated to open a narrowed artery. Many people also have a type of mesh known as a stent inserted to keep the artery open. Heart bypass surgery may also be an option.

Simple lifestyle changes may assist in lowering your symptoms of angina, boost your overall health and reduce your risk of a heart attack in the future.

Prevention

You can assist in preventing angina by following some lifestyle changes that are used to treat angina:

Eat a healthy diet.
Exercise regularly.
Avoid or limit alcohol.
Don’t smoke.
Maintain a healthy weight.
Manage other health conditions related to heart disease.
Reduce stress.
Get 7 to 9 hours of sleep a day.

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FAQ

Is angina curable or not?

What kind of treatment you are provided will depend on how severe your angina is. Even Though there is no cure for coronary heart disease or a way to remove the atheroma which has built up in the arteries, treatments and changes to your lifestyle can assist in preventing your condition and your symptoms from getting worse.