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If you suffer from angina―chest pain or discomfort that occurs when the heart does not get enough blood flow―you know the feeling can be alarming. But as scary as it is, having angina can be positive. It’s a way your body can signal that you have an underlying problem, such as coronary artery disease, that needs to be addressed.
It’s important to understand the reason for your angina and exactly what it feels like. Then you can effectively treat the underlying problem and avoid serious complications, such as a heart attack. If you experience symptoms, ask your doctor to check it out right away. The following information can help.
Paying Attention to Symptoms
When you go to the doctor, he or she will try to determine the cause of your chest pain and whether or not you are at risk of a heart attack. Your doctor will physically examine you, ask questions about your family health history and discuss your symptoms. Keep in mind, people experience angina in different ways. It can feel like pressure, tightness, squeezing or burning in the chest. Angina can even feel like indigestion or pain in the jaw, shoulder or arm.
Pay close attention to when your angina occurs. It can help your doctor determine what type it is and the severity of your condition. This is important because doctors treat different types of angina in different ways.
Understanding the Different Types of Angina
Angina can occur at predictable times, such as during exercise, after eating a large meal or following intense emotion. This type, called stable angina, is the most common kind and usually goes away fairly quickly with rest. Although stable angina isn’t a heart attack, it can be a sign that one is more likely to happen in the future.
Other types of angina, such as unstable angina, have no predictable pattern. Unstable angina can happen while you’re relaxing or even sleeping. Rest does not necessarily relieve this type of angina. Unstable angina can signal that a heart attack may happen soon if you don’t receive emergency treatment.
Ask your doctor what type of angina you have and what it means. If your doctor thinks you have unstable angina or that your angina is related to a serious heart condition, he or she may recommend medical testing.
When Your Doctor Recommends Testing
There are a number of tests your doctor may recommend to better understand the cause and severity of your angina. This may include EKG (electrocardiogram), stress testing , blood tests, and chest X-rays, or coronary angiography and cardiac catheterization. If your doctor recommends testing, ask what he or she hopes to learn from it. By pinpointing what’s causing your angina, your doctor can provide treatment tailored to your specific needs.
Treatment Options and Goals
Treatment for angina can focus on reducing the pain of angina and how often it occurs. More importantly, it can focus on preventing or reducing your risk of heart attack by treating your underlying condition. Because the cause of angina can vary widely, treatment options vary as well. It may include lifestyle changes, medicines, medical procedures, cardiac rehabilitation and more.
If your symptoms are mild and not getting any worse, lifestyle changes and medicines may be the only treatment you need. If these therapies don’t control your angina, you may need more involved treatment, such as medical procedures and heart surgery.
Keep in mind that not all angina is a sign of heart disease. But because the symptom has so many possible causes, any chest pain should be checked by a doctor. If you are at all concerned that your chest pain is a sign of a heart attack, call 911 immediately.
Key Takeaways:
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It’s important to understand the reason for your angina and exactly what it feels like. Then you can treat the underlying problem and avoid serious complications, such as a heart attack.
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People experience angina in different ways. It can feel like pressure, tightness, squeezing or burning in the chest. Angina can even feel like indigestion or pain in the jaw, shoulder or arm.
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Your doctor may recommend an EKG, stress testing, blood tests, and chest X-rays, or coronary angiography and cardiac catheterization to better understand the cause and severity of your angina.
