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Angina, also known as angina pectoris, is chest pain or pressure, usually caused by insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle (myocardium). [2] It is most commonly a symptom of coronary artery disease. [2] Angina is typically the result of partial obstruction or spasm of the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle. [3]
Variant angina is caused by vasospasm, a narrowing of the coronary arteries due to contraction of the heart's smooth muscle tissue in the vessel walls. [3] In comparison, stable angina is caused by the permanent occlusion of these vessels by atherosclerosis, which is the buildup of fatty plaque and hardening of the arteries. [4]
Angina comes from the latin angere, which means to strangle, and pectoris comes from pectus, meaning chest—so angina pectoris loosely translates to “strangling of the chest”, which actually makes a lot of sense, because angina pectoris is caused by reduced blood flow which causes ischemia to the heart muscle, or lack of oxygen to the ...
Individuals experiencing angina characterize the pain in different ways, but the pain is usually described as crushing, squeezing, or burning. [7] Symptoms may worsen over the course of several minutes. [4] Typical angina is aggravated by physical activity or emotional stress and is relieved by rest or nitroglycerin. [4]
Symptoms include chest pain or angina, shortness of breath, and fatigue. [6]A completely blocked coronary artery will cause a heart attack. [6] Common heart attack symptoms include chest pain or angina, pain or discomfort that spreads to the shoulder, arm, back, neck jaw, teeth or the upper belly, cold sweats, fatigue, heartburn, nausea, shortness of breath, or lightheadedness.
Coronary vasospasm classically produces chest pain at rest, also known as variant angina (vasospastic angina or Prinzmetal's angina). [5] Chest pain is more common at certain times of the day, usually from late night to early morning. [6] These episodes can be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, cold sweating, and even syncope.
The pain associated with microvascular angina is normally more intense and it lasts for longer periods of time compared to pain caused by other conditions. Many gastric conditions can cause chest pains (sub-sternal pain), while this is usually associated with consumption of food this is not always the case, and is a very common differential ...
Coronary steal is also the mechanism in most drug-based cardiac stress tests; When a patient is incapable of doing physical activity they are given a vasodilator that produces a "cardiac steal syndrome" as a diagnostic procedure. The test result is positive if the patient's symptoms reappear or if ECG alterations are seen.