Coronary heart disease and angina
• Angina is pain or discomfort that comes when your heart does not get enough oxygen. Angina is usually a symptom of a heart problem known as coronary heart disease (CHD), also called coronary artery disease (CAD)1
•
• Your heart is a muscle. It pumps oxygen-rich blood to your whole body. Your heart also needs oxygen to work. Blood vessels called coronary arteries carry blood with oxygen to your heart.
•
• In healthy coronary arteries, blood flows freely to bring oxygen to the heart. In coronary heart disease, these arteries become stiff and narrow. This lowers blood flow and the amount of oxygen that gets to the heart
•
• With exercise or emotional stress, the heart works harder …show more content…
These are times when the heart is working harder. An episode of chronic angina usually lasts five minutes or less. Certain activities can trigger angina. People usually know what things will cause them to have angina. Common triggers: physical activity such as climbing stairs or lifting heavy objects; emotional stress; extreme heat or cold; eating large meals; smoking
Relieved by: resting or nitroglycerin
2 Unstable angina
Unstable angina happens with or without physical activity — even while you are at rest or sleeping. If you have unstable angina, you could be at risk of a heart attack. If you have pain that is getting worse or does not go away with rest or nitroglycerin, you could be having a heart attack. You should get emergency medical help right away. In this type of angina, you cannot tell what will trigger an attack. Unstable angina is more severe and usually lasts as long as 30 minutes.
No common triggers: can occur with little or no physical activity; at rest or while …show more content…
You should get emergency medical help right away
3 Variant angina
Variant angina is a rare type of angina. It happens without warning. The pain is caused by sudden tightening or spasm of a coronary artery. It most often happens at rest, between midnight and early morning. The pain can be severe.
Common triggers: emotional stress; extreme cold; smoking; use of cocaine or of medicines that narrow blood vessels; usually occurs while at rest or while sleeping
Relieved by: medicine; seek medical attention
• Angina is pain or discomfort that comes when your heart does not get enough oxygen. Angina is usually a symptom of a heart problem known as coronary heart disease (CHD), also called coronary artery disease (CAD)1
•
• Your heart is a muscle. It pumps oxygen-rich blood to your whole body. Your heart also needs oxygen to work. Blood vessels called coronary arteries carry blood with oxygen to your heart.
•
• In healthy coronary arteries, blood flows freely to bring oxygen to the heart. In coronary heart disease, these arteries become stiff and narrow. This lowers blood flow and the amount of oxygen that gets to the heart
•
• With exercise or emotional stress, the heart works harder …show more content…
These are times when the heart is working harder. An episode of chronic angina usually lasts five minutes or less. Certain activities can trigger angina. People usually know what things will cause them to have angina. Common triggers: physical activity such as climbing stairs or lifting heavy objects; emotional stress; extreme heat or cold; eating large meals; smoking
Relieved by: resting or nitroglycerin
2 Unstable angina
Unstable angina happens with or without physical activity — even while you are at rest or sleeping. If you have unstable angina, you could be at risk of a heart attack. If you have pain that is getting worse or does not go away with rest or nitroglycerin, you could be having a heart attack. You should get emergency medical help right away. In this type of angina, you cannot tell what will trigger an attack. Unstable angina is more severe and usually lasts as long as 30 minutes.
No common triggers: can occur with little or no physical activity; at rest or while …show more content…
You should get emergency medical help right away
3 Variant angina
Variant angina is a rare type of angina. It happens without warning. The pain is caused by sudden tightening or spasm of a coronary artery. It most often happens at rest, between midnight and early morning. The pain can be severe.
Common triggers: emotional stress; extreme cold; smoking; use of cocaine or of medicines that narrow blood vessels; usually occurs while at rest or while sleeping
Relieved by: medicine; seek medical attention