An episode of angina is not a heart attack. Angina is due to a temporary reduction in the flow of blood to part of the heart muscle and does not damage the heart itself. A heart attack occurs when the blood supply to part of the heart is cut off and results in permanent damage to the heart muscle. However, angina does indicate an increased risk of a heart attack.

Angina is common. It affects about 1 in 50 people and there are estimated to be 1.2 million people with angina in the UK. It is more common in men than women and the likelihood of it occurring increases with age.

Symptons of Angina

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The symptoms of angina can include:

1. pain or discomfort in the middle of the chest,
2. pain in the neck and throat, jaw, one or both arms, stomach and more rarely between the shoulder blades,
3. breathlessness or a choking feeling,
4. sweating,
5. feeling sick or exhausted.

Many people with angina experience only some of these symptoms and mild angina may have no symptoms at all.

Chest pain is the most common symptom of angina and is often described as a feeling of tightness or as a heavy weight on the chest. It can vary in intensity, from mild to severe. However, some people with angina do not experience pain at all.

Angina pain is usually brought on by exertion (physical exercise), when the hard-working heart muscle requires greater blood flow. Other triggers of angina can include:

1. stress,
2. strong emotion such as anger or excitement,
3. cold ,windy weather,
4. a large meal.

The level of activity it takes to trigger an angina attack can vary . Many people find that their angina occurs more often at certain times of the day, particularly first thing in the morning or late afternoon.
Depending on the type of angina, symptoms usually last less than 10 minutes once the trigger factor(s) stop.

There are three main types of angina:

Stable angina

This is the most common type of angina. The pain is usually brought on by physical exertion, such as walking up stairs or uphill, when the heart is working harder than normal.
The pain is usually relieved by rest or by angina medicines (see Treatment). It will usually last between one and three minutes and should not last longer than 10 minutes. However, the pain will often return if the activity that caused it is resumed.
Stable angina has a regular pattern and a similar level of activity triggers each attack. If you have stable angina you can usually predict the level of activity that will trigger pain.
You should visit your doctor if the regular pattern of your angina changes as your doctor may need to adjust your treatment.

Unstable angina

Unstable angina does not follow a regular pattern. Pain can be brought on by only a small amount of physical effort (such as walking just a few steps) or may occur when you are resting or lying in bed at night.
The symptoms are worse in unstable angina than in stable angina.The pains are more frequent, more severe and may last longer, sometimes as long as half an hour. Unstable angina doesn’t usually go away when angina medicine is taken.
Stable angina can progress to unstable angina, but sometimes, unstable angina is the first type of angina experienced.

Variant angina

Variant angina, also called Prinzmetal’s angina, is not very common. It usually affects women rather than men. The pain occurs without warning, often while resting or during the night.

If you have never had angina before and you experience symptoms, you should contact your GP or accident and emergency department (A&E).

If you have angina already, you should get medical help immediately if you experience any of the following:

1. being woken in the night by angina symptoms,
2. symptoms that are more severe than normal,
3. symptoms that occur more often than normal,
4. symptoms that last longer than normal.

These may be signs that you are at risk of having a heart attack soon.

Source:
NHS Direct Online. © Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and Queen’s Printer for Scotland.