Angina Pectoris

“Angina Pectoris” is what the medical world calls the chest pains that come with coronary heart disease. The pain is the result of the heart not receiving the amount of blood it needs. A likely cause is a blockage of he arteries that take blood to the heart.
Not all chest pains are linked to heart disease. There are some symptoms that suggest that they are. These are lasting for a short duration at a time (say 5 minutes), episodes of pain tend to feel very similar, the same chest pain feeling extending to arms, back or other parts of the body even. One can also have a gassy feeling such as one gets with indigestion.
Exposure to hot or cold temperatures can make a person more prone to suffering from it. It is wise, if there is any hint of Angina Pectoris to avoid smoking, to eat a healthy diet and to take some form of daily exercise.
Some of the symptoms like shortness of breath will be particularly apparent when one is carrying out some form of exercise such as running. Blood may be able to pass through narrow arteries when one is sitting down, but struggle to do so when one needs more oxygen as when running.

Treatments

Medication is the main form of treatment for angina pectoris some are prescribed for use for when an angina attack takes place to control the symptoms such as chest pain and shortness of breath and some are to prevent the angina attacks happening.

Medication

Drugs prescribed for use when an attack is taking place are known as GTNs as the main ingredient is glyceryl trinitrate. They can be in either tablet form or a mouth spray; the tablets have a short shelf life once a packet is opened so after approximately eight weeks after opening a new pack will be required. The spray has a longer shelf life so does not need replacing as often and generally is more convenient.

It is important that when an angina attack starts to happen you immediately stop whatever you are doing and rest up and take your GTN medication. If after five minutes the first dose is not working a second dose can be taken but if that still does not calm the symptoms then medical aid should be sought.

In some instances, you may be advised that you should take your GTN medication before doing exercise or strenuous work so as to prevent a possible attack happening.

Alongside the medication to help you during an angina attack you are most likely to also be prescribed another drug to take continually for the rest of your life which will be to prevent the angina attacks happening.

Beta Blockers

Beta blockers are the most common form of preventative medicine for angina and these work by slowing down the heart rate and lessen the force with which it beats. Common brands of these are Cardicor, Nebilet, Inderal and Tenormin.

Alternatively, you may be prescribed a calcium channel blocker which relaxes your arteries and allows more blood to flow to the heart muscle.

If your medical practitioner thinks your angina is putting you at a greater risk of having a stroke or heart attack they may also prescribe a general preventative medicine as well such as a low dose of aspirin or a statin.

Surgery

When medication is not working to control the angina then surgery will be considered and there are two types mainly used:

Percutaneous Coronary Intervention or PCI

This is where a stent – tiny tube is inserted into an artery which has narrowed and thus widens it to improve blood flow.

Coronary Artery Bypass Graft or CABG

In this process a piece of blood vessel is removed from another part of the artery and put in place of the narrowed or blocked section of artery to improve blood flow.

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