angina

(noun)

Chest pain that indicates ischemia in the heart. It may be either transient (unstable) or stable, and stable anginas typically lead to infarction.

Related Terms

Examples of angina in the following topics:

  • Myocardial Ischemia and Infarction

    • Angina- chest pain on exertion, in cold weather or emotional situations
    • Acute chest pain- acute coronary syndrome, unstable angina or myocardial infarction
    • In "stable" angina, chest pain with typical features occurs at predictable levels of exertion.
    • If there is no evidence of damage or infarction, a diagnosis of "unstable angina" is given.
    • In stable IHD, antianginal drugs may be used to reduce the rate of occurrence and severity of angina attacks.

  • Coronary Artery Disease

    • Angina (chest pain) that occurs regularly with activity, after heavy meals, or at other predictable times is termed stable angina and is associated with high grade narrowings of the heart arteries.
    • The symptoms of angina are often treated with betablocker therapy such as metoprolol or atenolol.
    • Chest pain or Angina pectoris may increase with physical stress; the pain may spread to the left arm or the neck, back, throat, or jaw.

  • Heart Circulation

    • This could result in angina and ultimately a myocardial infarction.
    • Brief periods of ischemia in the heart are associated with intense chest pain called angina, which may either be transient if the clot breaks up on its own or stable if it does not.

  • Effects of Exercise on the Heart

    • Exercise helps prevent blood pooling and clotting, protecting against clots that could cause angina or myocardial infarction.

  • Dental Caries

    • Complications such as cavernous sinus thrombosis and Ludwig's angina can be life-threatening.

  • Raynaud's Phenomenon

    • Sufferers are more likely to have migraine and angina than controls.

  • Anemia

    • This would result in symptoms such as palpitations, angina (if preexisting heart disease is present), intermittent claudication of the legs, and symptoms of heart failure .

  • Pericarditis

    • The pain may resemble the pain of angina pectoris or heart attack, but differs in that pain changes with body position, as opposed to heart attack pain that is pressure-like, and constant with radiation to the left arm or the jaw.

  • Aging and the Cardiovascular System

    • The phrase "heart attack" sometimes refers to heart problems other than MI, such as unstable angina pectoris and sudden cardiac death.