Chest Pain vs. Angina
Chest pain and angina are two different conditions. Chest pain should be considered a medical emergency until proven otherwise. Chest pain is a pain in the chest from an unknown cause before diagnosis or treatment. Angina is a term reserved for a patient who has been diagnosed by a physician with known coronary artery disease.
What is chest pain?
Chest pain can be described as a warning that the heart muscle is not getting enough blood and oxygen. It is probably the symptom most commonly associated with heart disease and/or heart attack. But chest pain, like a heart attack, can affect each person differently. And people define pain in many different ways.
Chest pain is often equated with angina, another form of chest discomfort. However, while they are similar, they are not the same (see description of angina later in this piece). Chest pain typically is angina for those already diagnosed with coronary heart disease. Your symptoms may be angina, which should be reported to your physician, but unless you know for certain, seek immediate emergency medical treatment if you have chest pain.
Your heart needs nutrients and oxygen, like other muscles, to function. Its own set of arteries supply the heart with blood that provides the oxygen and nutrients it needs. When the heart works harder, it needs more blood. If the coronary arteries are narrowed due to a build-up of cholesterol or other fatty substances (atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries), less blood can flow through the restricted, or narrowed, arteries.
This can trigger pain. Once enough blood and oxygen can reach the heart, or when demand eases, the pain will subside.
What causes chest pain?
A few of the things that can demand your heart muscle to work harder, and which may trigger chest pain, and possibly a heart attack, include:
- Smoking
- Physical exertion
- Emotional stress
- Excitement
- Heavy meals
- Alcohol use
- Exposure to extreme hot or cold weather
What are the symptoms of chest pain?
In men, the chest pain may seem to start in the middle of the chest, spreading outward to the jaw, neck, throat, arms, shoulders, and between the shoulder blades.
In women, the pain commonly is in the upper chest. There is a sense of pressure or heaviness, or a tightness, aching or squeezing in the chest or arms. Often, there is unexplained shortness of breath.
Sometimes there is a feeling that resembles heartburn, as well as nausea, vomiting or indigestion. Others may feel a cramp-like pain or sharp burning sensation.
If you feel short of breath, dizzy, sweaty or your heartbeat is fast, this may indicate that your heart is not getting enough oxygen.
If the pain does not subside, you should consider it a medical emergency and call 911. Mercy’s Chest Pain ER is just minutes away. Do NOT drive yourself to the hospital.
It is important to seek medical treatment as quickly as possible if you are experiencing chest pain. The shorter the time to treatment, the less potential damage to the heart muscle, if it is a heart attack. This can lend itself to better recovery, as well.
What is angina?
Angina is a diagnosis made by a physician, usually after chest pain symptoms have been thoroughly evaluated. If you were diagnosed with angina, your physician gave you instructions on what to do when your angina returned. It is very important that you follow those instructions, and that you tell your physician about your symptoms.
If you experience these symptoms, stop whatever you are doing and rest. This reduces the heart muscle’s need for extra blood. If your pain does not go away or you suspect this episode of chest pain may be more than angina, seek emergency medical treatment at once.
What causes angina?
Frequently, angina is caused by atherosclerosis, the build-up of cholesterol and other fatty substances inside the arteries. This narrows the arteries, limiting blood flow. That puts additional pressure on your heart. When the arteries supplying blood to the heart are affected – the coronary arteries – the condition is called coronary artery disease.
What are the symptoms of angina?
- Unexplained dizziness
- Feeling of pressure, heaviness or discomfort in the chest
- Feeling of indigestion or heartburn
- Shortness of breath
What treatment is available?
If you recognize the diagnosed signs of angina in yourself, stop what you are doing and rest so the pain subsides. Tell your physician about your symptoms. Your physician may prescribe nitroglycerin, which can help your heart by expanding the blood vessels, which increases the blood supply to the heart.
Once diagnosed, angina can be treated or prevented with the right medication and common sense. You can do a lot to minimize stress that triggers angina just through lifestyle changes. For example:
- If your physician has prescribed nitroglycerin, take a tablet before an activity that has caused angina for you in the past
- Avoid extreme temperatures
- Reduce risk factors you can change (smoking, alcohol abuse, poor diet, inactivity)
- Eat several small meals daily instead of large meals, and rest after each meal to aid digestion
By taking these and other steps toward a heart-healthy lifestyle, you can decrease episodes of angina or stop it altogether. These episodes do not leave lasting damage to your heart, but they indicate that your coronary arteries are likely diseased and your heart’s blood supply is inadequate.
Mercy’s Cardiac Rehabilitation program at Mercy Health Plaza can also help you adopt a healthier lifestyle. And Mercy’s “Fit for Life ” program provides monitored exercise and guidance at Mercy Fitness Center.
