If your doctor has told you that you have angina, you know too well what it feels like—that squeezing, pressing pain under your breastbone. You may even feel it in your arm, jaw, shoulder, back, or neck.

Angina is the chest pain you feel when your heart doesn’t get enough oxygen-rich blood, which it needs to keep pumping. You may feel it during certain activities, such as walking or cleaning, or when you are upset. Extreme temperatures, heavy meals, alcohol, and smoking also can trigger angina.

Stable and Unstable Angina
There are two common forms of angina. If the pain is predictable and only happens during certain activities, such as exercise, it’s called stable angina. This pain usually goes away after a few minutes of resting or taking prescribed angina medication.

But if chest pain doesn’t stick to a pattern or becomes more severe or frequent, the problem is unstable angina. Unstable angina can even happen while resting.

Both types of angina are often symptoms of coronary artery disease, or narrowed arteries. That means that sufferers also have a higher risk for a heart attack. People with angina should call their doctors if it becomes more frequent, lasts longer, or happens without exercise. These warning signs mean their risk for a heart attack is much higher in the days and weeks that follow.

The chest pain of a heart attack typically is more severe and lasts longer than angina—often longer than 15 to 20 minutes. It does not get better with rest or medicine. In addition, it may be accompanied by other symptoms, including nausea, sweating, shortness of breath, light-headedness, and weakness. People who suspect a heart attack should seek immediate emergency help.

More women than men get angina. However, not all women with angina may be at risk for heart trouble. Research suggests that fewer women with angina have coronary artery disease. More studies are looking at which women with angina are most at risk.

Lifestyle Tips
Lifestyle choices can ease chest pain and reduce your heart risk. Within weeks, you may feel better. In some cases, lifestyle choices can have a lasting impact on chest pain and help you lessen the need for surgery. Doctors recommend the following measures:

• Don’t smoke.
• Control your high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes, if applicable.
• Maintain a healthy weight.
• Eat a healthy, low-cholesterol, low-fat diet. Avoid heavy meals if they trigger your chest pain.
• Moderate your alcohol intake, if you drink at all.
• Manage your daily stress.
• Exercise. Avoid strenuous activities that can cause chest pain. But if your angina is stable, you need moderate exercise three to four times a week to keep your heart healthy. If you have been inactive, try walking for a few minutes at a time until you can work up to at least 20 minutes. Your doctor may also recommend cardiac rehabilitation, which is aimed at improving your heart health through exercise and counseling.

Treating the Pain
To help control your angina, your doctor will probably recommend that you take medicines, such as nitroglycerin, that can help improve blood flow. They work by widening blood vessels and helping the heart manage blood flow.

Other medicines can also ease the heart’s workload. Beta-blockers lower heart rate and blood pressure, which reduces chest pain. Calcium channel blockers increase blood flow through arteries, which also relieves angina.

Researchers are also looking at experimental treatments, such as gene therapy that increases blood flow to the heart muscle. They are also studying testosterone patches in men to treat angina caused by exercise.

Your doctor may also prescribe aspirin, which can help ward off heart attacks and episodes of angina. The most common dose is 325 milligrams daily, but studies have shown that a dose of only 75 milligrams a day may be effective in easing pain.

While medicine helps many people with angina, those with severe angina or who are at high risk for a heart attack may need one of the following procedures:

• Angioplasty, which opens up arteries to improve blood flow and ease chest pain
• Bypass surgery, in which a blood vessel is grafted onto a blocked artery to bypass the blocked section and increase blood flow to the heart
• Transmyocardial revascularization (TMR), which is for people who aren’t candidates for angioplasty or bypass surgery. This new procedure involves using a laser to create tiny holes in the heart, which relieves chest pain.

Do Your Heart Meds Play Well with Others?
It’s important to know if your heart medications interact with other drugs, such as over-the-counter medications or herbal supplements. Find out in our online Drug Reference Library. Visit us at www.paramount.staywellsolutionsonline.com and click on “Library” and “Drug Reference.”