The Symptoms, Causes and Treatment of Angina

Angina is characterized by a discomfort, pain, or tightness in the chest that usually has a duration of 1 to 15 minutes and occurs frequently. Angina is not a disease per-se, it is more of a condition that indicates heart disease. Essentially, the sensation experienced in the heart that is either painful, tight, or uncomfortable is due to the lack of blood flow to that part of the heart. Usually the lack of blood flow is due to something blocking the arteries or reduced flow in the coronary arteries of the heart.

Information. There are three different variations of angina that happen in different types of circumstances. Stable angina is angina that is triggered by excessive stress or physical activities. It can typically be alleviated with resting. The second type is unstable angina, where the pain is intense and lasts for a longer duration then stable angina. It will come back repeatedly and happens when an individual is not active or resting. The last type of angina is called Prinzmetal’s angina or variant angina, which is the most uncommon type of angina. Prinzmetal’s angina is pain that is caused from the arteries of the heart abruptly and quickly narrow out or tighten up. It is typically characterized by severe pain that occurs while an individual is asleep at night.