Feeling pain or tightness in the chest could indicate that you are suffering from angina pectoris, anger, or anger pectoris. This condition is because not enough oxygenated blood reaches the heart, and men are more likely to develop these episodes than women. There is a higher incidence between 65-and 75 years of age, although it can occur at a younger age.
Angor pectoris can appear suddenly and be recurrent, regardless of whether you are at rest or doing some physical activity, and usually lasts a few minutes. Still, if it exceeds 20 minutes, it is a question of risk, so it is recommended that you go to your doctor before any sign of this condition, as it can sometimes trigger another complication and even lead to death. At FastlyHealwe know that it is essential that you stay well informed. For this reason, we want to detail more about the subject of angina pectoris: causes, symptoms, and treatment.
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Some Causes of Angina Pectoris
Angina is the manifestation that you suffer from a significant disorder known as ischemic heart disease. For some reason, the blood flow to the heart has been reduced. As there is no constant supply of oxygen and nutrients that this muscle needs to function, a relaxation reaction is activated that reduces the pumping to normalize it, which is perceived as the sensation of pain in the chest.
Thus, that tightness in the chest that you can feel is mainly due to atherosclerosis, which means that in the arteries that are responsible for carrying blood to your heart, a plaque or fat deposit has been produced, causing hardening and inflammation of the lining of these arteries, causing insufficient blood flow to the heart.
Another cause of angina pectoris is if you suffer from a spasm of the arteries of your heart, in which the walls of the artery contract sharply, preventing the correct passage of oxygenated blood for a short time. As a consequence, you can feel pain in your chest.
Likewise, any condition you may have that requires a more significant amount of oxygenated blood from your heart than it is processing will result in angina pectoris. Therefore, it is possible to happen to you after a physical effort, such as when climbing stairs and even during sexual activity. If you are going through tremendous stress, you are exposed to low temperatures or after a heavy meal. It can also originate if your blood pressure is altered, either due to illness or even bleeding.
Primary symptoms of angina pectoris
Regardless of its duration, you can identify angina pectoris based on several clues; However, to be confident about what it is and why it is happening to you, you must go to the doctor since it is possible to confuse it with other conditions of non-cardiac origin. The symptoms of angina pectoris that you may present are:
- You notice chest pain of an oppressive nature, primarily in the center of the chest, which disappears a few minutes later when blood flow is restored.
- The pain spreads to your arms, mainly to the left. It could also be directed towards the shoulder, neck, back, and jaw.
- You have excessive sweating for no apparent reason.
- You may have nausea, vomiting, and dizziness.
- You may have difficulty breathing, often deep rather than rapid breaths.
- You feel tired.
In this article, you can see more causes of chest pain.
Treatment to relieve angina pectoris
To alleviate the symptoms of angina pectoris, the doctor must identify the cause of origin and evaluate several factors, including your condition and if you have a history of heart attacks. Based on this, the best treatment for angina pectoris will be applied, which will seek to prevent its reappearance and prevent the disease from continuing to advance. Some medications recommended for this condition are contraindicated in certain situations, so you mustn’t self-medicate and follow the specialist’s instructions.
Since, in most cases, angina pectoris is caused by coronary obstruction by fat deposits, your doctor may recommend the use of antiplatelet drugs, whose function is to prevent these deposits from forming, reducing the elements that they usually compose it and improve ventricular function.
Likewise, the prescribed treatment for mangos pectoris may be composed of drugs such as beta-blockers, known for their remarkable effectiveness in reducing heart rate, contraction, and dilation of the heart muscle, favoring a lower oxygen demand. Calcium antagonist drugs are also beneficial, especially if you suffer angina pectoris due to an artery spasm. It reduces the willingness of the coronary arteries to compress and minimizes the stress on the heart.
Other drugs that could be included in your treatment are nitrites, which help reduce the duration and frequency of chest tightness, widen the heart’s arteries, promote better blood flow, and help to meet oxygen requirements.
On the other hand, if no medication has made you present improvements, or if the specialist considers it prudent before taking the drug due to the severity of your condition, you will probably have to undergo a surgical intervention to uncover or repair the affected coronary artery or structure that is causing the problem.
Recommendations to prevent angina pectoris
If you want to avoid or reduce the likelihood of angina pectoris, you can do so considerably by modifying certain habits that often work as triggers for this condition. First of all, you must establish a balanced and healthy diet, avoiding those foods that contribute to the accumulation of cholesterol and triglycerides. Performing aerobic exercise daily will help you, and both habits together can help maintain an ideal weight since obesity is a risk factor.
It is also essential that you stop smoking, especially if you do it constantly since it is one of the first triggers of angina pectoris. Relaxation exercises or activities that lower your stress level effectively avoid this chest discomfort. On the other hand, if you suffer from blood pressure problems, it is recommended that your doctor tell you the best way to control it. In this article, you can consult home remedies to quit smoking.
This article is merely informative. At FastlyHeal .com, we do not have the power to prescribe medical treatments or make any diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor if you present any condition or discomfort.
If you want to read more articles similar to Angina pectoris: causes, symptoms, and treatment, we recommend that you enter our category of Blood, heart, and circulation.
I am a Surgeon with a diploma in comprehensive ultrasound and surgical care residency, an area I am specializing in. During the exercise of my profession, I have realized the need for patients to know the diseases they suffer, and I can tell you that a large part of their complications is due to a lack of information. Being a health web writer allows me to transmit my experience, without borders, to all those readers eager for knowledge, educate them in the prevention of diseases and promote a healthy lifestyle.