What’s Angina – How to Treat Angina

whats angina

<< Go back to blog

Everyone knows O2 stands for oxygen, and they’ll also know that their lungs absolutely need to get it in order to distribute it into the blood and throughout your body. That’s made possible by breathing, of course, and by doing it, you are also making sure that your heart gets the oxygen-rich blood it needs. The way the entire human body works in concert is impressive, and the teamwork between the lungs and heart is a part of that. The heart muscles are working all the time, and when they don’t get that oxygenated blood in the quantity they need to then it’s a problem. What’s angina? It is persistent tightness in the chest caused by the heart muscles being in this state.

It is something that a person won’t be able to ignore, and it can also be a sign that you are in worse cardiovascular health and that there is the possibility of something much more disastrous down the road. Sometimes a person has angina, and it is preceding them having a heart attack, and of course, that’s one of the most serious and life-threatening medical emergencies you can have. And another aspect of what’s angina is that the chest tightness sensation should be equally concerning if you’re experiencing it after previously having a heart attack. Sometimes indigestions can manifest itself as temporary chest tightness, but if it doesn’t go away, you may be experiencing angina.

Ice boating is something that many people find exhilarating, and if you get a chance to try it, you really should. But if you’re sailing on ice, there’s no way it will not be very cold outside and for some people with angina, that may make it a no-go. That’s because cold weather can make angina worse, at least for those who have stable angina, one of the two types of angina and the most common one. The other one is unstable angina, and as stability is always better than instability, you can go ahead and assume that unstable angina is worse. And it is.

We’ll look at why that is we take a deeper look into what’s angina, and when have tightness in your chest may mean that you should see your family doctor or even a cardiologist with a Camaro in order to make sure you’re not on your way to some type of major cardiac event in the not-too-distant future.

Different for Girls

You might think we’re going to talk about this classic Joe Jackson song, but we’re going to stay on track with what’s Angina. Angina symptoms that go along with the primary one – chest tightness – include feeling the chest has a heaviness to it, or there is a distinct back-to-front squeezing of chest sensation. Poor heart health has always been more common for men than women, and the same goes for angina. But the reason we mention angina being different for women is because they can experience different symptoms, and these are neck, jaw or teeth discomfort, nausea, breath shortness, or stomach pain occurring at the same time.

This leads to how to treat angina and may also lead to people asking about reducing the risk of cardiovascular death, and we’ll get to that next. But it makes sense to look at how angina can be caused by other factors besides insufficient oxygenated blood supply. For example, a pulmonary embolism, pericarditis, or narrowing of valves in the heart can also be what’s causing people to experience chronic chest tightness or angina.

Heart Balloons?

If you were to ask a doctor how you treat angina, he would probably try to change the subject and tell you how he came within 10” of a blue shark while scuba diving. But you wouldn’t expect him to start talking about balloons. We know what angina is now, but we likely don’t know is that sometimes a person with chronic angina will need to have an angioplasty. This is a heart surgery where a microscopic balloon is used to pull a flexible mini tube through the heart to remove plaque that is blocking the heart arteries and preventing the muscles from getting the blood they need.

With more around what’s angina, it’s actually much more common for people with stable angina to use an effective angina treatment medication like Ranexa regularly. Unstable angina is when it comes and goes but is very severe at times and is much more likely to be leading to a major cardiac event. So if you have unstable angina and it is getting worse, you may need much more intensive medical care.


IMPORTANT NOTE: The above information is intended to increase awareness of health information and does not suggest treatment or diagnosis. This information is not a substitute for individual medical attention and should not be construed to indicate that use of the drug is safe, appropriate, or effective for you. See your health care professional for medical advice and treatment.


<< Go back to blog