Angina

Angina, also called angina pectoris, is typically described as a feeling of squeezing, pressure, heaviness or tightness in the chest. It can be classified in three categories: stable angina, unstable angina and variant angina. A typical angina attack lasts minutes. If it is more fleeting or lasts for hours, it is probably not angina.

Stable Angina (predictable chest pain)

• Stable angina pain or discomfort is recurring or persistent chest pain that occurs with exertion and goes away with rest.
• It is rarely described as stabbing or burning. Changing one's position or breathing in and out does not affect the pain.
• Chest pain is usually under the breastbone. It often radiates to the neck, jaw or left shoulder and arm.

Other symptoms that may accompany the pain or pressure in the chest include:

• Shortness of breath
• Nausea
• Sweating
• Chest pain
• Unexplained fatigue after activity (more common in women)
• Dizziness or lightheadedness
• Palpitations

Unstable Angina (medical emergency)

• Sudden, new chest pain that is different from the symptoms of stable angina.
• May signal a heart attack.
• Pain awakens a patient or occurs during rest.
• A patient who has never experienced angina has severe or moderate pain during mild exertion (climbing one flight of stairs).
• Fainting episode.
• Can last as long as 30 minutes, far longer than a stable angina episode.

Variant Angina (Prinzmetal’s angina)

• Very rare and is caused by coronary spasms
• Typically happens while patient is at rest
• May be alleviated by angina medication

MetroSouth Medical Center cardiologists and the heart disease treatment team will develop and recommend an individualized treatment plan for you.  Where appropriate, the MetroSouth Medical Center team will initially suggest lifestyle modifications and in some cases medications.  When those two fail, or depending upon the severity of the disease and your risk for heart attack, mininally invasive or open surgical treatments may be considered.  Treatments for angina include:

• Lifestyle modification
• Stop smoking
• Lose weight
• Control cholesterol
• Control diabetes
• Exercise

Medicines
Talk to your doctor if lifestyle changes aren’t controlling your angina. They may prescribe aspirin, nitrates, beta blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, Ranolazine, statins or calcium channel blockers.

Surgery
Angioplasty, bypass surgery and stenting are common procedures to reopen narrowed heart arteries.  The cardiology program at MetroSouth Medical Center, through its predecessor hosptial St. Francis, was the first in the Chicago area to perform angioplasty, more than thirty years ago.  Since then, more than 15,000 angioplasties and more than 12,000 open heart surgeries have been performed at MetroSouth Medical Center.

• Coronary artery bypass grafting (commonly called bypass or CABG) takes an artery or vein from elsewhere in your body and uses it to bypass a narrowed or blocked artery.
• Stenting and Angioplasty (percutaneous coronary intervention or PCI) involve inserting a small balloon into your narrowed artery, usually via a leg artery. The balloon is inflated to widen the artery and then a stent is inserted to hold the artery open.

If you are experiencing any of the symptoms outlined above, call a MetroSouth Medical Center heart care specialist today at 708-489-7925.  Our team of family medicine physicians, cardiologists, interventional cardiologists and surgeons are here, close to home, to help you.