Exertional Angina - Dubai Cardiology Clinic

It is manifested by chest pain radiating to the back, left arm, or jaw and lasting for a few minutes due to coronary artery disease which causes an imbalance between the supply and demand of oxygenated blood to the heart muscle.

Why do you get anginal episode?

There are two important factors causing an imbalance between the blood supply and demand of heart muscle:

• Atherosclerosis of coronary arteries causes narrowing or blockage and low blood supply.
• Arterial spasm.

What triggers angina?

• Stress (emotional or physical.)
• Very hot or cold weather or move from warm to cold atmosphere.
• Heavy meals.
• A large amount of alcohol.
• Smoking

How does the patient feel?

Patients get chest pain which may be associated with shortness of breath, nausea, fatigue, dizziness, profuse sweating, and anxiety.

Difference between stable and unstable angina

 Stable angina is triggered by stress, heavy meals, and cold weather. It lasts for 5 minutes or less and is relieved by rest and sublingual nitroglycerin medication.

 Unstable angina occurs suddenly and gets worse over time. It lasts longer up to 15 minutes or so and becomes more severe. It may eventually progress to a heart attack.

Both of them are indicators of coronary arterial disease (CAD), so it is important to see your doctor without any delay.

 Risk factors for angina

These are the following:

• Sedentary lifestyle.
• Stressful situations.
• Overweight
• Diabetes
• Hypertension
• Smoking
• Hypercholesterolemia

Diagnosis

Many factors should be considered to get the right diagnosis of angina:

• The quality of pain.
• ECG changes.
• A stress exercise test is very important and helpful. When it is positive, we proceed to coronary angiography. We can also do stenting if the artery is severely stenosed.

Dubai Cardiology Clinic - Treatment of various cardiovascular diseases such as Hypertension, Ischemic heart disease, Holter monitoring, Heart failure, Stress test, chest pain and echocardiography are now available in DRHC.