Chest Pain or AnginaAngina is chest pain or discomfort that occurs when an area of your heart muscle doesn't get enough oxygen-rich blood. Angina may feel like pressure or squeezing in your chest. The pain also may occur in your shoulders, arms, neck, jaw, or back. This pain may even feel like indigestion.Angina isn't a disease; it's a symptom of an underlying heart problem.
Experts believe that nearly 7 million people in the United States suffer from angina. About 400,000 people go to their doctors with new cases of angina every year. The condition occurs equally in men and women. Angina can be a sign of heart disease, even if initial tests don't show evidence of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). However, not all chest pain or discomfort is a sign of a heart problem. There are different types of Angina and the difference between them is because they have different symptoms and require different treatments. Stable angina is the most common type of angina. It occurs if the heart is working harder than usual. Stable angina has a regular pattern. Unstable angina doesn't follow a pattern. It can occur with or without physical exertion, and it may not be relieved by rest or medicine. Unstable angina is very dangerous and requires emergency treatment. This type of angina is a sign that a heart attack may happen soon. Variant angina is rare. It usually occurs while you're at rest, and the pain can be severe. Variant angina usually happens between midnight and early morning. Medicine can relieve this type of angina. Microvascular angina can be more severe and last longer than other types of angina; medicine may not relieve it. Go back from chest pain to coronary artery
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If you know you have stable angina, you can learn to recognize the pattern and predict when the pain will occur. The pain usually goes away a few minutes after you rest or take your angina medicine. Stable angina isn't a heart attack, but it suggests that a heart attack is more likely in the future.