In medicine this term is used to refer to pain and discomfort in the coronary arteries due to a partial blockage in them, causing the heart to stop receiving sufficient blood supply, we speak of angina pectoris only when the obstruction extends through a short time and then the patient recovers. This can occur when the heart is forced to make great efforts and the body is not able to increase the irrigation to that organ.
In most cases, atherosclerosis is the main cause of angina, tobacco, overweight cholesterol, high blood sugar and hypertension can be some of the factors that increase the formation of atherosclerosis plaques. In general, angina is preceded by a moment of emotional or physical excitement on the part of the affected person, overeating foods with high cholesterol content can be an important cause that causes this condition, another can be driving In hours of heavy traffic, some not so common cases occur when exercising in very cold areas.
Angina can present in three different forms, exertional, mixed and resting angina.
- Angina of effort: so called because the pain is caused by the effort carried out in any activity that requires a large amount of oxygen by the myocardium, the pain is usually short and disappears when you stop doing what caused it.
- Angina at rest: it occurs suddenly and without making any kind of effort, the duration can vary since sometimes the pain can extend to the point of looking like a heart attack.
- Mixed angina: this classification includes all those characteristics of angina at rest and angina with exertion.
The main symptoms of angina are chest pain that can last 2 to 15 minutes and strong pressure behind the breastbone that can spread into the arms. The skin turns pale, profuse sweating occurs, and the affected person may feel dead during episodes of pain.
The most recommended treatments for its effectiveness is the application of nitroglycerin through a pill that is placed under the tongue, this has the ability to dilate the arteries. Beta-blockers are also usually effective, since they largely block the effects of adrenaline in the body, making the heart slow down and consequently the oxygen demand.
