Angina

What is angina?

Angina is a condition that causes pain in your chest. The pain often starts on the left side but can spread to the shoulder, neck and jaw. It often follows some kind of physical exertion, such as exercise. It can also be brought on by stress. The discomfort felt is due to a lack of blood flow to the heart. Once you’re able to rest and relax during an angina attack, the pain will usually subside quite quickly – within a few minutes.

Who gets angina?

As angina is caused by a lack of blood flow to the heart, it tends to be experienced by people who already have coronary heart disease, as they already have narrow blood vessels around their heart.

There are other risk factors as well, such as your age and genetics. For instance, if you have close relatives with coronary heart disease, or who have suffered from angina, you could be more likely to develop it too.^[1]

You can also be at more risk if you smoke, drink heavily or suffer from a lot of stress. Other health conditions, such as high cholesterol levels, diabetes and obesity can also increase your risk of getting angina.

How common is angina?

It’s a relatively common condition in older adults, and becomes more common as you grow older. In women who are aged between 65 and 84, 10-12% will be diagnosed with angina, whilst 14-15% of men in the same age group have it.^[2]

Within an average clinician’s practice in the UK (one that has around 8000 or so patients), it’s believed that roughly 300 of those will have a diagnosis of angina^[3]

What causes angina?

Angina can have a few different causes, so it’s always a good idea to get yourself checked out and talk to a clinician if you think you might have symptoms.

It’s caused by a lack of oxygen-rich blood flowing to the heart. This can happen if your arteries are damaged or have a build-up of plaque in them. These two issues can be caused by coronary artery disease and coronary microvascular disease.

Angina can also be caused by temporary spasms in the arteries which surround the heart too.

What are the symptoms of angina?

The main symptom of angina is chest pain. This pain can radiate outwards into the arms, jaw, neck or shoulders. Once you stop what you’re doing and take a rest to slow down, the pain usually subsides pretty quickly. Some people can also experience breathlessness, nausea or stomach problems during an angina attack.

Can angina lead to other problems?

It’s important to diagnose and treat angina quickly. If it’s left untreated, it can lead to other health problems and complications such as a stroke or heart attack.

If it goes undiagnosed it can cause an increase in stress, anxiety and depression which can lead to a reduced quality of life.

If you think you might have signs of angina, our clinician can discuss these with you. They’ll properly assess all your symptoms so you can get the right treatment.