Angina is a warning sign for deteriorating heart health. However, patients often tend to ignore the early signs. Sometimes they confuse indigestion and start panicking that they have a heart attack. While there is a specific type that does cause a cardiac attack, angina is not a disease in itself, but an indication of possible heart complexities in future.
Angina, also known as Angina Pectoris, is a medical condition associated with left side chest pain often felt as squeezing, heaviness, tightness or fullness. It is due to coronary artery disease, whereby excess fatty deposits are known as ‘plaques’ accumulate on the inner walls of the coronary arteries, thus narrowing them. These restrict adequate blood flow to the heart, depriving it of the minimum oxygen required for proper functioning. As a result, a left side chest pain or discomfort results, which is called angina. Factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol level, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, mental stress, etc. increase the risk of developing angina.
How is angina diagnosed?
Medical experts usually recommend the following diagnostic procedures for angina.
Electrocardiogram (ECG):
Our heartbeats trigger an electrical impulse generated from specialised cardiac cells. Conducting a proper ECG will record these impulses and convert them into readable patterns for examination. The doctor will then analyse the deviations in the pattern (if any) to identify if you have developed angina.
Echocardiogram:
If you have angina, certain areas of your heart damages due to restricted blood flow. An echocardiogram gives a clear picture of your heart, helping the doctor to know if it has deviated from the usual pattern.
Stress Test:
Here, your heart is under stress, i.e. you’re asked to exercise while you’re heart rate, blood pressure and ECG readings are monitored. If you’re unable to work-out, it gives the doctor an indication of the status of your heart.
Chest X-Ray:
Here, a detailed x-ray image of your heart and lungs is generated to not only explain the conditions leading to angina but to determine other contributing factors like having an enlarged heart, etc.
Blood Test:
Certain specific cardiac enzymes leak out into your bloodstream when you experience angina episodes, heart attacks, strokes, etc. Conducting a proper blood test can vividly reveal these components in the collected blood samples.
Coronary Angiography:
Here, X-ray imaging is used to examine the interiors of your cardiac blood vessels. It is a part of a larger series of procedures called cardiac catheterisation. A visible X-ray dye is injected into your bloodstream during coronary angiography, and the rapid images are generated, displaying the insides of your blood vessels.
Cardiac Computerised Tomography (CT Scan)
When subjected to a CT scan procedure, your body is rotated and scanned by a machine that photographs your heart and lungs, showing constricted arteries (if any).
Cardiac MRI
Here, you lie on a table inside a long tube-like machine. Conducting this test gives you a detailed image of your blood vessels and cardiac structures.
Medical experts recommend the following procedures for treating angina:
- Lifestyle alterations like exercising, maintaining a healthy diet, reducing mental stress, keeping blood pressure and cholesterol levels under check, leading a dynamic lifestyle, etc.
- Medications like aspirin, statins, blot preventing drugs, nitrates, beta-blockers, blood pressure-lowering medications, ranolazine, calcium channel blockers, etc.
- Surgical procedures like angioplasty, stenting, coronary artery bypass surgery, etc.
Endnote
Differentiating angina symptoms from other types of chest pain often becomes difficult and perplexing. However, noticing the early signs and consulting a doctor can keep angina at bay. It is necessary to carry out periodic health check-ups and adhere to the prescribed treatments.
Source
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/angina/diagnosis-treatmen...