Angina: Diagnosis and Treatment Options :: Health Medicine

Angina Diagnosis and Treatment Options Angina refers to the pain arising from lack of adapted blood supply tothe heart muscle. Typically, it is a crushing pain behind the breastbonein the center of the chest, brought on by exertion and relieved by rest. Itmay at times radiate to or arise in the left arm, neck, jaw, left chest, orback. It is frequently accompanied by sweating, palpitations of the heart,and generally lasts a matter of minutes. Similar pain syndromes may becaused by opposite diseases, including esophagitis, gall bladder disease,ulcers, and others. Diagnosis of angina begins with the recognition of the consistentsymptoms. Often an figure out test with radioactive thallium is performed ifthe diagnosis is in question, and sometimes even a cardiac catheterizationis done if the outcome is felt necessary to make concern decisions. Thisis a complex area which requires careful judgment by physician and patient. Angina is a manifestation of coronary artery disease , the same disease steer to heart attacks. Coronary artery diseas refers to those syndromescaused by blockage to the flow of blood in those arteries supplying theheart muscle itself, i.e., the coronary arteries. Like any other organ, theheart requires a steady flow of oxygen and nutrients to provide energy forrmovement, and to maintain the delicate balance of chemicals which allowfor the careful electrical rhythm chair of the heart beat. Unlike someother organs, the heart can save only a matter of minutes without thesenutrients, and the rest of the body can survive only minutes without theheart--thus the critical nature of these syndromes. Causes of blockage range from congenital tissue strands within or overthe arteries to spasms of the muscular coat of the arteries themselves. By farther the most common cause, however, is the deposition of plaques ofcholesterol, platelets and other substances within the arterial walls.Sometimes the buildup is very gradual, but in other case s the buildup issuddenly increased as a chunk of matter breaks off and suddenly blocks thealready narrowed opening. Certain factors seem to favor the buildup of these plaques. A strongfamily history of heart attacks is a decisive risk factor, reflecting somemetabolic derangement in either cholesterol handling or some other factor.Being male, for reasons probably related to the protective effects of somefemale hormones, is also a relative risk. Cigarette smoking and high bloodpressure are definite risks, both two-sided in most cases.