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Angina or angina, depending on how you pronounce it, is basically chest pain that comes on with exertion. And for most patients, angina is very classic. It basically feels like an elephant or a pressure sensation on the chest that comes on with a patient is exerting themselves. That’s relieved by rest. Sometimes it radiates to the arm or jaw, often it’s associated with shortness of breath or other symptoms, but it’s really important to realize that a good percentage of patients that have atherosclerosis that have coronary disease don’t develop angina or don’t develop it in a pattern that’s classic. And when we talk about females, females often don’t get the classic symptoms of angina with the pressure or the chest pain. They might get suddenly fatigue, some nausea, some heartburn with exertion, shortness of breath or dyspnea, which we call difficulty breathing with exertion can be symptoms that are just as important to notice as it is, you know, typical chest pain or pressure. When you have angina, it’s really important to get the attention of your doctor and to get evaluated. If your angina is increasing in frequency or intensity over time, it could mean that it’s unstable. And that means you’re likely to have a plaque rupture or potential heart attack in the near future. So for those patients, it’s really urgent that they get attention from a clinician or even from a ER or urgent care if necessary.
