Angina diagnosis is
entirely based on a physician’s ability to recognize and
interpret symptoms described by a patient. Terms used to
describe the chest pain of angina are extremely varied:
A feeling of
heaviness, of pressure, of crushing, squeezing or expansion.
A sensation of
burning and pain.
But besides these symptoms,
other signs may also occur:
Some patients feel angina
pain as a sensation that starts and remains in one or both wrists, in
the arms, the shoulders, the jaw, the neck and between the shoulder
blades or at the stomach entrance. When pain is triggered in the
above areas by physical effort and stops upon rest, angina is
probably due to cardial ischemia (reduced blood flow). If the
heart muscle is not sufficiently supplied with blood for a short
period, its cells may suffer damage which gets serious enough to
cause a permanent weakening of the muscle (cardiomyopathy).
There are various forms of
angina: stable, unstable, and recurrent.
The most typical form of
angina has the following symptoms:
A duration of
one to three minutes.
Is caused by
physical effort or emotions.
Rapid
improvement upon rest.
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