Angina Pectoris: The Heart Killer

Introduction

In today's society, people are gaining medical knowledge at quite a fast pace. Treatments, cures, and vaccines for various diseases and disorders are being developed constantly, and yet, coronary disease remains the number one killer in the world.

The media today concentrates intently on drug and alcohol abuse, homicides, AIDS, and so on. What a lot of people aren't realizing is that coronary disease actually accounts for about 80% of sudden deaths. In fact, the number of deaths from heart disease approximately equals to the number of deaths from cancer, chronic lung disease, pneumonia and influenza, and others combined.

One of the symptoms of coronary disease is angina pectoris. Unfortunately, a lot of people do not take it seriously, and thus not realizing that it may lead to other complications, and even death.

The Human Heart

In order to understand angina, one must know about our own heart. The human heart is a powerful muscle in the body which is worked the hardest. A double pump system, the heart consists of two pumps side by side, which pump blood to all parts of the body. It's steady beating maintains the flow of blood through the body day and night, year after year, nonstop from birth until death.

The heart is a hollow, muscular organ slightly bigger than a person's clenched fist. It is located in the center of the chest, under the breastbone above the sternum, but it slightly slanted to the left giving people the impression that the heart is on the left side of the chest.

The heart is divided into two halves, which are further divided into four chambers: the left atrium and ventricle, and the right atrium and ventricle. Each chamber on one side is separated from the other, by a valve, and it the closure of these valves that produce the "lubb-dubb" sound so familiar to us.

Like any other organs in our body, the heart needs a supply of blood and oxygen, and coronary arteries supply them. There are two main coronary arteries, the left coronary artery, and the right coronary artery. They branch off the main artery of the body, the aorta. The right coronary artery circles the right side and goes to the back of the heart. The left coronary artery further divides into the left circumflex and the left anterior descending artery. These two left arteries feed the front and left side of the heart. The division of the left coronary artery is the reason why doctors usually refer to three main coronary arteries.

Symptoms of Coronary Heart Disease

There are three main symptoms of coronary disease: heart attack, sudden death, and angina.

Heart attack occurs when a blood clot suddenly and completely blocks a diseased coronary artery, resulting in the death of the heart muscle cells supplied by that artery. Coronary and Coronary Thrombosis 2 are terms that can refer to a heart attack. Another term, Acute Myocardial Infarction 2, means death of heart muscle due to an inadequate blood supply.

Sudden death occurs due to cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest may be the first symptom of coronary artery disease and may occur without any symptoms or warning signs. Other causes of sudden death include drowning, suffocation, electrocution, drug overdose, trauma (such as automobile accidents), and stroke. Drowning, suffocation, and drug overdose usually cause respiratory arrest which in turn cause cardiac arrest. Trauma may cause sudden death by severe injury to the heart and brain, or by severe blood loss. Stroke causes damage to the brain which can cause respiratory arrest and/or cardiac arrest.

People with coronary heart disease, whether or not they have had a heart attack, experience intermittent chest pain, pressure, or discomforts. The name of this situation is known as angina pectoris. It occurs when the narrowing of the coronary arteries temporarily prevents an adequate supply of blood and oxygen to meet the demands of working heart muscles.

Angina Pectoris

Angina pectoris (from angina meaning strangling, and pectoris meaning breast) is commonly known as angina and means pain in the chest. The term "angina" was first used during a lecture in 1768 by Dr. William Heberden. The word was not intended to indicate "pain" but rather "strangling," with a secondary sensation of fear.

Victims suffering from angina may experience pressure, discomfort, or a squeezing sensation in the center of the chest behind the breastbone. The pain may radiate to the arms, the neck, even the upper back, and the pain may come and go. It occurs when the heart is not receiving enough oxygen to meet an increased demand.

Angina, as mentioned before, is only temporary, and it does not cause any permanent damage to the heart muscle. The underlying coronary disease, however, continues to progress until actions are taken to prevent it from becoming worse.

Angina does not necessarily involve pain. The feeling varies from individuals. In fact, some people described it as "chest pressure," "chest distress," "heaviness," "burning feeling," "constriction," "tightness," and many more. A person with angina may feel discomfort that fit one or the several of the following descriptions:

Mild, vague discomfort in the chest, which may radiate to the left shoulder or arm

Dull ache, pins and needles, heaviness or pain in the arms, usually more severe in the left arm

Pain that feels like severe indigestion

Heaviness, tightness, fullness, dull ache, intense pressure, a burning, vice-like, constriction, squeezing sensation in the chest, throat or upper abdomen

Extreme tiredness, exhaustion of a feeling of collapse

Shortness of breath, choking sensation

A sense of foreboding or impending death accompanying chest discomfort

Pains in the jaw, gums, teeth, throat, or ear lobe

Pains in the back or between the shoulder blades

Angina can be so severe that a person may feel frightened, or so mild that it might be ignored. Angina attacks are usually short, from one or two minutes to a maximum of about four or five. It usually goes away with rest, within a couple of minutes, or ten minutes at the most.