chest?
expose blood vessel problems.
What can help?
Angina can be treated with lifestyle changes,
medicine or medical procedures.
Changes may include eating a healthier diet,
losing weight if you are overweight, exercising
and not smoking. You may also be helped by
learning to better cope with or avoid stress.
Medicine, such as nitroglycerin, may be
needed to help stop or prevent an episode of
angina. Other drugs can lower blood pres-
sure, slow the heart rate and relax blood
vessels.
Procedures, such as angioplasty and
coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG),
can treat the underlying heart disease
that causes angina.
With angioplasty, a thin tube with a
balloon attached to its end is inserted into
a blood vessel—usually in the groin—and
advanced to the narrowed heart artery. The
balloon is then inflated to open the blocked
blood vessel. A mesh tube called a stent may
also be left in the artery to hold it open.
CABG uses healthy blood vessels taken
from another part of the body to bypass
blocked heart arteries and improve blood
flow to the heart.
When angina is an emergency
When you have angina, you’re at increased risk for experiencing a heart attack. That makes it par-
ticularly important for you to pay attention to the patterns of your angina.
Make sure your doctor knows if you are having new bouts of shortness of breath, especially with
physical exertion. He or she should know too if you faint, become extremely tired or feel dizzy.
It’s also important to keep track of the frequency and severity of your angina. It could be a sign
that a heart attack is beginning if your pain gets worse or if your angina occurs more easily, more
often or when you’re resting.
If you have chest pain and it doesn’t go away quickly with rest, nitroglycerin should help. But if
you’re still feeling pain five minutes after taking the drug, or if you’re also having other heart attack
symptoms, such as nausea and sweating, call 911 for emergency medical help.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
www.mercyiowacity.org
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