Can You Distinguish Angina Symptoms From a Heart Attack?
Angina symptoms
Angina symptoms and those of a heart attack are very similar, but in an angina episode the heart does not suffer the same amount of damage that it does during a heart attack. This is quite important because the difference can mean life or death.
What is angina?
Angina happens when the arteries that wrap the heart get partially obstructed; this impedes the blood to reach the heart in the usual way. The artery blockage is the result of cholesterol or fat stuck to the inside walls of the artery.
Most frequent symptoms of angina are:
- Intense pain that appears all of the sudden in the middle of the chest or in the pit of the stomach. It usually extends to the shoulders, left arm, neck, jaw, and back.
- Acceleration of pulse.
- Feeling of being cold, sweating, and pale.
- Anxiety and feeling of imminent death.
What triggers an angina attack?
Angina is classified as stable angina and unstable angina.
Stable angina usually happens when your heart is working harder than usual. Example:
- Having a large meal
- Experiencing stress
- During intense physical exercise
- Can be trigger by mental or emotional stress
In this particular case, the discomfort usually goes away in about 5 minutes. Some people with angina symptoms describe angina as feeling like somebody is squeezing their chest, or feeling like a heavy weight has been placed on their chest. It can also feel like indigestion.
Unstable angina. This type may happen all of the sudden, even when you are sleeping. This type of angina is more serious and requires urgent treatment. It lasts longer than stable angina and it is a sign that a heart attack may happen soon.
How can you prevent an angina?
It’s thought that nearly 7 million people in the United States suffer from angina and about 400,000 patients go to their doctors with new cases of angina every year. To prevent an angina episode or a heart attack, limit your risk factors. Among those are:
- Smoking tobacco
- Overweight
- Hypertension
- High LDL cholesterol
- High triglyceride level
Because of the hormonal protection in women, scientists used to think that this type of angina was more common in men than in women but an extensive study published by the American Heart Association throws some doubts about this theory. According to this research, carried out by the University College of London, women have a 20% more risk of suffering from angina than men.
Heart attack symptoms
Heart attack symptoms vary widely. They can be very similar to angina symptoms; for instance, you may have only minor chest discomfort while someone else has excruciating pain. Although a heart attack and an angina are caused by the same mechanisms, their seriousness and health implications are not the same.
In an angina, the blockage is about 70% and the heart goes back to its normal business after overcoming the episode or after you take your angina medication. However, in a heart attack, the blockage is 100%, lasts longer and the heart cells suffer irreversible damage. A heart attack can be fatal.
The bottom line here is that angina symptoms and those of a heart attack are very similar so, if you start feeling some chest pain discomfort or any other symptom related to these two conditions, don’t waste any time trying to figure out by yourself whether it is a heart attack or angina because in such a situation, time is of the essence.
And even if you knew for sure that it is not a heart attack (you can never be 100% sure), do not fall into the error of thinking that an angina episode is not important; if the alterations that are causing it are not taken care of, it may end up being a heart attack. So, even if you think it is “just” an angina, call for emergency medical help immediately.
Final thought
Being physically active, avoiding stress, and following a healthy diet such as a Mediterranean Diet is also a prevention measure not to be discarded when it comes to your heart health.
To your health!
Emilia Klapp, R.D., B.S.
www.TheDiabetesClub.com
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