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Overview
Angina

Overview

Symptoms

Diagnosis

Treatment

Living with

Angina is chest pain caused by reduced blood

flow to the heart muscles. It's not usually life
threatening, but it's a warning sign that you
could be at risk of a heart attack or stroke.

With treatment and healthy lifestyle changes,

it's possible to control angina and reduce the
risk of these more serious problems.

Symptoms of angina
The main symptom of angina is chest pain.

Chest pain caused by angina usually:

feels tight, dull or heavy – it may spread to

your arms, neck, jaw or back

is triggered by physical exertion or stress

stops within a few minutes of resting

Sometimes there might be other symptoms, like

feeling sick or breathless.

When to get medical help

If you have not been diagnosed with angina,
get an urgent GP appointment if you have an
attack of chest pain that stops within a few
minutes of resting.

They can check if it might be a heart problem

and refer you to a hospital for tests.

Find out more about how angina is diagnosed

Call 999 for an ambulance if you have chest

pain that does not stop after a few minutes.
This could be a heart attack.

Types
There are 2 main types of angina you can be
diagnosed with:

stable angina (more common) – attacks have

a trigger (such as stress or exercise) and stop
within a few minutes of resting

unstable angina (more serious) – attacks are

more unpredictable (they may not have a
trigger) and can continue despite resting

Some people develop unstable angina after

having stable angina.

Treatment for angina

You'll probably need to take several different
medicines for the rest of your life.

You may be given medicine to:

treat attacks when they happen (only taken

when needed)

prevent further attacks

reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes

If medicines are not suitable or do not help, an

operation to improve blood flow to your heart
muscles may be recommended.

Living with angina

If it's well controlled, there's no reason why
you cannot have a largely normal life with
angina.

You can usually continue to do most of your

normal activities.

One of the most important things you'll need

to do is to make healthy lifestyle changes, such
as:

having a balanced diet

cutting down on alcohol

stopping smoking if you smoke

losing weight if you're overweight

exercising regularly – gentle exercises are

usually safe

This can help reduce your risk of heart attacks

and strokes.

Causes of angina
Angina is usually caused by the arteries
supplying blood to the heart muscles becoming
narrowed by a build-up of fatty substances.

This is called atherosclerosis.

Things that can increase your risk of

atherosclerosis include:

an unhealthy diet

a lack of exercise

smoking

increasing age

a family history of atherosclerosis or heart

problems

Video: Angina
In this video an expert describes the
symptoms, stages and treatment of
angina.

Media last reviewed: 1 September 2021

Media review due: 1 September 2024

Page last reviewed: 22 April 2021

Next review due: 22 April 2024

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