Where does angina hurt?

Angina is chest pain or discomfort caused when your heart muscle doesn't get enough oxygen-rich blood. It may feel like pressure or squeezing in your chest. The discomfort also can occur in your shoulders, arms, neck, jaw, abdomen or back. Angina pain may even feel like indigestion.
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Where is the pain of angina felt?

Angina is a symptom of coronary artery disease. Angina is also called angina pectoris. Angina pain is often described as squeezing, pressure, heaviness, tightness or pain in the chest. It may feel like a heavy weight lying on the chest.
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How do you detect angina?

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  1. Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG). This quick and painless test measures the electrical activity of the heart. ...
  2. Chest X-ray. ...
  3. Blood tests. ...
  4. Stress test. ...
  5. Echocardiogram. ...
  6. Nuclear stress test. ...
  7. Cardiac computerized tomography (CT). ...
  8. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
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How do I know if pain is angina?

Chest pain could be angina if it: feels tight, dull or heavy – although some people (especially women) may have sharp, stabbing pain. spreads to your arms, neck, jaw or back.
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What part of the chest does angina occur?

Angina is the medical term for chest pain or discomfort caused by a temporary disruption in the flow of blood and oxygen to the heart. People describe angina discomfort as a squeezing, suffocating or burning feeling – usually in the centre of the chest, behind the breastbone.
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Chest pain



What other conditions can be confused with angina and why?

Angina can be confused with gallbladder disease, stomach ulcers and acid reflux. It usually goes away within a few minutes with rest or with the use of nitroglycerin. Angina is not the same as a heart attack although the symptoms may be similar. Chest pain that causes a heart attack does not typically stop.
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Do I have angina or anxiety?

Angina tends to radiate, causing referred pain all around the shoulder and neck. Anxiety chest pains/hyperventilation tend to be more localized near the heart. Anxiety chest pains are usually sharper, although not always.
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Does angina show on ECG?

Diagnosing angina

Your doctor can suspect a diagnosis of angina based on your description of your symptoms, when they appear and your risk factors for coronary artery disease. Your doctor will likely first do an electrocardiogram (ECG) to help determine what additional testing is needed to confirm the diagnosis.
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How long can you live with angina?

If your symptoms are well controlled and you make healthy lifestyle changes, you can usually have a normal life with angina.
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What is the fastest way to cure angina?

Typically your doctor will prescribe medication and lifestyle changes before they suggest surgery. However, if you have severe angina, you may need to undergo an angioplasty or stenting. The fastest way to treat angina is by getting rest and making lifestyle changes.
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How do you rule out heart chest pain?

Some of the first tests a health care provider may order when evaluating chest pain include:
  1. Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG). This quick test measures the electrical activity of the heart. ...
  2. Blood tests. ...
  3. Chest X-ray. ...
  4. Computerized tomography (CT) scan.
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Does walking help angina?

What type of exercise should I do? Aerobic exercises will provide the most benefits because they make your heart beat faster and you breathe more quickly. You could try walking, cycling or a living room workout at a level that suits you.
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Can angina just go away?

If it's angina, your symptoms usually ease or go away after a few minutes' rest, or after taking the medicines your doctor or nurse has prescribed for you, such as glyceryl trinitrate medicine (GTN). If you're having a heart attack, your symptoms are less likely to ease or go away after resting or taking medicines.
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Does angina happen every day?

Unlike typical angina, variant angina usually happens during times of rest. These attacks, which may be very painful, tend to happen regularly at certain times of the day.
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Does angina pain move around?

Angina is also active; it likes to move. Some patients report arm tingling or numbness in their shoulder and/or arm. If this happens, the left arm is most common. Some people have throat tightness or jaw pain.
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Can angina pain last for days?

It is often sharp pain, specific to one area (although not always), and may improve or worsen with deep breathing, turning or arm movements. It may last several hours or weeks and is often easily reproducible.
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What happens if angina is left untreated?

An attack of unstable angina is an emergency and you should seek immediate medical treatment. If left untreated, unstable angina can lead to heart attack, heart failure, or arrhythmias (irregular heart rhythms). These can be life-threatening conditions.
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Should I go to hospital for angina?

Sometimes the coronary artery becomes so blocked that it could cause a heart attack. Call 911 if a person who has been diagnosed with and is being treated for angina begins to experience a crushing sensation; stabbing pain; numbness in the chest; or discomfort in the neck, jaw, arms or back.
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What age can you get angina?

Can young people get angina? A young person can develop angina in their 20s or 30s, but it is quite rare. Angina comes about due to a reduction of blood flow being able to get to muscles in the heart. Typically, such a reduction naturally occurs because of age.
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Does aspirin help angina?

Medications. Several medications can improve angina symptoms, including: Aspirin. Aspirin and other anti-platelet medications reduce the ability of your blood to clot, making it easier for blood to flow through narrowed heart arteries.
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Does angina feel like heartburn?

How much do the symptoms of heartburn and heart attack overlap? Heartburn, angina and heart attack may feel very much alike. Even experienced doctors can't always tell the difference from your medical history and a physical exam.
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Does angina cause burping?

Symptoms of angina pectoris can present with the typical specific symptoms, which are easy to recognize, or vague symptoms like chills, nausea, dizziness, belching and mild chest pain.
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What part of your chest hurts with anxiety?

It may also be due to hyperventilation (episodes of rapid or fast breathing), which may cause the muscles of the intercostal chest wall to tense or go into spasm. Anxiety may also lead to esophageal dysmotility which can cause esophageal spasms, which is one of the reasons for chest pain.
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What are six common non cardiac causes of chest pain?

What are the most common causes of noncardiac chest pain?
  • Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). ...
  • Esophageal muscle spasms. ...
  • Achalasia. ...
  • Esophageal hypersensitivity. ...
  • Inflammation of the esophagus. ...
  • Abnormal esophageal tissue.
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How long can angina go untreated?

How long does unstable angina last? Episodes of unstable angina can last for 15 minutes or more. Without treatment, you can have many episodes of unstable angina. If you have unstable angina, you have heart disease and you're at risk for a heart attack, heart failure or heart rhythm problems.
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