Angina pectoris, also called anchor is a heart disease causing chest pain. These pains appear when the heart is poorly oxygenated due to the narrowing of a coronary artery (which brings oxygenated blood to the heart).

The onset of angina may be related to stress or a physical effort. But it can also, more rarely, occur at rest.

The pain caused by angina pectoris is tightness (a feeling that the chest is caught in a vice, we then speak of constrictive pain), suffocation or burning. This pain, which may be accompanied by palpitations or difficulty breathing, usually subsides within a few minutes, when sufferers lie down or rest. Certain medicines (trinitrin) can help to reduce them.

Pain is mostly a avertissement : the heart signals that it is poorly oxygenated and that it is in pain. Angina is ultimately a harbinger of a more serious heart problem to come, especially a heart attack (MI or myocardial infarction).

In the presence of angina pectoris, risks heart attacks, for example, are higher. Angina pectoris can ultimately be the first stage of coronary artery disease.

It is therefore necessary, as soon as the first symptoms appear, to immediately start repos and to quickly consult a general practitioner, then a cardiologist for a complete medical check-up. The latter will confirm the diagnosis of angina through various medical examinations, find its causes and offer treatment if necessary.

Angina pectoris should not be ignored. The onset of pain must be explained, the warning signs known. Managing, monitoring and treating angina pectoris helps prevent other more serious heart conditions. In addition, if the pain lasts or is of significant intensity, it is imperative to contact the SAMU (15 or 112). The person may indeed suffer not from angina but from infarct myocardium.

Prevalence

Angina pectoris is a very common. It would concern more than 10% of over 65s in France.

Different types of angina pectoris

There are different types of angina, some with pain that passes quickly, others occurring suddenly, unrelated to stress or physical activity. Thus, in the so-called angina pectoris stable,the pains remain the same over time. Their intensity is roughly the same and the triggering factors are known (climbing a staircase for example). This type of angina, which can be triggered by stress or cold temperatures, is usually caused by chronic coronary artery disease.

Conversely, in case of angina pectoris unstable, the pains appear suddenly, without warning sign. The pains that occur are of varying intensity. This type of angina is caused by acute coronary artery disease and is not relieved by rest or by medications usually taken (when treatment has already been started).

In some cases, stable angina can get worse and become unstable. The pains become more frequent, strong and appear during less physical exertion, for example. Or the pain responds less well to drug treatment. Those affected by this evolutiongo from effort angina, to angina at rest, and then, sometimes, to myocardial infarction.

Diagnostic

To confirm the angina, the doctor, after having listed the risk factors of the person being followed, may prescribe a electrocardiogram and blood tests. He will seek to explain the origin of the pain. For this, an echocardiography and a stress test may be necessary, before possibly carrying out an x-ray of the arteries of the heart (coronary angiography).

Complications

Pain caused by angina pectoris can interfere with certain daily activities and require rest. But the most serious complication is of course a heart attack or myocardial infarction, with a risk of sudden death. In this case, the artery of the heart, the coronary artery, is no longer only narrowed as in angina pectoris, it becomes completely blocked. And this risk must be taken into account. Hence the need for medical monitoring from the onset of the first pain.

Causes

Angina pectoris is caused by poor oxygenation of the heart muscle, which itself is most often caused by narrowing of the blood vessels. This narrowing in the coronary arteries is caused byatherosclerosis. Atheroma plaques (made up mainly of fat) gradually form on the wall of the vessels and gradually prevent the blood from circulating properly.

Other heart diseases such as a heart valve injury or a myocardiopathie can also cause angina.

These signs usually occur on coronary arteries that also have atheroma. Prinzmetaldo’s angina can be treated quickly because it exposes you to a high risk of heart attack.