Coronary Artery Vasospasm

Angina

Angina happens when the heart muscle does not get the right amount of oxygen-rich blood, most often due to blood vessels in your heart being blocked. Angina is a sign of heart disease. It most often does not cause long lasting damage to your heart muscle. Some types of angina are more severe and need more treatment than other types. There are a few types of angina: Stable angina: Most common type and often happens when your heart is working harder, like during exercise May be triggered by stress, heavy meals, smoking, or being in a very hot or very cold place Follows a pattern and events are similar. The signs most often happen again when you repeat the same activity. May last only a short time and is eased by rest or drugs Unstable angina: Can happen at rest, during sleep, or when your heart is working a little harder Comes at any time and does not follow a pattern Lasts longer and is not often eased by rest or drugs May get worse over time Is very dangerous and needs emergency treatment May be the first sign of a heart attack Variant (Prinzmetal) angina: Rare kind of angina and tends to happen in younger people Caused by spasms of the muscles in the arteries. A spasm is a sudden flexing of the muscle. May be triggered by cold weather, stress, smoking, illegal drug use, or some drugs Often happens at night or in the early morning while resting Often has very bad pain that can be eased with drugs Can still be very dangerous and in some cases can lead to a heart attack Microvascular angina: May have very bad pain that lasts a longer time Often feel short of breath, tired, and have problems sleeping with this kind of angina Very small blood vessels are affected. Stents and angioplasty are not able to help this type of pain. Drugs may help ease this type of pain

Your doctor may start you on drugs, such as: Nitroglycerin patches that you will apply each day Nitroglycerin pills to carry with you to take when you have angina Long-acting types of nitroglycerin pills to take once or twice a day Beta-blockers or calcium channel blockers, which slow your heart and help protect it from angina Cholesterol drugs,Nitroglycerin patches that you will apply each day,Nitroglycerin pills to carry with you to take when you have angina,Long-acting types of nitroglycerin pills to take once or twice a day,Beta-blockers or calcium channel blockers, which slow your heart and help protect it from angina,Cholesterol drugs,If you are to take nitroglycerin pills with angina, place one pill under your tongue and rest. If the pain has not eased in 5 minutes, take one more pill under your tongue and rest. If the pain does not ease after another 3 to 5 minutes, take a third pill under your tongue and call for emergency help.,If nitroglycerin pills have been ordered, always carry them with you and make sure they are not out of date. Keep them in their original bottle and at room temperature. The pill should burn or tingle when you put it under your tongue. If it does not, it may need to be replaced.,Talk with your doctor about taking an aspirin each day. Aspirin can help thin the blood and prevent a clot from forming.,Talk with your doctor about drugs that will help control other health problems like high blood sugar, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol.,Do not take drugs like Viagra (sildenafil), Cialis (tadalafil), Levitra (vardenafil), and some herbals if you are taking any form of nitroglycerin. They may cause your blood pressure to drop very low.,Take all drugs as ordered by your doctor. If a drug makes you sick, talk with your doctor before stopping it.

Signs of heart attack: Chest pain Trouble breathing Fast heartbeat Feeling dizzy,Chest pain,Trouble breathing,Fast heartbeat,Feeling dizzy,Change in the pattern of your signs, such as pain more often, pain when at rest, pain lasts longer,Taken nitroglycerin and still have pain,New or worsening chest pain,Feeling very weak,Feelings of passing out,Very bad headache,Upset stomach or throwing up,Numbness in your arm,Swelling in your ankles that does not go away,Problems with any of the drugs you are taking,You are not feeling better in 2 to 3 days or you are feeling worse

Adult,Cardiovascular,Emergency Medicine

Acute Coronary Syndrome,Angina Inversa,Angina Pectoris,Anginal Angina Pectoris,Cardiac Angina,Cardiac Chest Pain,Chest Pain,Chest Pain (Angina),Coronary Artery Vasospasm,Coronary Vasospasm,Microvascular Angina,Prinzmetal Angina,Prinzmetal's Variant Angina,Stable Angina,Stable Angina Pectoris,Typical Angina Pectoris,Unstable Angina,Variant Angina,Vasospastic Angina

This information is not specific medical advice and does not replace information you receive from your health care provider. This is only a brief summary of general information. It does NOT include all information about conditions, illnesses, injuries, tests, procedures, treatments, therapies, discharge instructions or life-style choices that may apply to you. You must talk with your health care provider for complete information about your health and treatment options. This information should not be used to decide whether or not to accept your health care provider’s advice, instructions or recommendations. Only your health care provider has the knowledge and training to provide advice that is right for you.

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