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Home Remedies Types of Angina

Understanding Different Types of Angina

Angina pectoris or simply angina is a discomfort for a short period of time when heart muscles do not get enough blood and thereby not enough oxygen. It may be a squeezing feeling in the chest or the pain may travel to shoulders, arms, neck, back and jaws.

Following are the three different types of angina:

Stable Angina

This is the most common type of angina pain. It normally occurs during exertion, like walking uphill and stair climbing or other similar physical activities. This happens because one or more of the arteries have been severely narrowed due to build up of the plaques. As a result less blood is circulated to the heart. As long as there is low requirement of blood as in the case of resting or just sitting there is no problem. When the blood (oxygen) requirement increases due to any exertion, the angina pain occurs because the heart has to work hard to get this extra blood. Resting improves the stable angina symptoms.

Unstable Angina

This type of angina is dangerous condition requiring immediate medical attention and emergency treatment. This happens without any physical exertion and the pain doesn’t go away by resting or medicine. This is an early warning sign of heart attack. In most cases a blood clot partially or totally blocks the artery.

Variant Angina

Unlike both stable and unstable angina, the variant angina can occur without the underlying coronary heart disease. Variant angina also known as Prinzmetal's angina occurs due to spasm in the coronary arteries. The artery narrows due to the spasm. This reduces the blood supply to the heart causing angina pain.

Angina pain is a warning signal for underlying coronary artery problems. Proper attention in early stages particularly of the stable angina can not only be life saving but also help in reversing the conditions.

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