Treatment of angina pectoris
The Common Treatment of angina pectoris:
A Specific treatment for angina pectoris will be determined by the physician based on:
- your age, overall health, and medical history
- extent of the disease
- your tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies
- expectations for the course of the disease
- your opinion or preference
The underlying coronary artery disease that causes angina should be treated by controlling existing risk factors: high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, high blood cholesterol levels, and excess weight. Medications may be prescribed for people with angina. The most common is nitroglycerin which helps to relieve pain by widening the blood vessels. This allows more blood flow to the heart muscle and decreases the workload of the heart.
Other types of angina pectoris
There are two other forms of angina pectoris. Variant angina pectoris (or Prinzmetal’s angina) is due to a sudden spasm or constriction of a coronary artery. This rare type of angina often does not follow a period of physical exertion or emotional stress, but occurs almost exclusively when a person is at rest. Variant angina pectoris can cause very painful attacks that usually occur between midnight and 8 am.
Microvascular angina is a recently-discovered type of angina. Patients with this condition experience chest pain but have no apparent coronary artery blockages. Physicians have found that the pain results from poor function of tiny blood vessels nourishing the heart as well as the arms and legs. Microvascular angina can be treated with some of the same medications used for angina pectoris.