Angina is a heavy, tight squeezing pain in the chest due to insufficient oxygen supply to heart. It generally occurs when the heart works hard and requires more oxygen: This could be during exercise, at times of stress, in extremes of temperature, or soon after a meal. The pain develops at the same point in daily activity: viz. on climbing stairs or at a certain point in the daily walk, etc.

One of the symptoms of coronary artery disease is called angina which is a pain that comes from the heart. Its most common in people over the age of 50 but it can also occur in younger people as well. Men are more likely to have angina than women.

Causes

Angina pectoris is the result of myocardial ischemia caused by an imbalance between myocardial blood supply and oxygen demand. In most cases, the lack of blood supply is due to a narrowing of the coronary arteries as a result of arteriosclerosis. This pain is known as angina. It is more likely to occur during exertion (e.g. walking, climbing stairs) when the heart muscle needs more blood and oxygen as it works harder. Angina usually occurs during exertion, severe emotional stress, or after a heavy meal. During these periods, the heart muscle demands more blood oxygen than the narrowed coronary arteries can deliver.

Plaque : There are two ways in which plaque can clog arteries and damage your health. The first is when it hardens and creates a smaller pathway than usual for the oxygenized blood to pass through.

Stable Angina : Stable angina describes the health condition in which, most of the time, oxygen is carried to the heart despite very narrow arteries created by hardened plaque.

Unstable Angina : Unstable angina is caused by soft plaque that breaks away from the arterial walls and creates blood clots, which block the artery.

Symptoms

Unstable angina symptoms occur when angina is not well controlled or undiagnosed. The keys to be able to avoid unstable angina symptoms are to seek medical consultation to identify the exact cause of your problem. Sometimes unstable angina symptoms occur without there being any 'marked' or noticeable symptoms. An occasional chest pain can be the beginning of your body alerting you to problems.

Unstable angina symptoms are a syndrome that occurs between stable angina and heart attack. Characterized by an accelerating or rising pattern of chest pain that lasts longer than in stable angina, occurs at rest or with less exertion than in stable angina, or is less responsive to medication.

Other symptoms include sweating, nausea, vomiting, anxiety, shortness of breath, ringing in the ears, loss of speech, dizziness, fainting. Regardless of the level of discomfort, angina is a gravely dangerous situation because it is often the warning bell of a full heart attack, when blood supply to heart is fully stopped.