Stable angina

Definition

Stable angina is chest pain or discomfort that most often occurs with activity or emotional stress. Angina is due to poor blood flow through the blood vessels in the heart called the coronary arteries.

Alternative Names

Angina - stable; Angina - chronic; Angina pectoris; Chest pain - angina; CAD - angina; Coronary artery disease - angina; Heart disease - angina

Causes

Your heart muscle needs a constant supply of oxygen. The coronary arteries carry oxygen-rich blood to the heart.

When the heart muscle has to work harder, it needs more oxygen. Symptoms of angina may occur when blood supply to the heart muscle is reduced. This happens when the coronary arteries are narrowed or blocked by atherosclerosis or by a blood clot.

The most common cause of angina is coronary artery disease. Angina pectoris is the medical term for this type of chest pain.

Stable angina is less serious than unstable angina, but it can be very painful or uncomfortable.

There are many risk factors for coronary artery disease. Some include:

Anything that makes the heart muscle need more oxygen or reduces the amount of oxygen it receives can cause an angina attack in someone with heart disease, including:

Other causes of angina include:

Symptoms

Symptoms of stable angina are most often predictable. This means that the same amount of exercise or activity may cause your angina to occur. Your angina should improve or go away when you stop or slow down the exercise.

The most common symptom is chest pain that occurs behind the breastbone or slightly to the left of it. The pain of stable angina most often begins slowly and gets worse over the next few minutes before going away.

Typically, the chest pain feels like tightness, heavy pressure, squeezing, or a crushing feeling. It may spread to the:

Some people say the pain feels like gas or indigestion.

Less common symptoms of angina may include:

Pain from stable angina:

Angina attacks can occur at any time during the day. Often, they occur between 6 a.m. and noon.

Exams and Tests

Your health care provider will examine you and check your blood pressure. Tests that may be done include:

Treatment

Treatment for angina may include:

If you have angina, you and your provider will develop a treatment plan. This plan should include:

MEDICINES

You may need to take one or more medicines to treat blood pressure, diabetes, or high cholesterol levels. Follow your provider's directions closely to help prevent your angina from getting worse.

Nitroglycerin pills or spray may be used to stop chest pain.

Anti-clotting medicines such as aspirin and clopidogrel (Plavix), ticagrelor (Brilinta) or prasugrel (Effient) can help prevent blood clots from forming in your arteries and reduce the risk of heart attack. Ask your provider if you should be taking these medicines.

You may need to take more medicines to help prevent you from having angina. These include:

NEVER STOP TAKING ANY OF THESE MEDICINES ON YOUR OWN. Always talk to your provider first. Stopping these medicines suddenly can make your angina worse or cause a heart attack. This is especially true for anti-clotting medicines (aspirin, clopidogrel, ticagrelor and prasugrel).

Your provider may recommend a cardiac rehabilitation program to help improve your heart's fitness.

SURGICAL TREATMENT

Some people will be able to control angina with medicines and not need surgery. Others will need a procedure called angioplasty and stent placement (also called percutaneous coronary intervention) to open blocked or narrowed arteries that supply blood to the heart.

Blockages that cannot be treated with angioplasty may need heart bypass surgery to redirect blood flow around the narrowed or blocked blood vessels.

Outlook (Prognosis)

Stable angina most often improves when taking medicines.

When to Contact a Medical Professional

Get medical help right away if you have new, unexplained chest pain or pressure. If you have had angina before, contact your provider.

Call 911 or the local emergency number if your angina pain:

Contact your provider if:

Get medical help right away if a person with angina loses consciousness (passes out).

Prevention

Some studies have shown that making a few lifestyle changes can prevent blockages from getting worse and may actually improve them. Lifestyle changes can also help prevent some angina attacks. Your provider may tell you to:

Your provider will also recommend that you keep other health conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol levels under control.

If you have one or more risk factors for heart disease, talk to your provider about taking aspirin or other medicines to help prevent a heart attack. Aspirin therapy (75 to 325 mg a day) or medicines such as clopidogrel, ticagrelor or prasugrel may help prevent heart attacks in some people. Aspirin and other blood-thinning therapies are recommended if the benefit is likely to outweigh the risk of side effects.

References

Arnett DK, Blumenthal RS, Albert MA, et al. 2019 ACC/AHA Guideline on the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines. Circulation. 2019;140(11):e596-e646. PMID: 30879355 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30879355/.

Boden WE. Angina pectoris and stable ischemic heart disease. In: Goldman L, Cooney KA, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 27th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2024:chap 56.

Morrow DA, de Lemos J. Stable ischemic heart disease. In: Libby P, Bonow RO, Mann DL, Tomaselli GF, Bhatt DL, Solomon SD, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 12th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2022:chap 40.

Virani SS, Newby LK, Arnold SV, et al. 2023 AHA/ACC/ACCP/ASPC/NLA/PCNA Guideline for the management of patients with chronic coronary disease: A report of the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology joint committee on clinical practice guidelines. Circulation. 2023;148(9):e9–e119. PMID: 37471501 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37471501/.

Whelton PK, Carey RM, Aronow WS, et al. 2017 ACC/AHA/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/AGS/APhA/ASH/ASPC/NMA/PCNA guideline for the prevention, detection, evaluation, and management of high blood pressure in adults: executive summary: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2018;71(19)2199-2269. PMID: 29146533 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29146533/.

Writing Committee Members, Gulati M, Levy PD, Mukherjee D, et al. 2021 AHA/ACC/ASE/CHEST/SAEM/SCCT/SCMR Guideline for the evaluation and diagnosis of chest pain: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2021;78(22):e187-e285. PMID: 34756653 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34756653/.



Review Date: 1/1/2023
Reviewed By: Michael A. Chen, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington Medical School, Seattle, WA. Internal review and update on 02/19/2024 by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
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