Angina~Stable, Unstable, Variant?

Unstable Angina

'Unstable Angina is between stable angina and a myocardial infarction (MI) or in other words a heart attack! It's characterized by an accelerating 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.'

Unstable angina and myocardial infarction are considered acute coronary syndromes, while stable angina is a chronic condition.

To see more on this, see the following article.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000201.htm

Variant angina; Angina

"Coronary artery spasm is a temporary, abrupt, and focal (restricted to one location) contraction of the muscles in the wall of an artery in the heart, which constricts the artery. This slows or stops blood flow through the artery during the spasm.

Other Types of Angina

I just found these different forms of angina interesting and felt that some of you all might, too.  Whether, or not we have it, it's amazing all the things that medical science knows and brings to us to learn.  Hugs, Teri

Variant angina pectoris which I mentioned above is also called  Prinzmetal's angina," it's a rare form of angina caused by something called coronary spasm (vasospasm). The spasm temporarily narrows the coronary artery, so the heart does not get enough blood. It may happen in patients who also have a severe buildup of fatty plaque (atherosclerosis) in at least one major vessel. Unlike typical angina, variant angina usually happens during times of rest. These attacks, which may be very painful, tend to happen regularly at certain times of the day.

Microvascular angina is a type of angina where patients have chest pain but do not seem to have a blockage in a coronary artery. The pain in the chest is because the tiny blood vessels that feed the heart, arms, and legs are not working properly. Generally, patients cope well with this type of angina and have very few long-term side effects."

ugh, i hate reading that about variant angina. i have SUCH a hard time distinguishing
between angina and gastro pains. they are so similar. sometimes a nitro helps, sometimes
not. then i think: hmmm, is that a heart pain or a gastro pain, if the nitro didn't help? if
i went to the ER every time i had one of these confusing episodies i'd have to pitch a tent!
i'd be interested in hearing more about variant.
does anyone take isosorb for angina, vs. nitro products?
libby

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Libby Gilmore, "The glass is half full"!

Here is a very good article from the Mayo Clinic re Variant Angina.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?objectid=E4ECD174-0455-4629-8CB5D93F6AE044B8

 

Teri

Sorry, the wrong link was added. :)

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"Because he is he and I am I."......E. V. Lucas

teri, the article i clicked on was about cholesterol crystallization, not variant
angina. is there another link?
thanks, libby

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Libby Gilmore, "The glass is half full"!