Info about angina please

[madmarriedNika]

Hello ladies. My stepdad was rushed to hospital this morning after suffering bad shooting pains down his arm (he's 71) and of course they suspected the start of a heart attack. Lots of tests later and they think it's angina, but he's still having lots more tests & monitoring in hospital for the next few days to check everything out properly.

I know very little about angina although I realise it's fairly common in older people- I'm afraid to Google it as will probably just scare me even more. Could anyone with more knowledge please enlighten me- what exactly is angina and what are the treatments etc.?

Feeling useless as I live in NI and stepdad in S.England. We're v close and he lives on his own and I'm worrying a lot now

hello angina as i understand it to do with a temporary reduction in the blood flow to the heart muscles, this is more common in older people esp smokers etc whos blood vessels may not be what they once were. it is treated by medication normally known as nitrates that dilate the blood vessels. its not brilliant news but is managable and with the right lifestyle advice and medication. Hope that helps! XxX

Sorry to hear your worries.
Angina is normally caused by a narrowing of the arteries carrying blood to the heart muscle by fatty deposits. It usually causes gripping or heavy discomfort in the chest +/- arm/jaw/teeth, sometimes with sweating/nausea/shortness of breath. It usually comes on with exertion (because that's when the heart needs more oxygen from the blood, so feels the effects of the narrowed arteries) and goes away with rest. It's a warning that your stepdad needs to take some medication (usually aspirin, a beta blocker, a spray if he gets pain, a cholesterol lowering tablet that sort of thing); and he may get a test to show how narrowed his arteries are (angiogram) because sometimes they put something in called a stent to open the narrowing, or do operations to bypass the narrowing. The treatment often depends on how severe the angina is, how well it responds to treatment, and how fit the person is apart from the angina. The most important thing is for your stepdad to look at his lifestyle and see if anything can be changed: for example stopping smoking, losing weight, eating healthily, exercising regularly (if applicable).HTH

My stepdad has just come out of hospital after having 4 stents put in due to angina. He was rushed in with chest pains (out of the blue) and they did several tests. His arterial bloodflow was found to be very reduced so they operated within 2 weeks of discovering the problem. He was out the day after the op and felt immediately a lot better (which is common).

Hope your stepdad gets a quick diagnosis and treatment too.

Thank you everyone. Well indeed my stepdad had an angiogram and they then immediately went on to put in 3 stents, and they want to put in a fourth in a month. But now that's been done and he's recovered well he's coming home today! They have aslo started the meds as you described. Thanks for the info everyone.

It seems he's just quite unlucky- he never smokes, walks quite a lot, maybe is very slightly overweight but not much....and eats healthily. Guess it's just one of those things. Relieved though now that the stents are in and it's being managed...