What is angina?
Blood carries oxygen to the heart and the rest of your body. When your heart doesn’t get enough oxygen-rich blood, you may experience angina, which is the medical term for chest pain or discomfort. Angina is a warning sign that blood flow to your heart muscle is limited and is most often related to blockages in the heart’s arteries.
Types of angina
How you experience angina depends on the type you have. There are two main types:
- Stable angina: This is the most common form of angina and describes chest pain after physical activity or stress. Also known as angina pectoris, it occurs predictably over two months or longer.
- Unstable angina: Unstable angina is unpredictable and may cause intense chest pain and occurs whether you’re exercising or at rest. Left untreated, unstable angina can result in a heart attack.
There are also less common types of angina, including:
- Microvascular angina: A condition within the heart’s tiny blood vessels that causes chest pain for long periods. It may occur with rest or exertion.
- Vasospastic angina: A spasm inside the heart causes intense chest pain, often when resting, and may occur in the middle of the night.
Angina symptoms
The most common symptom of angina is discomfort in the chest that may feel like burning, pressure, squeezing or tightness. Additionally, you may experience:
- Light-headedness
- Nausea
- Shortness of breath
- Sweating for no reason
- Tiredness
- Weakness
In some cases, the pain doesn’t stay confined to your chest. It can radiate into your shoulders, back, neck, jaw or arms. While angina symptoms are always the same, the severity and duration vary based on the type of angina you have.
Is it angina or a heart attack?
Angina is a common heart attack symptom. You should always call 911 if you have concerning chest pain, but here are some key differences between angina and heart attack-related chest pain.
Although scary, angina does not cause permanent damage.
Angina
- Do not last more than 20 minutes
- Occur with exertion or excitement
- Go away with rest
Heart attack
- Last more than 20 minutes
- May occur without activity or excitement
- Do not go away with rest
Additional heart attack warning signs include:
- Back, neck, jaw or stomach discomfort
- Breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness
- Chest discomfort
- Discomfort in one or both arms
- Shortness of breath Women and men can experience heart attack symptoms differently.
Learn more about these differences on our women’s heart health page.
What causes angina?
Coronary heart disease, the most common heart disease in America, is the leading cause of angina. It occurs when the arteries build up fat, cholesterol and other substances. The arteries become narrowed or blocked, reducing blood flow to the heart and increasing the risk of developing dangerous blood clots that can cause a heart attack or stroke.
Angina risk factors
Anyone can experience angina. But, your risk for this common heart problem increases with the following:
- Age: The older you get, the higher your risk for most types of angina. However, vasospastic angina often affects younger people.
- Other medical conditions: Chest pain can be caused by anemia (low red blood cells), chronic kidney disease, peripheral artery disease and cardiomyopathy (conditions that affect the heart muscle).
- Family history: Your risk for angina increases if your parents, siblings or other close relatives have experienced angina or other heart conditions.
- Ethnicity: African Americans are more likely to experience angina, especially if they’ve already had a heart attack.
- Particle pollution: Dust particles from farms, construction sites and mines can cause chest pain.
- Sex: Until age 55, men are more likely than women to have heart disease and angina. After that age, women and men are equally at risk.
- Tobacco exposure: Smoking cigarettes and secondhand smoke exposure can lead to chest pain.
- Unhealthy lifestyle: Misusing alcohol or illegal drugs, not managing stress, eating an unhealthy diet, and not getting enough physical activity can increase your risk of angina.
- Work environment: Occupations that expose you to radiation or loud noises, are extremely stressful, or make it difficult to get good sleep, increase your chance of developing angina.
Diagnosing angina
Diagnosing angina begins with a discussion about your personal and family medical history. Your provider will also perform a physical exam to check your blood pressure, pulse and heart rate.
During this exam, your provider may ask you questions about:
- When your chest pain occurs and how long it lasts
- Whether it occurs with certain activities
- What the pain feels like and where it’s located
- If anything helps the pain improve
Depending on the results of your physical exam, your provider may recommend one or more of the following tests.
Blood tests
One common blood test for angina looks for a protein that leaks into the bloodstream when your heart gets damaged. Your provider may also check your cholesterol levels.
Stress tests
Stress tests evaluate heart performance and blood flow to the heart at rest and during various levels of exercise.
Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)
An electrocardiogram records electrical activity in your heart. Abnormalities can suggest heart disease and angina.
Imaging
Various cardiac imaging tests, such as a chest X-ray, cardiac MRI or coronary computed tomography angiography, give providers an inside look at your heart’s function.
Echocardiogram
An echocardiogram, or echo, gives doctors a closer and more detailed look at the heart’s structure.
Angiogram
An angiogram also offers a closer look at heart structure, but this test specifically helps identify narrow or blocked blood vessels in the heart.
Angina treatment and care options
Unstable angina requires emergency care, as it can lead to a heart attack. Call 911 if you or someone with you experiences unstable angina symptoms.
Stable angina may respond to one or more of the following treatments.
Lifestyle changes
You can better control stable angina by eating a balanced diet, reaching a healthy weight, exercising regularly, managing stress and not smoking.
Medication
Certain medications can help manage angina and its symptoms. You may need medication to reduce pain, relax blood vessels or other parts of your heart, lower cholesterol levels or prevent blood clots.
Therapies
Enhanced external counter-pulsation, or EECP, is a non-invasive procedure that can help reduce the frequency or intensity of the angina symptoms you experience.
Surgery and procedures
Surgery can correct an underlying health issue causing chest pain. Common surgeries for angina include coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), which improve blood flow by addressing blockages and plaque buildup in the blood vessels and arteries.
Find a location near you
We help you get heart care at a location that fits your needs. We offer several locations throughout North and Central Texas.
AccentCare - Fort Worth
3880 Hulen St , Fort Worth, TX, 76107
AccentCare Home Health of Brenham
526 W Main St , Brenham, TX, 77833
AccentCare Home Health of College Station
119 Medical Park Lane Ste C, Huntsville, TX, 77340
AccentCare Home Health of College Station
1605 Rock Prairie Rd Ste 206, College Station, TX, 77845
AccentCare Home Health Of Denton
225 W. Mulberry St. Ste A, Denton, TX, 76201
AccentCare Home Health Of Desoto
911 York Drive Ste 203, DeSoto, TX, 75115
AccentCare Home Health Of Fort Worth (Arlington)
700 Highlander Blvd Ste 205, Arlington, TX, 76015
AccentCare Home Health of Huntsville
122 Medical Park Lane B , Huntsville, TX, 77340
AccentCare Home Health of Marble Falls
1100 Mission Hills Dr Ste 100, Marble Falls, TX, 78654
AccentCare Home Health Of McKinney
6800 Weiskopf Ave Ste 100, McKinney, TX, 75070
AccentCare Home Health Of Taylor (Hutto)
567 Chris Kelley Blvd Ste 201, Hutto, TX, 78634
AccentCare Home Health Of Temple
3809 S General Bruce Dr Ste 105B, Temple, TX, 76502
AccentCare Home Health Of Waco
8300 Central Park Dr Ste A, Waco, TX, 76712
AdventHealth Central Texas
2201 S Clear Creek Rd , Killeen, TX, 76549
Andrews Women's Hospital at Baylor Scott & White - Fort Worth
1400 8th Ave , Fort Worth, TX, 76104
Baylor Scott & White - Hillcrest Infectious Disease Clinic
50 Hillcrest Medical Blvd MOB1, Ste 104, Waco, TX, 76712
Baylor Scott & White - Plano Brain and Spine Center
4708 Alliance Blvd Pavilion I, Ste 810, Plano, TX, 75093
Baylor Scott & White - Texas Brain and Spine Institute
900 Scott and White Dr , College Station, TX, 77845
- Monday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
- Tuesday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
- Wednesday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
- Thursday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
- Friday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Baylor Scott & White - Texas Brain and Spine Institute - Huntsville
122 Medical Park Ln Ste A, Huntsville, TX, 77340
Baylor Scott & White - The Brenham Clinic
600 N Park St , Brenham, TX, 77833
- Monday: 7:30 am - 5:00 pm
- Tuesday: 7:30 am - 5:00 pm
- Wednesday: 7:30 am - 5:00 pm
- Thursday: 7:30 am - 5:00 pm
- Friday: 7:30 am - 5:00 pm
Baylor Scott & White 65+ Clinic
4716 Alliance Blvd Ste 500, Plano, TX, 75093
- Monday: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
- Tuesday: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
- Wednesday: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
- Thursday: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
- Friday: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Cardiac Imaging Specialists
1100 Allied Dr , Plano, TX, 75093
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Cardiovascular and Imaging Consultants
4708 Alliance Blvd Ste 450, Plano, TX, 75093
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Digestive Care
3434 Swiss Ave Ste 200, Dallas, TX, 75204
- Monday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
- Tuesday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
- Wednesday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
- Thursday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
- Friday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Heart and Lung Disease Center - Fort Worth
1420 8th Ave Ste 103, Fort Worth, TX, 76104
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Heart Care - Anna
450 N Standridge Blvd , Anna, TX, 75409
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Heart Care - Decatur
2401 S FM 51 Ste 200, Decatur, TX, 76234
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Heart Care - Denton
3333 Colorado Blvd , Denton, TX, 76210
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Heart Care - Idabel, OK
4 SE Avenue A , Idabel, OK, 74745
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Heart Care - Keller (Satellite)
3124 N Tarrant Pkwy Ste 204, Keller, TX, 76177
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Heart Care - McKinney (Satellite)
5236 W University Dr Ste 4450, McKinney, TX, 75071
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Heart Care - Mt Pleasant (Satellite)
1011 N Jefferson Ave , Mt Pleasant, TX, 75455
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Heart Care - Paris
875 S Collegiate Dr , Paris, TX, 75462
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Heart Care - Plano
4716 Dexter Dr Ste 100, Plano, TX, 75093
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Heart Care - Sherman Sycamore (Satellite)
203 E Sycamore St , Sherman, TX, 75090
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Heart Care - Sulphur Springs
601 Airport Rd Ste 110, Sulphur Springs, TX, 75482
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Heart Care – Sherman Highland (Satellite)
300 N Highland Ave , Sherman, TX, 75092
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Heart Failure Clinic - Irving
2001 N MacArthur Blvd Bldg 1, Ste 360, Irving, TX, 75061
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Heart Failure Clinic - Abilene
1219 E South 11th St Ste B2, Abilene, TX, 79602
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Heart Failure Clinic - Amarillo
1901 Medi Park Dr Ste 2051, Amarillo, TX, 79106
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Heart Failure Clinic - Dallas
3410 Worth St Ste 250, Dallas, TX, 75246
- Monday: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
- Tuesday: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
- Wednesday: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
- Thursday: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
- Friday: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Heart Failure Clinic - Longview
906 Judson Rd , Longview, TX, 75601
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Heart Failure Clinic - Lubbock
3711 22nd St Ste B, Lubbock, TX, 79410
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Heart Failure Clinic - Midland/Odessa
420 E 6th St Ste 102, Odessa, TX, 79761
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Heart Failure Clinic - Tyler
1321 S Beckham Ave , Tyler, TX, 75701
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Heart Failure Clinic - Waxahachie
2360 N Interstate 35E MOB 2, Ste 310, Waxahachie, TX, 75165
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Heart Failure Specialists - Fort Worth
1250 8th Ave Ste 200, Fort Worth, TX, 76104
- Monday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
- Tuesday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
- Wednesday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
- Thursday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
- Friday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Baylor Scott & White Advanced Lung Disease Specialists - Dallas
3410 Worth St Ste 250, Dallas, TX, 75246
- Monday: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
- Tuesday: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
- Wednesday: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
- Thursday: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
- Friday: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center - Fort Worth
1400 8th Ave , Fort Worth, TX, 76104
Baylor Scott & White Ambulatory Endoscopy Center
4708 Alliance Blvd Pavilion I, Ste 210, Plano, TX, 75093
- Monday: 7:00 am - 3:00 pm
- Tuesday: 7:00 am - 3:00 pm
- Wednesday: 7:00 am - 3:00 pm
- Thursday: 7:00 am - 3:00 pm
- Friday: 7:00 am - 3:00 pm