Angina

Angina

When you have angina, your heart has to go begging for fresh oxygen—a task that it hates. This heart complaint occurs because your pumper isn’t receiving enough blood and, therefore, is not getting all the oxygen it needs. If you have what doctors call stable angina, challenging activities like fast walking or digging in the garden may cause your overworked heart to start up the protests.

But there’s another kind of angina, called unstable angina, in which the heart doesn’t get enough blood even when you’re doing something as simple as kicking back in a lounge chair or crossing the room.

If you’re in your sixties or seventies, don’t count on the usual type of chest pain if you have angina, says Gary Francis, M.D., director of the coronary intensive care unit at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Instead, you might just feel pressure. Or suddenly, for no apparent reason, you find you’re short of breath. And some people experience angina in the form of a squeezing sensation in the chest, as if someone diabolical is tightening a belt around their ribs. Oddest of all, you might have pain in some area that seems completely unrelated to your heart, for instance, in your jaw or even one of your elbows.

The tips below are all about stable angina because the unstable variety is no candidate for home remedies. Here are some steps to stop the pain quickly or prevent it from starting at all.

Try This First

Stop. If angina comes on during an activity, stop whatever you are doing. Sit down and prop up your feet, says Michael A. Brodsky, M.D., professor of medicine in cardiology at the University of California, Irvine, Medical Center. Don’t try to work or push through the pain. Take a few minutes to relax.

“If you stop the activity, the pain should go away,” adds Robert March, M.D., associate professor of cardiovascular surgery at Rush-Presbyterian–St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago.

Other Wise Ways

Don’t take it lying down. If you are lying down or sleeping when you have angina pain, sit up or stand up. “Standing up takes the pressure off your heart,” Dr. Francis says. When you take the pressure off, your body demands less from your heart, giving it time to recover from the angina episode.

Breathe deeply. It’s not a coincidence that many angina episodes get started when someone’s in a tense situation. stress often precedes a bout with angina, Dr. Francis says. When in the midst of an angina attack, calm down by taking slow, deep breaths. That may help control your stress and stop the pain. Deep breathing, experts explain, is when your abdomen expands outward as you inhale rather than your chest or shoulders rising.

Can the cigarettes. If you are a smoker, you are making it that much harder on your heart, Dr. March says. Cigarette smoke absorbs oxygen out of your blood and nicotine constricts your blood vessels. That triggers angina because your arteries shrink and less blood makes it to your heart.

Keep aspirin on hand. Take one adult aspirin tablet a day, Dr. March says. The adult dose is about 325 milligrams. Aspirin is thought to decrease heart damage during an angina episode. While the drug may not prevent an attack of angina all the time, studies show that men with angina who take aspirin are less likely to have heart attacks or die of heart problems than men who don’t take aspirin.

Make it a slow morning. Take your time when you get up in the morning, Dr. Francis suggests. Don’t hop right out of bed. Stretch, get acclimated to being awake, and give yourself enough time to eat a nice breakfast and read the paper.

Why the early morning slow down? Because the early hours of the day are the most dangerous for your heart, Dr. Francis says. As people get older, their bodies can’t handle the jump- out-of-bed-grab-a-quick-bite-rush-to-work routine, he points out. If you force it in the morning hours, you might put a lot of unnecessary pressure on your heart, and that additional pressure could jumpstart an angina attack. “Get up a little more slowly and don’t rush around,” Dr. Francis says.

Put one foot in front of the other. Walk as much as you can every day. “Walking is the best exercise,” Dr. Francis says. The activity keeps your heart healthy, which may help offset angina. Unlike other activities, walking won’t put much strain on your heart. If you like other forms of exercise such as swimming or bicycling, go ahead as long as it doesn’t bring on angina, Dr. Francis says. “I encourage physical activity as long as you feel good doing it.” Strive for at least 20 minutes three times a week.

Eat light before exercise. Don’t have a heavy meal before taking your walk. If you’re hungry, munch on a light snack such as an apple, Dr. Francis suggests. If you eat a big meal and then exercise, you are more likely to experience angina pain.

Leave heavy lifting to others. If you have to move something heavy, find someone else to do the job, Dr. March says. Heavy lifting is a common trigger for angina pain in many people, he adds. Even something as simple as lifting a suitcase and carrying it up a flight of stairs can cause angina pain.

Stay by the fireplace. When the weather is ice cold, make it a point to stay inside and stay warm. Below-freezing days provoke angina in some people, Dr. Francis says. “On extremely cold days, it’s dangerous for people with angina to go out.”

Identify your triggers. What triggers angina is different for each person. “People should learn to identify the activities that provoke angina, then they should avoid those activities,” Dr. Francis says. If you can’t see an obvious cause, write down the circumstances around each angina episode or just think about exactly what was happening. Over time, you will probably find a pattern, and once you’re familiar with that pattern, you may be able to offset future angina attacks. “Listen to your body. It will tell you when angina is going to happen,” he says.