Started Pain In Middle Of Chest. Is It Safe To Take Angina Tablet?
Angina is chest pain which occurs when there is a decrease in blood flowing through the blood vessels that go to the heart. Because the blood vessels are blocked (the amount of blockage varies in different persons- it may be alot of blockage or a little) then when a person is active and the heart needs more blood, it cannot get enough.This is why angina type pain usually starts when a person is actively doing something.If the blockage gets worse or the heart fails then the pain will start occuring when a person is not doing anything.
Angina pain is usually a tight,heavy pain, some people say it feels as though something is pressing on the chest.It is usually associated with shortness of breath, heart beating fast, sweating, starts when active and stops when activity is stopped.
In terms of how long a person can live with angina-it depends on (1)how activity brings on the pain (if it occurs with the slightest activity then the prognosis is worse or if it occurs at rest)
(2)also depends on the amount of blockage- a heart doctor may sometimes perform a test to look at the blood vessels and see how badly they are blocked
(3)it would also depend on whether you have high blood pressure, diabetes , high cholesterol,excess weight. If any of these are present, then the outcome would improve if they are well controlled
(4)If you have any other heart disease
The best way to prevent angina: control blood pressure,diabetes, cholesterol which all damage the blood vessels and increase the amount of cholesterol blocking them.In addtion, exercise which strenghtens the heart and helps to maintain a healthy weight is important.
Using low fat foods (such as low fat cheese,milk), avoiding frying, removing the fat off of meat are also important.
There are other cause for chest pain such as (1) herpes zoster- a recurrent skin rash that occurs in persons who have a history of chicken pox,it can be very painful
(2) inflammation of the joints at the sternum(bone in centre of the chest) can also cause pain, it is usually a persistant pain that worsens with movements
(3) gastroesophageal reflux
(4)esophageal spasm-the esophagus can actually undergo a spasm which results in pain
(5)lung infection, blockage in the lung, inflammation of the lining of the lung
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions