he demands of workingheart muscles. Angina Pectoris (from angina, meaning strangling, and pectoris, meaningbreast) is commonly known simply as angina and means pain in the chest. The term"angina" was first used during a lecture in 1768 by Dr. William Heberden. The word wasnot intended to indicate "pain," but rather "strangling," with a secondary sensation of fear.Victims suffering from angina may experience pressure,discomfort, or a squeezingsensation in the centre of the chest behind the breastbone. The pain may radiate to thearms, the neck, even the upper back, and the pain may come and go. It occurs when theheart is not receiving enough oxygen to meet an increased demand for it. Angina, asmentioned before, is only temporary, and it does not cause any permanent damage to theheart muscle. The underlying coronary heart disease, however, continues to progressunless action is taken to prevent it from becoming worse. Angina can be so severe that aperson may feel frightened,or so mild that it might be ignored. Angina attacks are usuallyshort, from one or two minutes to a maximum of about four to five. It usually goes awaywith rest, within a couple of minutes,or ten minutes at the most. There are several knownforms of angina. Brief pain that comes on when you exert yourself and leaves fairlyquickly when you rest is known as stable angina. When angina pain occurs during rest, it iscalled unstable angina. The symptoms are usually severe and the coronary arteries areextremely narrowed. If a person suffers from unstable angina, there is a higher risk for thatperson to experience heart attacks. The pain may come up to 20 times a day, and it isstrong enough to wake a person up, especially after a disturbing dream. Another type ofangina is called atypical, or variant angina.In this type of angina, pain occurs only when aperson is resting or asleep rather than from exertion. It is thought to be the result ofcoronary artery spasm, a cramp that nar...
