The diagnosis of angina depends on several different factors.
There are physical symptoms that can occur in the body that may signal the diagnosis of angina. Symptoms of angina may include several signals. Angina is actually a symptom itself. Coronary heart disease is the disease that can cause angina and its other symptoms. An uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing sensation, tightness, burning, heavy weight, or pain in the center of the chest is the actual symptom angina. The pain does not have to be localized to the chest. It may also be felt in the jaw, neck, upper arm, upper back, or upper abdomen. This pain may vary in intensity, from mild to severe.
There are other symptoms that may occur with angina.
– Shortness of breath
– Light-headedness
– Fainting
– Physical weakness or fatigue
– Sweating or cold, clammy skin
– Nausea
– Irregular heart beat, or rapid beating
– Pale skin
– Numbness
– Tingling
Angina and other following symptoms are very similar to the signs of a heart attack. It may not be possible to tell if you are experiencing angina or the beginning of a heart attack.
It is possible to distinguish between angina and a heart attack, though, because usually angina lasts for only a short period of time such as a few seconds or minutes. Symptoms that are precursory to a heart attack persist and will not go away. It is important that if you are experiencing these symptoms for the first time, you seek medical help immediately so that you may be properly diagnosed.
If you have experienced symptoms of angina before and have visited a health care provider, you will already have been diagnosed. However, if the symptoms change in any way, it is important to seek medical attention so that you may be taken care of and diagnosed again if necessary. These changes include if your usual pattern of symptoms changes; if your symptoms are more severe or occur more frequently; if your symptoms occur at rest or with less activity than usual; or if your symptoms do not get better with the usual treatment.
Your health care provider will want to know if you have any of these symptoms and will ask about your medical history and the history of your family. Your health care provider will perform a thorough physical examination. The examination may reveal a change in blood pressure, irregular heart beats, or a heart murmur. All of these issues may be precursory to heart disease or a heart attack.
Other tests will be performed to properly diagnose angina or other problems.
– Echocardiogram may be performed using high frequency sound waves passed through the heart and can reveal changes in the heart caused by decreased blood flow. This test measures the size and shape of the heart.
– Blood tests are used to diagnose whether angina is unstable or stable and can predict whether a heart attack is likely to progress or occur.
– Electrocardiogram records the activity of the heart by measuring electrical currents. This test can reveal evidence of past heart attacks or heart rhythm problems.
– Exercise stress test will record the heart’s electrical activity during increased physical activity.
– Thallium stress test measures the muscle layer of the heart.
– Nuclear scanning is when radioactive material is injected into a vein and watched as it travels through the body and is absorbed by the heart muscle.
– CT scan is an x-ray that uses a computer to make pictures of the inside of the heart.
– Coronary angiography is when x-rays are taken after a dye is injected into the arteries. The health care provider will be looking for abnormalities in the arteries.