_Angina Pectoris _
By: Jim
In today's society, people are gaining medical knowledge at quite a fast
pace. Treatments, cures, and vaccines for various diseases and disorders are
being developed constantly, and yet coronary heart disease remains the number
one killer in the world. The media today concentrates intensely on drug and
alcohol abuse, homicides, AIDS and so on. What a lot of people are not
realizing is that coronary heart disease actually accounts for about 80% of
all sudden deaths. In fact, the number of deaths from heart disease is
approximately equal to the number of deaths from cancer, automobile accidents,
chronic lung disease, pneumonia and influenza, and others, COMBINED. One of
the symptoms of coronary heart disease is angina pectoris. Unfortunately, a
lot of people do not take it seriously, and thus not realizing that it may
lead to other complications, and even deathIn order to understand angina,
one must know about our own heart. The human heart is a powerful muscle in the
body which is worked twice as hard as any other muscle in the body. A double
pump system, the heart consists of two pumps side by side, which pump blood to
all parts of the body. Its steady beating maintains the flow of blood through
the body day and night, year after year, non-stop from birth until death. The
heart is a hollow, muscular organ slightly bigger than a person's clenched
fist. It is located in the centre of the chest,under the breastbone, but it is
slanted slightly to the left, giving people the impression that their heart is
on the left side of their chest. The heart is divided into two halves, which
are then further divided into four chambers: the left atrium and ventricle,
and the right atrium and ventricle. Each chamber on one side is separated from
the other by a valve, and it is the closure of these valves that produce the
"lubb-dubb" sound so familiar to us. Like any of the other organs in our body,
the heart needs a constant supply of blood and oxygen, and coronary arteries
supply them. There are two main coronary arteries, the left coronary artery,
and the right coronary artery. They branch off of the main artery of the body,
the aorta. The right coronary artery circles the right side and goes to the
back of the heart. The left coronary artery further divides into the left
circumflex and the left anterior descending artery. These two left arteries
feed the front and the left side of the heart. The division of the left
coronary artery is the reason why doctors usually refer to three main coronary
arteries There are three main symptoms of coronary heart disease: heart
attack, sudden death, and angina. Heart attack occurs when a blood clot is
suddenly formed and it completely blocks a diseased coronary artery, resulting
in the death of the heart muscle cells supplied by that artery. Coronary and
Coronary Thrombosis2 are terms that can refer to a heart attack. Another term,
Acute myocardial infraction2, means death of the heart muscle due to an
inadequate blood supply. When sudden death occurs, it can be attributed to
cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest could possibly be the first symptom of coronary
artery disease, and may occur without any symptoms or warning signs. Other
causes of sudden deaths include drowning, suffocation, electrocution, drug
overdose, trauma (such as in automobile accidents), and stroke. Drowning,
suffocation, and drug overdose usually cause respiratory arrest, which in turn
causes cardiac arrest. Trauma may cause sudden death by severe injury to the
heart or brain, or by severe blood loss. Stroke causes damage to the brain,
which can cause respiratory arrest and/or cardiac arrest. People with coronary
artery disease, whether or not they have had a heart attack, may experience
intermittent chest pain, pressure, or discomfort. This situation is known as
angina pectoris. It occurs when the narrowing of the coronary arteries
temporarily prevents an adequate supply of blood and oxygen from meeting the
demands of working heart muscles. Angina Pectoris (from angina, meaning
strangling, and pectoris, meaning breast) 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 was not intended to indicate "pain,"
but rather "strangling," with a secondary sensation of fear. Victims suffering
from angina may experience pressure,discomfort, or a squeezing sensation in
the centre of the chest behind the breastbone. The pain may radiate to the
arms, the neck, even the upper back, and the pain may come and go. It occurs
when the heart is not receiving enough oxygen to meet an increased demand for
it. Angina, as mentioned before, is only temporary, and it does not cause any
permanent damage to the heart muscle. The underlying coronary heart disease,
however, continues to progress unless action is taken to prevent it from
becoming worse. Angina can be so severe that a person may feel frightened,or
so mild that it might be ignored. Angina attacks are usually short, from one
or two minutes to a maximum of about four to five. It usually goes away with
rest, within a couple of minutes,or ten minutes at the most. There are several
known forms of angina. Brief pain that comes on when you exert yourself and
leaves fairly quickly when you rest is known as stable angina. When angina
pain occurs during rest, it is called unstable angina. The symptoms are
usually severe and the coronary arteries are extremely narrowed. If a person
suffers from unstable angina, there is a higher risk for that person to
experience heart attacks. The pain may come up to 20 times a day, and it is
strong enough to wake a person up, especially after a disturbing dream.
Another type of angina is called atypical, or variant angina.In this type of
angina, pain occurs only when a person is resting or asleep rather than from
exertion. It is thought to be the result of coronary artery spasm, a cramp
that narrows the arteries With all the government funding available for
research, it should be easy to get a grant to study angina pectoris. However,
it is not as easy as it should be. Many government officials would rather
grant money to a cause that has more sympathy in the public’s eye, such as
researching the effects of tobacco. The government should stop worrying about
its public relations front and research the number one killer in America with
more enthusiasm.
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