Can stable angina lead to a heart attack?
Yes, if you have stable angina, you could have a heart attack in the future if you don’t reduce your risk. Because your stable angina can become unstable angina or lead to a heart attack, it’s important to keep taking your medicines and keep going to your medical appointments.
What is the relationship between angina and a heart attack?
Angina is the specific type of pain you experience when the heart is in trouble. Heart attacks, on the other hand, occur when the narrowing is severe or causes a blockage, leading to actual damage to the heart muscle. In other words, a heart attack is an actual medical condition and angina is a symptom.
What is the difference between a heart attack and angina?
The key difference between angina and a heart attack is that angina is the result of narrowed (rather than blocked) coronary arteries. This is why, unlike a heart attack, angina does not cause permanent heart damage.
What happens to the heart during stable angina?
Stable angina occurs when the heart muscle doesn’t get the oxygen it needs to function properly. Your heart works harder when you exercise or experience emotional stress. Certain factors, such as narrowing of the arteries (atherosclerosis), can prevent your heart from receiving more oxygen.
Is stable angina life threatening?
Stable angina isn’t life threatening on its own but is a sign that your arteries supplying blood to your heart muscle are narrowing. This means you have an increased risk of experiencing more serious conditions, such as a heart attack.
How long can I live with stable angina?
Our patients with stable angina pectoris, who had a median duration of angina of two years and a mean age of 59 years at baseline, had a good prognosis. Thus, the total mortality was 1.7% a year and CV mortality was 1% a year during nine years of follow up.
How long can you have angina before a heart attack?
Like many people with unstable angina, you could have a heart attack in the next three months.
Is angina a symptom of a heart attack?
Angina is one of the signs of a heart attack and should be taken seriously.
Is angina worse than a heart attack?
Angina is chest pain caused by reduced blood flow to the heart muscles. It’s not usually life threatening, but it’s a warning sign that you could be at risk of a heart attack or stroke. With treatment and healthy lifestyle changes, it’s possible to control angina and reduce the risk of these more serious problems.
How long can you live with stable angina?
Can stable angina become unstable?
Stable angina can become unstable. For instance, if you usually have chest discomfort every time you walk two blocks, that would be considered stable angina. However, if that pattern of chest discomfort changes over the course of a short period of time, then the angina has become unstable.
Can stable angina go away?
Chronic stable angina. The pain can go away when you rest. The pattern of pain — how long it lasts, how often it occurs, what triggers it, and how it responds to rest or treatment — remains stable for at least two months.