My heart

What causes angina?

Angina is caused by plaque clogging your coronary
arteries. It does not happen all of the time because the
blood supply to your heart muscle, although reduced,
can usually keep up with your hearts needs.

What are the symptoms of angina?

Angina causes pain or discomfort that usually
feels tight, gripping or squeezing. It can vary from
mild to severe.

ie

You may feel angina in the centre of your chest.

It may spread to your back, neck, jaw, shoulder(s),
arm(s) or hand(s). Or you may feel it in other areas of
your body, but not in your chest. You may not even
have pain, but instead get an unpleasant sensation or
discomfort in your chest, or feel short of breath.

Pr
ev

Angina can affect people in different ways. People

can experience different symptoms at different
times. You may get it early in the morning only,
or you may get it when you are resting or even
sleeping. Some people get it in cold weather, after
a heavy meal or after physical activity.

Remember

It can be difficult to
tell the difference
between angina and
heart attack warning
signs because the
symptoms can feel
similar. See page 9
for What to do if you
have angina.

Managing angina symptoms

Angina symptoms can usually be relieved within
a couple of minutes by resting and putting a dose
of your angina medicine (nitrate spray or tablet
prescribed by your doctor) under your tongue.
If you know when you might get angina, you can
use your nitrate medicine before those times.
However, talk with your doctor about this first.
If your symptoms dont go away within 10 minutes
of rest and using your angina medicine, or if it is
severe or gets worse quickly, you may be having a
heart attack. Call Triple Zero (000)* immediately
and ask for an ambulance.
*If calling Triple Zero (000) does not work on your mobile
phone, try 112.

My heart, my life

Heart Foundation