Patient's question:
I don't know why, sometimes my heart tends to ache occasionally. My friend said it might be angina, so I want to think about how to determine if the chest pain is angina.Doctor's answer:
Angina pectoris often manifests as constrictive pain, squeezing pain, or a sense of constriction behind the sternum or in the throat. Some patients may only experience chest tightness. Sudden, recurrent squeezing, constrictive, or dyspneic pain located in the upper or middle part of the sternum may also affect most of the anterior chest area, radiating to the left shoulder, the front and inner side of the left upper arm, and extending to the ring finger and little finger. Occasionally, it may be accompanied by a sense of impending death, forcing the patient to immediately stop their activity. Severe cases may also cause sweating. The pain typically lasts for 1 to 5 minutes, rarely less than 15 minutes; rest or sublingual administration of nitroglycerin can relieve the pain within 1 to 2 minutes. It often recurs during exertion, emotional excitement, exposure to cold, after a full meal, or while smoking. Anemia, tachycardia, or shock can also trigger it.