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Illustrated Health Encyclopedia
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Ency. home > Disease > U > Unstable angina

Unstable angina   

Overview | Symptoms | Treatment | Prevention

Alternative names:

Accelerating angina; New-onset angina; Angina - unstable; Progressive angina

Symptoms

Typical anginal pain usually originates in the chest and may radiate to shoulder, arm, jaw, neck, back or other areas. The pain is often described as tightness, squeezing, crushing, burning, choking, or aching. Unstable angina is differentiated from stable angina in that the pain may:

  • occur at rest
  • be new onset or last longer than previous anginal attacks
  • be less responsive to medication

In other words, if a pattern of stable angina has been present previously, the development of unstable angina may be signified by a change in the pattern, frequency, or severity.

Signs and Tests

  • Physical examination may reveal a change in blood pressure. Transient heart murmur or arrhythmias (irregular heart beats) may occur as well.
  • ECG changes that occur at rest, during pain, are often diagnostic.
  • Heart scans or coronary angiographies of the heart are often performed.
  • Echocardiography may reveal changes in the heart caused by decreased coronary blood flow.
  • Blood tests such as CPK, CPK-MB, Troponin I, and Troponin T are used to diagnose unstable angina and can predict likelihood of progression to heart attack.

Ency. home > Disease > U > Unstable angina

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