Acute Coronary Syndrome

Acute coronary syndrome is a comparatively new term being used by health care professionals to describe chest pain and discomfort caused by a decline in blood supply to the heart.

These two types of chest pain, fall into two main categories:

Angina

Angina is a specific type of pain in the chest caused by inadequate blood flow through the blood vessels (coronary vessels) of the heart muscle (myocardium).

It is brought on by exercise or effort and eases at rest or by using medication e.g. GTN spray or tablets.

Symptoms include:

A feeling of tightness, heavy pressure, or squeezing or crushing chest pain that is

• Under the breastbone or slightly to the left
• Not clearly focused in one spot
• May radiate to shoulder, arm, jaw, neck, back, or other areas
• May feel similar to gas or indigestion.
• Is precipitated by activity, stress, or exertion
• Lasts 1 to 15 minutes
• Usually relieved by rest or nitro-glycerine

The pain varies from a dull ache to a sensation often described as a tight band around the chest and it rarely lasts longer than fifteen minutes on complete rest.

The cause of angina is simple to understand. When it’s at rest, the heart is quite happy pumping slowly. However, exercise, effort and exertion cause the heart to pump faster and more forcefully. The heart muscle then requires increased oxygen supply. Usually this is freely available from the coronary arteries, which dilate on demand. But if the coronary arteries are hardened or partially blocked, then the supply of oxygen to the heart may be restricted. Cholesterol or fatty deposits generally cause these types of blockages.

Unstable Angina

Exactly as the name implies; the angina pain may occur at any time. It usually happens at rest and very commonly occurs during the night, waking you up. The pain is usually the same type as angina, (or more severe,) but in this instance it doesn’t go away with rest and medication.

Alternatively, you may have been told you’ve had a heart attack!

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