Angina is a feeling of heaviness, tightness or pain in the middle of your chest that may extend to, or just affect, your arms (especially the left), neck, jaw, face, back or abdomen.
It's most often experienced during exertion - if you run for a bus, for example, or climb stairs. It may occur in cold weather, after a heavy meal, or when you're feeling stressed. It can subside once you stop what you're doing and rest, or take medication.
Other symptoms of coronary heart disease
- Unusual breathlessness when doing light activity or at rest, or breathlessness that comes on suddenly.
- Palpitations - awareness of your heart beat or a feeling of having a rapid and unusually forceful heart beat, especially if they last for several hours or recur over several days and/or cause chest pain, breathlessness or dizziness.
- Fainting - although not always a serious symptom, fainting is due to insufficient oxygen reaching the brain, so you should report it to your doctor.
- Fluid retention or puffiness is an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the tissues of the ankles, legs, lungs or abdomen, for example. Although a mild degree of ankle oedema may be quite normal - for example, on a hot day - it can be a sign that the heart isn’t pumping as well as it should (this is known as heart failure). Fluid retention in the lungs, or pulmonary oedema, can cause intense shortness of breath, and may be life-threatening.
- Bluish-tinged fingernails or lips can be the result of too little oxygen in the blood.
- Fatigue is a common symptom of heart disease, but has numerous causes, including depression. It's always worth seeing your doctor if you feel unusually tired, especially if this is combined with symptoms that can’t be explained.
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