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The main symptom of angina is sudden pain in your chest, neck, shoulders, jaw or arms.
The pain may:
These symptoms may be called an angina attack, episode or pain.
They are often brought on by exercise, stress, emotion or cold temperatures – although sometimes there's no obvious trigger.
Angina attacks usually last less than 10 minutes and should stop after resting for a few minutes or taking your angina medicine.
If you've been diagnosed with angina and get chest pain, follow the instructions you've been given for treating your angina:
If you still have symptoms 5 minutes after taking the 2nd dose, call 999 for an ambulance.
You could be having a heart attack. Call 999 straight away as you need immediate treatment in hospital.
Do not drive yourself to A&E.
The person you speak to at 999 will give you advice about what to do.
You can call 111 or get help from 111 online.
If a GP thinks you may have angina, you'll be referred to a heart specialist (cardiologist).
You may have tests including:
Angina happens when the heart does not get enough blood.
This is usually due to coronary heart disease, where the blood vessels supplying blood to the heart become narrowed or blocked by fatty deposits.
But it can also be caused by the blood vessels in your heart tightening when they should not (vasospastic angina or microvascular angina).
You're more likely to get angina if you:
British Heart Foundation has more information about vasospastic angina and microvascular angina.
If you have angina, you may be given medicine to:
Sometimes you may be recommended to have surgery to increase the blood flow to your heart (coronary angioplasty or a coronary artery bypass).
If you have angina, there are things you can do to help symptoms or reduce the chance of attacks.
avoid things that trigger your angina attacks as much as possible, like stress, cold temperatures or eating large meals
always have your angina medicine with you – use it as you have been told by your doctor
try to quit smoking, if you smoke
try to keep to a healthy weight
eat a balanced diet
have the most active lifestyle your symptoms will allow
try to cut down on alcohol if you drink more than 14 units a week
NHS Better Health has free tools and support to help you lose weight, quit smoking, drink less and get active.
Having angina means you're at higher risk of having a heart attack or stroke. It's important to treat it and make healthy lifestyle changes to reduce this risk.
With treatment, the symptoms should improve over time and may eventually stop.
If your symptoms are well controlled, angina will not usually have a big impact on your life. You'll usually be able to continue with most things, including exercise and sex.
But angina may affect your work if you have a job that involves a lot of physical activity, or if you drive buses, coaches or lorries.
Your doctor will talk to you about any changes you may need to make, and whether you need to inform the DVLA about your condition.
It's also best to speak to your doctor before you take up a new activity or if you're worried about exercising.
You may also need to think about practical things like always carrying your angina medicine, having spare medicine available and making sure you have enough with you when travelling.
