Angina
See Also:
Angina: Introduction
& Overview
Angina: Types
Angina: Causes
& Risk Factors
Angina: Signs &
Symptoms
Angina: Medical
Tests & Diagnosis Methods
Angina:
Treatment & Prevention Options
Causes & Risk Factors
Causes
Damage to the inner layers of coronary arteries due to
smoking, high levels of fat and cholesterol in the blood,
hypertension and high sugar levels in the blood can cause
CAD. It is known now that angina is a symptom of Coronary
Artery Disease (CAD) leading to reduced oxygenated blood
flow to the myocardial muscle. The human body has a built
in mechanism of healing the damaged portion with the help
of excess fatty tissues that release compounds that
promote the healing process. Thus, it is clear that
healing leads to building up of plaque at points of
arterial damage causing the arteries to narrow. Plaque
may narrow the arteries or even block the arteries
hindering the blood flow to myocardial muscle.
Causes for Stable Angina:
1. Physical exertion
2. Emotional stress
3. Exposure to extreme hot or cold temperatures
4. Heavy meals
5. Smoking
Causes for Unstable Angina:
Plaque (built up) in an artery ruptures or breaks open
leading to blood clots that block an artery partially or
totally causing unstable angina.
Causes of Variant Angina:
Spasms lead to variant angina and the causes of spasms
are:
1. Exposure to cold
2. Emotional stress
3. Smoking
4. Use of Cocaine
5. Medications that narrow blood vessels (1)
Causes of Microvascular Angina:
Abnormal constriction or deficient endothelial-dependent
relaxation of arteries i.e., Syndrome X causes
Miscrovascular angina.
Other general causes of angina are:
1. Congenital/structural anomalies of coronary arteries
2. Reduced oxygen carrying capacity of blood such as
severe anemia or increased carboxyhemoglobin.
3. Compression or squeezing of coronary arteries
4. Inflammation or infection of coronary arteries
5. Severe Aortic stenosis i.e., heart valve disease
leading to narrowing of outflow of blood from heart
6. Hypertrophy or thickening of heart muscle leading
to hypertension (4), (5) & (7)
Risks
The following risk factors contribute to Angina:
1. Coronary calcification
2. Usage of tobacco
3. Elevated C-Reactive Protein
4. Elevated Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) or
cholesterol
5. Diabetes Mellitus
6. Inherited ischemic disease
7. Obesity
8. Sedentary life style or least physical activity
(9)
See Also:
Angina: Introduction
& Overview
Angina: Types
Angina: Causes
& Risk Factors
Angina: Signs &
Symptoms
Angina: Medical
Tests & Diagnosis Methods
Angina:
Treatment & Prevention Options
Article by Kona Vishnu, MS
Medical Writer,
OmniMedicalSearch.com
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