What to Know About Unstable Angina

It happens when the heart muscle is not receiving enough oxygen-rich blood. Unlike a familiar, stable pattern brought on by exertion, discomfort may begin at rest, occur with less activity, last longer, or feel more severe than before.

Unstable angina belongs to a group of urgent heart problems caused by suddenly reduced blood flow through a coronary artery. It can feel like pressure, squeezing, heaviness, burning, or tightness in the chest. Discomfort may spread to an arm, shoulder, jaw, back, or upper abdomen, and may occur with breathlessness, sweating, nausea, or light-headedness.

Clinicians assess the symptom pattern, examine you, perform an electrocardiogram, and use blood tests to look for heart-muscle injury. The results help distinguish unstable angina from a heart attack and from non-cardiac causes of chest pain.

Stop activity, sit in a safe place, and call the UAE ambulance service if chest discomfort is new, occurs at rest, or differs from your established angina pattern. Do not drive yourself. If you have a prescribed angina rescue medicine, use it exactly as your clinician instructed while emergency help is coming. Follow the call handler's advice about any other medicine.

Hospital care may include repeated heart tracing and blood tests, medicines that reduce clotting or the heart's workload, and imaging of the coronary arteries. Longer-term care often addresses blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, activity, and medication adherence.

Treat chest pressure or tightness as an emergency when it is unexpected, persists, returns, happens at rest, or comes with shortness of breath, cold sweating, faintness, nausea, or pain spreading beyond the chest. A change in a known angina pattern also needs emergency assessment, even if the discomfort later settles.

Symptoms can be less typical in some people and may mainly involve breathlessness, unusual exhaustion, back or jaw discomfort, or indigestion-like pressure. Do not wait for severe pain before seeking help.

Ask what your test results showed, whether coronary imaging is needed, and which symptoms should trigger another ambulance call. Confirm how and when to take each heart medicine, which side effects need attention, and when you can safely resume work, driving, exercise, and sexual activity. Request a written plan for controlling blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and smoking exposure.