What should you know about vasospastic angina symptoms?

People with vasospastic angina may feel squeezing, heaviness, pressure or burning in the chest. Discomfort can spread to the arm, shoulder, neck, jaw or back. Breathlessness, sweating, nausea, palpitations or light-headedness may occur alongside it.

Episodes often begin at rest and may follow a repeated overnight or early-morning pattern. They can settle when the spasm relaxes, but a short episode is not automatically harmless. Chest tightness has several possible causes, and a symptom pattern cannot confirm vasospastic angina without medical assessment.

Stop what you are doing, sit or rest and note when the discomfort began. Follow any personalised rescue-medicine plan exactly. Record whether the symptom occurred with exertion, cold exposure, stress, smoking or a medicine, and note associated sweating, nausea or breathlessness.

Arrange an assessment for repeated episodes or new chest symptoms. An ECG and other investigations may help compare the symptoms with heart rhythm and blood-flow findings. Tell the clinician about hypertension, smoking, recreational drugs and all prescribed or non-prescribed medicines.

Call emergency services for chest pressure that is severe, new, persistent or returning, or for symptoms with breathlessness, fainting, marked sweating, nausea or spreading pain. These features can signal a heart attack even when the discomfort resembles a previous spasm.

Do not drive yourself to hospital. If your prescribed rescue treatment does not work within the instructions you were given, seek emergency help immediately.

Ask how to distinguish your usual symptoms from an emergency, whether you need an ECG or cardiology review, which triggers to avoid, and how to use prescribed treatment safely.