Diagnosis

[writingpartners]

hey people,

My grandmother is living her life with a pace maker(though i hardly know what it means) and some major heart disease. Wonder if its actually called angina or not!

[xeric]

angina means to a painful constriction or tightness somewhere in the body and may refer to chest pain due to ischemia (a lack of blood and hence oxygen supply) of the heart muscle.

may be its angina because you said she is living with some major heart disease.

[CountryBoy]

Angina is normally quite easy to diagnose. The symptoms manifest themself as crushing chest pain, perhaps radiating to the upper arms or lower jaw. The pain is caused by temporary coronary ishaemia and subsides when the patient rests and lessens the demand on their heart. Angina attacks are commonly triggered by physical exertion, cold, heavy meals and stress. Most patients relieve the symptoms of their angina by using a glycerotrinitrate (GTN) spray under their tongue.

If the pain doesn't lessen when the patient rests then the chances are it's a heart attack.