Angina: What It Feels Like and What To Do

Chest tightness, pressure, or a squeezing feeling that comes on with activity or stress can be angina. It’s your heart telling you it’s not getting enough oxygen. That can be scary, but knowing how to spot it and what to do right away makes a big difference.

Recognizing angina and first steps

Typical angina usually shows up as a central chest pressure that spreads to the left arm, jaw, neck, or back. You might also feel short of breath, sweaty, or nauseous. Women and older adults often have less obvious symptoms — breathlessness, fatigue, or stomach discomfort instead of classic chest pain.

If symptoms come with exertion and ease with rest, that's often stable angina. If pain is new, much worse, happens at rest, or lasts more than a few minutes despite resting, treat it as an emergency — it could be unstable angina or a heart attack.

Practical first steps: stop activity and sit or lie down. If you have prescribed sublingual nitroglycerin, take it as directed. If chest pain is severe, repeated, or comes with fainting, vomiting, heavy sweating, or breathlessness, call emergency services immediately. If a heart attack is likely and you’re not allergic, chewing one adult aspirin (300 mg) can help until help arrives.

Treatment options and prevention

Doctors diagnose angina with an exam, ECG, blood tests (to rule out heart attack), and stress tests or coronary angiography if needed. Treatment focuses on easing symptoms and lowering heart risk.

Common medicines include nitrates (for quick relief), beta-blockers and calcium channel blockers (to reduce heart workload), antiplatelet drugs like aspirin or clopidogrel (to lower clot risk), and statins (to cut cholesterol and stabilize plaques). In some cases, blood thinners or ACE inhibitors are used. Important safety note: do not take nitrates if you’ve used PDE5 inhibitors (sildenafil, tadalafil) recently — that combo can dangerously drop your blood pressure.

When blockages are severe, procedures like angioplasty with stent or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) may be recommended. Those procedures aim to restore steady blood flow and reduce symptoms.

Prevention is practical: stop smoking, control blood pressure, manage diabetes, lower LDL cholesterol, maintain healthy weight, eat a Mediterranean-style diet, and move regularly — even brisk walking helps. Small, consistent changes lower risk a lot over time.

If you’re thinking about buying heart meds online, check with your doctor first and use a verified pharmacy. Our site has guides on related drugs like statins and anticoagulants if you want clear, practical info about options and safety.

If you’re unsure whether your chest pain is angina, don’t guess — get checked. Quick action saves lives and keeps you on track for better heart health.