Natural Remedies For Angina - Common Symptoms of Angina Pectoris
Angina is sometimes called angina pectoris, it's a pain that occurs when your heart isn't getting enough oxygen. You feel a sensation of heaviness or pressure in the middle of your chest. Sometimes the pain jumps to your left arm, throat, or jaw.
Exercise, a large meal, emotional upset, or stress can bring on an attack of angina. But the condition that makes such attacks possible is narrowing of the coronary arteries, which carry oxygen-rich blood to the heart.
Angina is a serious problem and should never be ignored. It can lead to a heart attack. This is no time to play games. If angina symptoms begin to occur with greater frequency or with less provocation than usual, they could be a sign of worsening heart disease and impending heart attack.
Symptoms of angina
- Chest discomfort
- Chest pain
- Chest tightness
- Choking feeling
- Breathlessness
- Brief chest pain episodes - often 2-5 minutes
- Pain worsens on exercise
- Pain relief from rest
- Pain extends down left arm
- Tingling in left arm
- Numbness in left arm
- Weakness of left arm
- Pain extends to neck
natural remedies for angina
Bromelain is made from certain enzymes in pineapple, it has anti-infammatory effects, stops platelets from sticking together, and has been shown in studies to break down arterial plaques and ease angina
L-carnitine is an amino acid that is involved with energy production at the cellular level. It increases the efficiency of oxygen use within the heart muscle. It also lowers cholesterol. In clinical studies, angina patients who took L-carnitine could exercise more, and when they exercised as much as they could, their EKG readings were improved.
Coenzyme Q is a lot like L-carnitine, this vitamin-like substance is involved with energy production in the cells. In one small study, patients with stable angina reduced their episodes of chest pain by more than half, and the amount of time they could spend on a thread mill before experiencing chest pain increased by a full minute.
Because angina is such a serious disease, you must continue to see your doctor. Herbal treatments for angina focus on preventing attacks. Once an episode of angina is happening, take your nitroglycerin. Herbs can do much for angina -- lower blood cholesterol, prevent and heal injuries to the endothelium of arteries, prevent the clumping of blood platelets, shrink plaques, and expand or dilate involved arteries. Herbs can also strengthen the heart in general. |
Garlic and Onions are wonderful medicine for the heart. Both contain substances that discourage platelets from sticking together and prevent blood clots. They also lower total cholesterol.
Treatment with drug medication for angina
Nitrates: Under the tongue nitroglycerin, isorbide dinitrate, nitroglycerin ointment (Nitrobid)
Side effects: Headaches, slight decrease in blood pressure.
When to call a doctor for angina
Most angina sufferers have a form of angina called chronic stable angina. This means that it occurs in predictable ways when they are doing exercise, or going through emotional stress with the pain lasting five minutes or less. Most chronic stable angina can be treated easily with medications and simple lifestyle changes.
On the other hand there is something called unstable angina, which is far more serious than the latter. An attack could come upon you suddenly even when resting, or not being engaged in anything physical. This pain could last up to twenty minutes or more.
If symptoms such as pain or shortness of breath get too intense or insistent, get to an emergency room right away. While on your way to the emergency room chew one or two aspirin tablets. Always have aspirin readily available just in case of an attack.
*image of heart courtesy of www.nlm.nih.gov
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