Symptoms of Angina of Effort
The appearance of chest pain during physical activity and its cessation in 1-2 minutes once the intensity of the activity is reduced is the most significant sign of effort angina. The overall duration of the attack may vary from 1 to 15 minutes, but on average it lasts about 2-5 minutes.
The characteristic features are:
- Waves of increasing pressure and constricting pain localized in the left part of the chest. Sometimes patients describe the pain as fire burning their heart.
- The most common patient complaint is unexplainable chest discomfort, pressure and a dull pain.
Angina of effort is characterized by pain radiating to other areas and organs. Quite often, pain starts at the top of the shoulder blade and spreads to the left arm up and down to the little finger. Pain may spread from the shoulder blade to the neck and then to the face and teeth.
There is also a strong connection between angina pain and the temperature of the environment. Thus, a person experiences pain when leaving a warm house in the winter.
The non-specific symptoms of effort angina include:
- Dry mouth;
- Pale skin;
- Rapid breathing;
- Tachycardia;
- Extrasystole.
Next chapter: Angina of Effort tests and diagnosis
