Treatment:

The options for treating angina include medications and surgery.

Medicines used to treat angina include:

• Nitroglycerin
• Blood thinners, including aspirin and clopidogrel (Plavix)
• Cholesterol-lowering drugs
• Blood pressure medicines, including calcium channel blockers, beta blockers, and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors

Ranolazine (Ranexa) is a relatively new medicine approved for the treatment of chronic angina. The drug is for patients who do not respond to traditional angina treatment. It should be used in combination with other medication.

Your doctor may recommend a cardiac rehabilitation program to help improve your heart's fitness.

Some patients may need surgery to help improve the flow of blood through the coronary arteries, such as:

• Angioplasty
• Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)

Recent studies show that angioplasty with stenting does not help you live longer than medicine alone. However, it can reduce angina or other symptoms of coronary artery disease.

Angioplasty with stenting can be a life-saving procedure if you are having a heart attack.

Expectations (prognosis):

Stable angina usually improves with medication.

Complications:

• Heart attack
• Sudden death caused by abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias)
• Unstable angina

Calling your health care provider:

Seek medical attention if you have new, unexplained chest pain or pressure. If you have had angina before, call your doctor.

Call 911 or your local emergency number if you experience chest pain or heaviness. The pain may be a sign of unstable angina or a heart attack.

Call your health care provider if:

• Angina episodes happen more often, last longer than usual, or feel different than before
• You have shortness of breath
• You need to take more and more nitroglycerin to make your angina go away

Seek immediate medical help if a person with angina loses consciousness.