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Dr. Miller’s Bio | Q&A Archive
Accelerating angina; New-onset angina; Angina - unstable; Progressive angina
Unstable angina is a type of acute chest pain that occurs when your heart doesn't get enough oxygen. It can be a warning sign of a heart attack.
See also:
Coronary artery disease due to atherosclerosis is by far the most common cause of unstable angina. Atherosclerosis is the buildup of fatty material called plaque along the walls of the arteries. This causes arteries to become less flexible and narrow, which interrupts blood flow to the heart, causing chest pain.
At first, angina may be considered stable -- that is, the chest pain only occurs with activity or stress. Unstable angina is chest pain that is sudden and gets increasingly worse. The chest pain:
People with unstable angina are at increased risk of having a heart attack.
A coronary artery spasm is a rare cause of angina.
Risk factors for coronary artery disease include:
Anderson JL, Adams CD, Antman EM, Bridges CR, Califf RM, Casey DE Jr., et al. ACC/AHA 2007 guidelines for the management of patients with unstable angina/non-ST-Elevation myocardial infarction: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines (Writing Committee to Revise the 2002 Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Unstable Angina/Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction) developed in collaboration with the American College of Emergency Physicians, the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons endorsed by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation and the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2007;50:e1-e157.
Antman EM. ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction: Management. In: Libby P, Bonow RO, Mann DL, Zipes DP, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 51.