Angina means any kind of pain that is intense and suffocating. Often the word is understood to mean angina pectoris, which occurs when the heart muscles are not getting enough oxygen. The condition is usually caused by cholesterol, fibrous tissue and clots are being deposited in the coronary arteries, the blood vessels supplying blood to the heart.

It depends on the patient's symptoms and the severity and extensiveness of the disease.

For patients affected by angina, nitroglycerin tablets that dissolve under the tongue are effective and specific against angina. New forms of related medicine are applied in the form of patches on the skin or may be swallowed as slow release tablets. Other drugs aiming at slowing the heart rate, lowering the strain in the heart muscles, or relaxing the blood vessels by blocking the movement of calcium may also work.

Most patients would need medication to lower their cholesterol and control the blood pressure. Drugs preventing the clumping of platelets and clotting of blood may help preventing heart attacks.

When medicines fail, cardiologists in Hong Kong Heart Center may open up narrowed arteries by angioplasty. In severe cases, open heart surgery may be needed to bypass the blockage.

The typical pain caused by angina appears in the chest, feeling like constricting or squeezing. It may also occur in the shoulders, arms, neck, jaw, or back, or in the stomach that feels like indigestion. The most typical feature of angina is that the pain occurs with exercise, and is relieved with rest after a few minutes, but this is not invariable.

Not all chest pain or discomfort is angina, but all cases of chest pain should be checked by a doctor.

The followings are known risk factors for Coronary Artery Disease:

	Old age
	The male sex
	High blood levels of cholesterol
	Smoking
	High blood pressure
	Diabetes
	Obesity
	Stress
	Family history of angina or related heart diseases

People can still suffer from angina despite the lack of any of the above risk factors. Scientists are still researching on other possible causes for the disease.

A blood pressure reading below 120/80 mmHg is considered normal. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute in the U.S. defines high blood pressure as higher than 140/90 mmHg. Both the upper (systolic) and the lower (diastolic) values are important.

Prehypertension is blood pressure between 120 and 139 for the upper (systolic), or between 80 and 89 for the lower (diastolic) number.