What is angina?

Angina is a temporary oxygen deficiency caused by a lack of oxygen sent to the heart muscle, which causes symptoms such as chest pain and shortness of breath. It is caused by an imbalance between the supply and demand of oxygen that the heart needs. In other words, symptoms of angina occur when the amount of oxygen required by the heart increases (increased demand) and when the amount of oxygen sent to the heart decreases due to decreased blood flow (decreased supply). It is a mechanism.

The increase in oxygen demand occurs when the load on the heart increases due to exercise or the like. On the other hand, the decrease in oxygen supply causes the blood vessels called coronary arteries, which send blood to the heart, to narrow due to arteriosclerosis, plaque (atheroma), and constriction (contraction) of the blood vessels, and blood flow is obstructed. Caused by that.

The coronary arteries are important blood vessels that carry oxygen to the heart. When the blood flow in the coronary arteries is blocked, it cannot supply as much oxygen as the heart needs. As a result of the imbalance between supply and demand and the lack of oxygen carried to the heart, a condition called myocardial ischemia occurs. Angina is a condition in which you feel discomfort or pain in or around your chest. It may not be painful and is called asymptomatic myocardial ischemia.

Symptoms of angina

There is pain or discomfort that causes the chest to be tightened or pressed. The entire chest feels heavy, but the intensity of the pain varies. Pain can spread to the left shoulder, left arm, jaw, and back teeth. This is called radiating pain. The duration of pain is from tens of seconds to 10 minutes. The feature is that it will be settled within 15 minutes if you are at rest. If the pain persists for more than 30 minutes, you may have a myocardial infarction.

Let me give you specific symptoms of angina.

After smoking or drinking alcohol, my chest feels heavy
It feels like you’re moving a little faster, or your chest is tightened when you climb stairs or hills.
Stiff left shoulder, numb left arm
My chest and back suddenly hurt on a cold morning
My chest hurts and I may wake up early in the morning

If you have these symptoms, you are suspected of having angina.

Types of angina

Angina can be broadly classified as follows.

Stable angina

Stable angina is a condition in which a tumor called plaque (porridge) forms in the coronary arteries and blood flow is obstructed, but it is relatively stable. This is a type of symptom in which plaque is stable and has a low risk of rapid deterioration. It is easy to predict how many seizures will occur depending on the amount of exercise and movement.

Unstable angina

Unstable angina is a condition in which plaque not only reduces blood flow in the coronary arteries but also makes it easier for the plaque to break. If the plaque is torn, it can be very dangerous. Platelets may collect to repair the plaque’s rupture marks, resulting in blood clots, which can completely block the coronary arteries and cause myocardial infarction.

Variant angina

Angina generally occurs when the heart is stressed by exercise. However, there are also angina pectoris that cause seizures without exercising. This is called atypical angina. This symptom is caused by the extreme contraction and thinning of the coronary arteries, which reduces the blood flow to the heart muscle. It happens at the same time in the morning, after smoking a cigarette, drinking alcohol, and so on. It is sometimes called resting angina because it happens even if you are not exercising. Smoking is one of the major factors, and smoking cessation is indispensable for treatment.

How to treat angina

There are three main types of treatment.

Drug treatment

Drug treatment is given when the symptoms are not severe. Drugs that make the blood smoother and prevent the formation of blood clots are mainly prescribed. There are also nitroglycerin preparations to quickly dilate blood vessels during an attack and prevent serious consequences. Please note that nitroglycerin cannot be taken at the same time as the ED treatment.

Catheter treatment

A catheter is a thin tubular device. Insert it into a blood vessel and let it go back to the vicinity of the heart. Then, the catheter is advanced to the part blocked by the blood clot, and the balloon attached to the tip is inflated to widen the part where the blood vessel is narrowed. After catheterization, a reticulated instrument called a stent may be inserted to prevent the development of myocardial infarction.

Cardiac bypass surgery

It is an operation to connect another blood vessel so as to bypass the part blocked by a blood clot. Since this cardiac bypass surgery is a heavy burden on the body, catheter treatment has become more popular in recent years.

Angina and lifestyle-related diseases

One of the main causes of angina is arteriosclerosis of the coronary arteries. The risk of arteriosclerosis is known to be increased by lifestyle-related diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and smoking. In order to suppress the onset of angina and prevent recurrence after treatment, it is important to prevent and improve lifestyle-related diseases by quitting smoking and moderate exercise.

Angina and ED treatment

Even if you have angina, you may be able to prescribe ED treatments such as Levitra.

However, it may not be possible to prescribe in the following cases or when the condition of angina is not controlled, so it is necessary to check with your doctor or ED treatment specialist. Also, even if you are prescribed an ED treatment, it is essential to tell your partner that you are taking an ED treatment so that you can respond to a sudden angina attack during sexual activity.

Example of prescribing ED treatment

When the doctor determines that the condition is well controlled after performing stent treatment.
When the doctor determines that the condition of angina is stable and there is no problem with sexual activity or taking ED treatment drugs.

Example of when ED treatment cannot be prescribed

If you are prescribed a nitroglycerin preparation (including taking a single dose for coping with a seizure)
If your doctor has instructed you to refrain from sexual activity
If your doctor determines that it is dangerous to take ED medications and have sexual activity for any other reason

* The above is a general example. Depending on your condition, you may not be able to take Viagra, so please check with your doctor or our doctor who is treating angina.

For those who cannot take the oral ED treatment

There is an ED treatment method called ICI therapy that is injected directly into the penis. ICI therapy is a method of injecting a drug directly into the penis, which forces an erection with a 90% or higher probability even for those who cannot take ED treatments or who are not effective with ED treatments. You can.