angina
/anˈdʒʌɪnə
/noun [mass noun]
1 (also angina pectoris /ˈpɛkt(ə)rɪs/) A condition marked by severe pain in the chest, often also spreading to the shoulders, arms, and neck, owing to an inadequate blood supply to the heart: he had high blood pressure and he suffered from angina...
- Signs of heart disease include having had a previous heart attack, angina pectoris (chest pain when you walk or run), or procedures to prevent a heart attack (like coronary bypass surgery or angioplasty).
- If reduced flow occurs in the arteries that supply your heart with blood (coronary arteries), it can lead to a type of chest pain called angina pectoris.
- Pain caused through this means should be taken seriously to exclude serious conditions like angina pectoris or any heart problem.
Latin pectoris 'of the chest'
2 [with modifier] Any of a number of disorders in which there is an intense localized pain: Ludwig’s angina
Derivatives
anginal
- Until recently, the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association classified anginal lesions into types A, B, or C based on the severity of lesion characteristics.
- It may be confused, even in the emergency room, with anginal pain or the onset of myocardial infarction; therefore its rapid diagnosis is important.
- It is appropriate in the older athlete with known coronary artery disease or when symptoms suggest stable angina or exercise-induced anginal variants.
Origin
Mid 16th century: from Latin, 'quinsy', from Greek ankhonē 'strangling'.
The Latin word angere, ‘to choke, squeeze, or strangle’, is the source of a number of English words. The most obvious is perhaps angina, which originally meant quinsy (an inflammation of the throat) and later referred to angina pectoris, a heart condition characterized by a feeling of suffocation and severe pain. Nervous tension can produce feelings of tightness in the throat and chest, which explains why angere is indirectly the root of anguish (Middle English) and anxiety (early 16th century).