Monday, June 8, 2009

Heart Attack Differs from Angina - Find out How

By Shanae Ferne

Many people think that angina and heart attacks are the same thing, but they are not. It is true that the heart is involved in both cases, but they are still two distinct forms of heart disease. In this article, you will find out what makes angina and heart attack different, and what exactly is going on in the arteries of the heart.

First, it helps to have a basic understanding of the heart before you understand what the differences are between heart attack and angina. The heart is a hollow muscular pump. It is separated by a wall, called the septum, into the right and left halves of the heart. The right side of the heart contains blood that is low in oxygen, and the left side contains oxygenated blood.

Each half of the heart is also split in half somewhat horizontally. As a result, there are four hollow areas inside the heart. The two top parts are known as the atria. The two bottom parts of the heart are named the ventricles. After blood has circulated throughout your body, it comes back to your heart through the atrium on the right side. Because it has just come back from giving your body's cells oxygen, it has little oxygen left. After going through the right atrium, it goes to the right ventricle. From the right ventricle, the blood is transported to your lungs, where the blood picks up oxygen again. Now that the blood contains oxygen, it passes through the left atrium, and then the left ventricle. From there, the blood is transported to all parts of the body to provide them with oxygen and nutrients.

Your heart provides all parts of your body with oxygen via the bloodstream, but it also needs to "feed" itself oxygen. The way the heart gets its oxygen is through arteries, called the coronary arteries that are found on the heart. When you suffer with angina or experience a heart attack, it is occurring in the coronary arteries.

In most cases, atherosclerosis is the main cause of heart attack and angina. Atherosclerosis is the plaque that develops on the inside of your artery walls.

When someone has angina, this means that there is less oxygen that gets to the heart through the coronary arteries, but there is not a complete blockage of the coronary arteries. Angina can result in weakening of the heart over time, making it a less effective pump. Take note of angina, because even though it is not a heart attack, you could have a heart attack in the future. People who have also had heart attacks in the past can also suffer from angina.

In contrast, a heart attack results when there is total blockage of a coronary artery. As a result, no blood at all gets to that part of the heart muscle. This means the heart muscle can die.

In summary, angina and heart attack involve the same anatomical structures " the coronary arteries- but they are different in that heart attack results in complete blockage whereas angina does not.

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