NetDoctor Book series

Angina

Chapter 1: What is angina?

	The size of the problem
	Coronary heart disease in different groups
	Recent trends
	Making improvements

Chapter 2: Structure of the heart and circulation

	The heart as a pump
	The coronary arteries
	Oxygen demand
	Coronary veins
	Atherosclerosis
	The lining of arteries
	Plaque

Chapter 3: Do I have angina?

	Symptoms
	Why can angina be felt in other parts of the body?
	What else can cause chest pain?
	Other possibilities
	The doctor’s assessment
	Physical examination

Chapter 4: Investigating angina

	Blood tests
	Fat (lipid) levels
	Electrocardiogram
	Exercise ECG
	Heart scans
	Angiography
	Other techniques

Chapter 5: Modifying risk factors

	Smoking
	Cholesterol
	Blood pressure
	Body weight
	Diabetes
	Calculating health risk

Chapter 6: Drug treatment

	Beta blockers
	Calcium channel blockers
	Potassium channel activator
	Nitrates
	Aspirin
	Statins

Chapter 7: Intervention treatment

	Balloons and stents
	PTCA
	Coronary artery bypass grafting

Chapter 8: Deciding the best treatment

	Stage 1: initial appraisal and baseline treatment
	Stage 2: second-line drugs and treatment
	Stage 3: risk assessment
	Stage 4: angiography
	Stage 5: revascularisation
	Stage 6: living with angina

Chapter 9: Special types of angina – and heart attacks

	Stable and unstable angina
	Syndrome X
	Variant angina
	Heart attack
	Life after a heart attack

Chapter 10: The challenge of coronary heart disease

	Access to care
	Costs and priorities
	Summary