What Is Variant Angina?

Variant angina, also called Prinzmetal's angina, is a rare form of angina that accounts for only about two percent of angina cases. Variant angina attacks can be fierce and frightening. Learn more about variant angina here.

Symptoms

Common variant angina symptoms include chest pain, nausea, light-headedness, breathing problems and heart palpitations. Sufferers frequently feel pain which starts in the chest and spreads to the left arm, jaws and throat.

Occurrence

Variant angina pain almost always occurs when an individual is resting. The painful attacks typically happen between midnight and 8 A.M.

Cause

Variant angina is caused by a coronary artery spasm. A majority of variant angina sufferers have severe coronary blockage, and the spasm typically occurs near the blockage.

Diagnosis

Physicians typically diagnose variant angina with an electrocardiogram (ECG), which records cardiac patterns, and a coronary angiogram, which uses an x-ray to create images of arteries.

Treatment

Variant angina is usually treated with calcium channel blockers and nitrates. Severe blockages might require an angioplasty procedure.

References

• Variant Angina Pectoris
• What is Variant Angina?
• Angina Causes

Resources

• Mayo Clinic: Angina
• Emedtv.com: Variant Angina

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