A Coronary Artery Spasm and Receiving Social Security Disability
When you hear the word "angina," you probably think about chest pain and your heart. Did you know that angina can also be used in reference to pain that develops in other areas of your body? An example of this is abdominal angina. It is a form of angina that refers to postprandial abdominal pain that develops in people when they do not have sufficient blood flow to meet their mesenteric visceral demands. Another example is Ludwig's angina. It is a serious, potentially life-threatening infection of the tissues of the floor of your mouth. Even though there are other forms of angina like those just mentioned, when you hear the word "angina," it is still probably your heart and chest pain that you think about. The kind of angina that is about chest pain and your heart is referred to as angina pectoris. A coronary artery spasm is a brief, temporary narrowing (contraction) of the muscles in an artery wall in your heart. A coronary artery spasm may narrow and decrease or even stop the flow of blood to part of your heart muscle. If a coronary artery spasm lasts long enough, it can result in angina or even a heart attack (myocardial infarction). The angina caused by a coronary artery spasm usually takes place while you are at rest. This is not like typical angina. It usually occurs with some type of physical activity. A coronary artery spasm develops in about 4 out of every 100,000 people in the United States. Even though a coronary artery spasm may take place in anyone at any time, it occurs most often in people who smoke, have high cholesterol or have high blood pressure (hypertension).There are other things that may trigger a coronary spasm. Some of these may include:
- Stimulant drugs like cocaine and amphetamines
- Extreme emotional stress
- Alcohol withdrawal
- Medications that bring about narrowing of your blood vessels (vasoconstriction)
- Exposure to cold
- Be located under your breast bone
- Be described as squeezing, crushing, constricting, tightness or pressure
- Develop while you are at rest
- Take place at the same time each day, which is usually between 12:00 midnight and 8:00 AM
- Be severe and radiate (move) to your neck, jaw, arm or shoulder
- Continue for a period of time lasting anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes
- Result in fainting or a loss of consciousness
- Be relieved by taking nitroglycerin