Angina Symptoms: Why Your Doctor May Be Prescribing The Wrong Drugs For Your Angina Symptoms

Just imagine for a moment that your heart can't breathe: starved of oxygen to this vital organ, your body will experience a frightening and painful array of symptoms that threaten to overwhelm you. If you have angina you will be all too familiar with the squeezing, pressure-like pain around your heart that radiates to your left shoulder, arm or jaw.

Usually, this is caused by cholesterol deposits in your arteries, which reduce the blood supply to the heart muscle and which tend to occur after, or during, physical exertion. But if you usually suffer these symptoms when you are resting, it is likely you are suffering from a little-known variant called Prinzmetal's angina, which has a separate cause and needs different treatment.

Prinzmetal's angina occurs when the cardiac arteries, which supply blood to the heart muscle, go into spasm. This reduces the supply of oxygen to the heart, putting the heart muscle under stress and causing chest pain. Your doctor may not even appear to be aware of the distinction between these two kinds of angina when prescribing drug treatment. But drugs should only be a last resort, as there are several powerful natural supplements that can equal the benefits of drug treatment for Prinzmetal's angina, without the risks and side effects.

The drugs you currently take for your heart condition may not treat Printzmetal's angina
Both kinds of angina are normally treated by doctors with a cocktail of drugs. Most patients are prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs and beta-blockers, which slow the heartbeat. However, these are often not effective for Prinzmetal's angina, due to its different cause, and, what is worse, they can unleash a variety of unpleasant side effects without treating your condition at all. Cholesterol-lowering 'statin' drugs have side effects of digestive disturbances, abdominal pain and headaches, while beta blockers can cause lethargy, lack of libido, muscle aches and dry eyes.

If you have been diagnosed with Prinzmetal's angina and have been prescribed beta blockers or cholesterol-lowering drugs, ask your doctor why immediately. He may tell you it is best 'to be on the safe side', as he may be unaware that there are effective natural treatments that provide the same protection from heart attacks and yet are free from side effects.

Two nutrients to take today for better heart health
Despite the problems of side effects from angina drugs, conventional medicine has been slow to recognise the value of natural treatments for Prinzmetal's angina. A nutrient with a major role in treating and preventing this condition is magnesium, a shortage of which causes the cardiac arteries to go into spasm. Magnesium supplements have been found to be helpful in the management of angina and irregular heartbeat and several studies have indicated that it should be the 'treatment of choice' for Prinzmetal's angina (Science 208: 199-200, 1980; Magnesium 5: 144-149, 1986). Take a daily supplement of 500mg of magnesium. Just one word of warning - if you have kidney disease or impaired kidney function, only take magnesium under a doctor's supervision.

Another supplement, the amino acid L-taurine, is one of the most important nutrients for heart health. It calms the sympathetic nervous system, which supplies nerve impulses to the blood vessels, heart and other organs and is responsible for setting off the arterial spasms of Prinzmetal's angina. It does this by maintaining the correct mineral balance in the cells, keeping magnesium in and sodium out. Taurine also stabilises an irregular heartbeat, reduces blood pressure, prevents cholesterol sticking to the walls of arteries and discourages blood platelets from clumping together and forming clots (Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 61: 1115-9, 1995). You should take 500mg a day of this amazing nutrient.

The humble hawthorn tree can stop cardiac arteries going into spasm
Another natural remedy that is wonderfully effective in treating Prinzmetal's angina and its accompanying high blood pressure is hawthorn. Extracts of the berries and flowers of this familiar tree contain compounds called procyanidins, which dilate the cardiac arteries by relaxing the smooth muscle in their walls (Fortschr. Med. 111: 352-4, 1993).

This greatly reduces the risk of the arteries going into spasm. Several studies have shown hawthorn to be of great value in generally improving heart metabolism (Fortschr. Med. 104: 805-8, 1986).

Take 250mg a day of a standardised extract containing 10% procyanidins. Because hawthorn works in the same way as several of the anti-angina drugs, let your doctor know before you start to take it, so that your medication can be reduced if necessary.

Beat Prinzmetal's angina pain by improving your ability to 'burn' fat
Natural remedies like these are good, not only for relaxing the cardiac arteries and reducing the frequency and duration of angina attacks, but they also make your heart more resilient to temporary oxygen shortages, so that symptoms are less severe. The heart's main metabolic fuel is long-chain fatty acids, which are 'burnt' in the heart muscle cells when oxygen is present. But if the heart can't utilise these fatty acids properly, they build up in the muscle tissue and damage it. Any defect in your ability to use these fatty acids will greatly increase your risk of angina pain if there is even a slight shortage of oxygen. The nutrients carnitine, pantethine and CoQ10 are all essential in the metabolism of fatty acids and prevent their accumulation in the heart muscle.

CoQ10 is an essential catalyst for energy production and the heart is totally dependent on CoQ10 to meet its energy needs. Not surprisingly, CoQ10 has proved to be indispensable in the natural treatment of heart disease. In one study, twelve patients with stable angina pectoris were given 150mg of CoQ10 for four weeks, in a double-blind crossover trial. Compared to the placebo, CoQ10 reduced the frequency of angina attacks by 53% (Am. J. Cardiol. 56: 247, 1985). Take 120mg of CoQ10 a day.

Pantethine is a fundamental component of co-enzyme A, which is involved in the transport of fatty acids to and from cells. Heart pantethine levels have been shown to drop during periods of reduced oxygen supply, so this nutrient is also likely to be of great benefit to angina sufferers (Jap. Heart J. 26: 289-96, 1985). The dosage is 600mg a day.

Carnitine is as effective as drug therapy in reducing angina symptoms
Carnitine is a vitamin-like compound that stimulates the breakdown of long-chain fatty acids and is essential to normal heart function. Clinical trials have shown, incredibly, that carnitine is as effective as calcium channel blockers and other anti-angina drugs in reducing angina symptoms, yet most doctors remain unaware of its value (Drugs Exptl. Clin. Res. 10: 213-217, 1984). Take 1,000mg of this important nutrient daily.

Talk to your doctor today if you think you may be suffering from this lesser-known form of angina, or if you have already been diagnosed with Prinzmetal's angina. Discuss your treatment options and discover how natural remedies may be the most effective in reducing your painful symptoms.