The Symptoms of Angina Pectoris

Intense pain in the region of the heart, sometimes extending down the left arm to the ends of the fingers; a sense of suffocation and of impending death; great pallor of the face; the pulse usually small, feeble, and irregular.

Angina pectoris is a nervous disease of the heart, usually accompanied by fatty degeneration, valvular disease, obstruction of the coronary arteries or arteries of the heart, and various other derangements of the heart and aorta.

The Causes of Angina Pectoris

The direct causes of the disease are not known. Probably they are similar to those which give rise to other obscure nervous diseases.

The Treatment of Angina Pectoris

The most important of all measures consists in the proper regulation of the diet and regimen of the patient during the intervals of the attacks. By this means it may be hoped to ward off the disease. The best remedy for immediate relief of pain is nitrite of amyl, a powerful drug, three to five drops of which should be placed on the handkerchief and inhaled by the patient. Persons subject to these attacks should carry with them a small bottle containing a sponge saturated with the nitrite, which may be placed to the nose when necessary.