Typical angina and coronary artery disease: is the common ground smaller than we think?

In 1772, William Heberden described ‘a disorder of the breast marked with strong and peculiar symptoms... [with a] sense of strangling and anxiety’. Individuals affected are ‘seized while they are walking (more especially if it be uphill, and soon after eating) with a painful and most disagreeable sensation in the breast, which seems as if it would extinguish life if it were to increase or to continue; but the moment they stand still, all this uneasiness vanishes’.1 Two hundred and fifty years have passed since Heberden’s original description of angina pectoris: 250 years in which the foundations of modern medicine were built and then exponentially grew. Yet, in the face of such advancement, Heberden’s striking description of angina retains primacy for the cardiologist of today, perhaps illustrating that human biology and symptomatology are two constants in a rapidly changing world. Medical students are taught that 80% of...
Source: Heart - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Editorials Source Type: research