Health Advice
- Weight Management
- Quit Smoking
- Acne
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- Oral Care & Hygiene
- Aneurysm, abdominal aortic
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- First aid
- Reflux
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- Acupuncture
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- Leukaemia, acute lymphoblastic
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- Addiction
- Addison's disease
- Adenoids and adenoidectomy
- Frozen shoulder
- Agoraphobia
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- Alcohol misuse
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- Alexander technique
- Rhinitis, allergic
- Indoor allergy
- Mountain sickness
- Alzheimer's disease
- Lazy eye
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- Amniocentesis
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- Steroid misuse
- Iron deficiency anaemia
- Vitamin B12 or folate deficiency anaemia
- Anaesthesia
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- Angelman syndrome
- Anger management
- Angina
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- Arteriography
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- Dog bites
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- Ankylosing spondylitis
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- Smell sense, loss of
- Antacid medicines
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- Antidepressants
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- Antisocial personality disorder
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- Stress
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- Wrist, broken
- Arterial thrombosis
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- Hearing tests
- Bird flu
- B12 vitamin deficiency
- Skin rashes in babies
- Weaning
- Lumbago (low back pain)
- Septic arthritis
- Halitosis (bad breath)
- Weight loss surgery
- Barium enema
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- Pressure ulcers
- Bedbugs
- Nocturnal enuresis
- Behçet’s disease
- Facial paralysis
- Tongue pain or soreness
- Prostate enlargement
- Beta-blockers
- Bicarbonate test
- Binge eating
- Biopsy
- Bipolar disorder
- Spider bite
- Eye, black
- Bladder cancer
- Cystitis
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- Blood donation
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- Blood groups
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- Urine, blood in the
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- Septicaemia
- Hypertension
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- Blood tests
- Blood transfusion
- Blushing
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- Bone cyst
- DXA scan
- Bone marrow donation
- Stem cell transplant
- Borderline personality disorder
- Bottle feeding
- Botulism
- Rectal cancer
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- Leaky gut syndrome
- Orthodontics
- Brain abscess
- Head injury, severe
- Brain tumour, benign (non-cancerous)
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- Brain tumours
- Breast abscess
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- Male breast cancer
- Screening for breast cancer
- Nipple discharge
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- Breastfeeding
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- Fractured collarbone
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- Leg, broken
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- Smelly feet (bromodosis)
- Bronchitis
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- Burns and scalds
- Heart bypass
- Caesarean section
- Food poisoning
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- Thrush, oral - adults
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- Carbon monoxide poisoning
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- Rib, cervical
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- Chest pain
- Herpes zoster virus
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- Leukaemia, chronic lymphocytic
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- Cirrhosis
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- Combined contraceptive pill
- Pneumonia
- CT scan
- Concussion
- Hole in the heart
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- Coronary heart disease
- Vegetative state
- Topical corticosteroids
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- Undescended testicles
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- Date rape drugs
- Thyroiditis
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- Fluoride
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- Depression
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- Nutrition
- Rectal examination
- Double vision
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- Shoulder dislocation
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- Lightheadedness
- Down's syndrome
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- Ebola virus disease
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- Epidural
- Epilepsy
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- Ocular cancer
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- Family planning
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- Seasonal flu
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- Tendon repair, hand
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- Nits
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- Heat exhaustion and heatstroke
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- Hernia, femoral
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- Vomiting in children and babies
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- Tension-type headaches
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- Total iron-binding capacity (TIBC or transferrin) test
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- Warfarin
- Weight loss (unexpected and unplanned)
- Whiplash
- Wisdom tooth removal
- X-ray
- Yellow fever
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Read moreNHS Choices - Causes of angina
(02/05/2014)
Angina occurs when the heart is not supplied with enough blood.
Like all of the body’s organs and tissues, your heart needs a constant supply of oxygen-rich blood to function normally.
Blood is supplied to the heart by two large blood vessels known as the coronary arteries. Angina most often occurs when the coronary arteries become narrow and hardened due to a condition called atherosclerosis.
When you are resting, the muscles of your heart only need a relatively small supply of blood. However, when you exercise or feel stressed, your heart muscles have to work harder and the demand for blood increases. If the coronary arteries are narrowed, the required amount of blood is unable to reach the heart in time, triggering the symptoms of angina.
In some cases, angina occurs when the blood supply is blocked by a piece of fatty deposit (plaque) that has broken away from the lining of the arteries. Plaque can build up in the arteries due to atherosclerosis.
Increased risk
Anything that causes the coronary arteries to narrow can increase your risk of angina. For example:
- high blood pressure
- a diet that is high in fat and cholesterol
- a lack of exercise
- smoking
- type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes
- age
- family history
These risk factors can often be inter-related. They are explained below in more detail.
High blood pressure
Your arteries are designed to pump blood at a certain pressure. If that pressure is exceeded, the artery walls will be damaged. High blood pressure can be caused by:
- being overweight
- drinking excessive amounts of alcohol
- smoking
- stress
- a lack of exercise
For reasons that are not fully understood, high blood pressure is more common among people of Afro-Caribbean and south Asian (Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi) origin. A tendency to develop high blood pressure also often runs in families.
Read more about preventing high blood pressure.
High-fat diet and cholesterol
Cholesterol is a type of fat that is essential for the functioning of the body. It helps produce hormones, protects nerve endings and makes up cell membranes (the walls that protect individual cells). There are two main types of cholesterol:
- low density lipoprotein (LDL) - is mostly made up of fat, plus a small amount of protein; this type of cholesterol can block your arteries so it is often referred to as ‘bad cholesterol’
- high density lipoprotein (HDL) - is mostly made up of protein, plus a small amount of fat; this type of cholesterol can help reduce a blockage in your arteries so it is often referred to as ‘good cholesterol’
Most of the cholesterol that the body needs is manufactured by the liver. However, eating foods that are high in saturated fat results in cholesterol being broken down into LDL (bad cholesterol).
Read more about lowering your cholesterol.
Lack of exercise
A lack of regular exercise can raise your blood pressure and increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Both of these increase your risk of developing angina.
Smoking
Smoking can damage the walls of your arteries. If your arteries are damaged by smoking, blood cells called platelets will form at the site of the damage in an attempt to repair it. This can cause your arteries to narrow.
Smoking also decreases your blood's ability to carry oxygen around your body, which increases the chances of a blood clot occurring.
Read more about stopping smoking.
Diabetes
If you have poorly controlled diabetes, the excess amount of glucose in your blood can damage the walls of your arteries.
Age
Arteries tend to get narrower over time. Therefore, the older you are, the more likely it is that your arteries will have narrowed, increasing your risk of developing angina.
Family history
Heart disease can run in families, so if you have a first degree relative (mother, father, brother or sister) with a history of heart disease or angina, your risk of developing angina is increased.