June 28, 1984
View Full PaperAngina Pectoris
Key Result
Diagnostic evaluation of angina pectoris requires identifying the underlying disease using history, physical examination, electrocardiogram, and chest x-ray.
Structured PICO
P
Population
Patients with angina pectoris
I
Intervention
Diagnostic evaluation
Angina pectoris is a symptom, not a disease, and requires identification of the underlying pathology for appropriate diagnostic evaluation and prognostication.
Abstract
SELECTION of diagnostic studies for evaluation of the patient with angina pectoris requires an appreciation of the natural history of the patient's underlying disease. Angina pectoris is not a disease; it is a symptom that Heberden described as a "sense of strangling and anxiety ... a painful and most disagreeable sensation in the breast. ..."1 Accordingly, it is misleading to speak of the "prognosis of angina pectoris" unless the underlying disease (Table 1) has been identified. The history, physical examination, electrocardiogram, and chest x-ray film will usually identify the patient in whom angina pectoris is due to valvular heart disease . . .