If not enough oxygen-carrying blood reaches the heart, the heart may respond with pain called angina pectoris. Episodes of angina occur when the heart's need for oxygen increases beyond the oxygen available from the blood nourishing the heart. The pain is a pressing or squeezing pain, usually felt in the chest or sometimes in the shoulders, arms, neck, jaws or back. Angina is usually relieved in a few minutes by resting or taking a prescribed angina medicine, such as nitroglycerin. If the symptoms do not go away, you may be having a heart attack.

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