What Is A Coronary Artery Spasm And How Can It Lead To A Heart Attack?

A coronary artery spasm is characterized by a sudden tightening of the coronary artery’s muscles. As a consequence, the artery becomes narrower, which restricts blood flow to the heart. While such a spasm doesn’t last very long, it can lead to future heart problems, like a heart attack.

Causes and risk factors of coronary artery spasm

The likelihood of having coronary artery spasm increases for those who also are at risk of heart disease. Since both hypertension and hypercholesterolemia can lead to heart problems, they can also lead to coronary artery contractions. Some other risk factors for this problem include extreme cold temperatures, stressful events, illicit drugs, alcohol withdrawal, and smoking.

Signs of a coronary artery spasm

It is not uncommon for people who are having a spasm to not notice it, since the symptoms aren’t always there. But just because you don’t feel any pain or discomfort, that doesn’t mean that you are not in danger. In fact, contractions of the coronary arteries can lead to heart attacks, regardless of whether you feel them or not.

Some people with coronary artery contractions feel chest pain, alongside other symptoms such as constriction in the chest area, tightness, or pain in the left side of the chest. In some cases, people with coronary artery spasms have reported an extended pain that manifested itself in the neck, arms, or jawbone.

Generally speaking, people with artery problems who have chest pain will feel it at night or in the morning, while they’re resting. The pain can last anywhere between five minutes and half an hour.

Diagnosis of coronary artery spasm

Detectable or not, the coronary artery spasm is an important threat to your heart’s health. In order to diagnose it, doctors may require that you undergo a series of imagining tests, which reveal a digital image of your heart and can tell the doctor if and where there’s a problem. This will further help in establishing a proper treatment plan.

Some of the tests performed when coronary artery spasms are suspected are identical to those used to determine coronary artery disease and heart problems, such as:

• EKG (electrocardiogram). This is the go-to test that measures the heart’s electrical activity. With electrodes attached to your chest, arms, and legs, a machine will determine your pulse and heartbeat intensity.
• Echocardiogram. This is a more advanced heart test which is basically an ultrasound of your heart. The doctor (typically a cardiologist) will smear gel on different parts of your chest, then use an ultrasound probe that the doctor moves around on your skin in order to capture the sound waves of your heart. The cardiologist will look at your heart on the monitor, the images being similar to those of ultrasounds used to determine the status of pregnancy.
• Coronary angiography. For this test, the doctor injects a harmless dye into your bloodstream. This dye colors the arteries, making it easy for the doctor to see any potential blockages and narrowing of the arteries. It also helps doctors determine how blood flows through the heart.

Treatment and prevention of coronary artery spasm

Since the main sign of a coronary artery spasm is chest pain, the treatment plan for the problem implies dealing with the pain. In the majority of cases, this means that you will be required to take a prescription drug-based treatment, which may include medication such as:

• Nitrates (especially nitroglycerin), which are vasodilators that cause the coronary arteries to relax and widen, thus facilitating blood flow and eliminating the pain caused by the constriction of the arteries. Nitrates are both useful as long-term medication, but can also ease angina on the spot, so it’s best to have them on you at all times.
• Calcium channel blockers are quite commonly prescribed for high cholesterol or high blood pressure. Because they also work as vasodilators, they are good for people who have coronary artery spasms as well.

Smokers should avoid this habit if they want to contain any future heart damage, because of the multiple ways in which it can affect heart health (second-hand smoke is no exception).

Complications of coronary artery spasms

While short in duration, coronary artery spasms left untreated can have major heart consequences in the long term. Not only can they cause a heart attack if the spasm completely blocks the vessel, but it can also cause irregular heartbeats, cardiac arrest, or death. By avoiding the triggers of a coronary spasm, you should be able to keep your heart safe, but in some cases, medical treatment throughout the entire life might be required.

Conclusion

Since the two main causes of coronary artery spasms are high cholesterol and high blood pressure, keeping them under control is what can prevent the spasms from occurring in the first place. That means that you need to eliminate the risk factors for both these problems, such as smoking, eating unhealthy foods, drinking too much alcohol, or leading a sedentary lifestyle.

However, take into account that there is a third cause for coronary artery spasms, and that’s the use of illicit drugs. While dangerous in the long haul, drugs such as cocaine or amphetamines can cause problems even when taken the first time, because they cause the heart to beat abnormally fast, and that can cause a heart attack.