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Attention, chocolate lovers: You may not be able to help yourselves. Swiss and British scientists have linked the widespread love of chocolate to a chemical "signature" that may be programmed into our metabolic systems.
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Unstable Angina Pectoris - Unstable Angina

Diagnosis & Tests

How is the condition diagnosed?

The diagnosis of unstable angina begins with a careful history of the person's symptoms and a physical examination. Unstable angina is usually diagnosed when:

a person with stable angina has a sudden increase in the number or severity of episodes of chest pain over the previous days or weeks

a person without angina develops increasing episodes of chest pain or chest pain at rest

a person, who may or may not have had angina in the past, develops prolonged chest pain but does not show evidence of a heart attack

The healthcare provider may order several diagnostic tests, including:

an electrocardiogram, or ECG, which is a recording of the electrical activity of the heart. An ECG is usually normal when a person has no chest pain and often shows certain changes when pain develops.

a cardiac catheterization, which is an X-ray procedure that is used to look for narrowed coronary arteries. A contrast agent is injected so the doctor can watch blood flow through the heart and its arteries.

various blood tests

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