Hi there

Welcome to HP. Yes, it seems that angina is due to blocking of arteries in the heart caused by the build-up of cholesterol along them. Angina has many facets and contributing factors. The usual treatment ([url]see here[/url]) is to give statins to lower cholesterol levels and sometimes beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors too. The aim to reduce the amount of cholesterol circulating.

If one looks at the mechanisms one can see it from a slightly different perspective, notably this:-

WHY is cholesterol building up in the coronary arteries (and probably other ones too)? The answer is that the body uses it to protect the artery walls from the inflammation that is damaging them, and lays it down like plaster, but in the process causes more damage (a complex process). The more inflammation, the more plaster (cholesterol). The liver manufacturers some 80% of body cholesterol.

WHY is there inflammation? Well, his can be the result of
- high blood pressure - reducing salt helps
- poor blood sugar control/diabetes - reduce sweet and starchy foods, eat only wholefoods, control blood sugar levels
- poor diet, high in saturated fats, trans-fats (as in margarines and hydrogenated vegetable oils), sugars and too much protein and lacking in vegetable foods, such as found in a vegan diet - eat more vegetables, seeds and fuit, particularly multicoloured ones, high in flavonoids (antioxidants)
- lack of fat-protective antioxidants, vitamin E, co-enzyme Q10, anf lycopene.
- chronic infection, such as H.pylori, chlamidia, C. pneumoniae, bacteria that cause gum disease, etc - get it/them sorted by your Dr
- stress reduces immune function and one's ability to fight infection - find methods of reducing stress
- too much alcohol, tobacco and drugs - avoid them!
- inactivity - find some enjoyable form of exercise
- high levels in the blood of homocysteine caused by low vitamin B status
- 'sticky' blood
- etc

Angina is an early warning!

What to do about it? Reduce inflammation - and it has been shown that a vegan diet can help - see . Supplementing a quality multivitamin/multimineral with high levels of all the B vitamins (not a cheapo from the supermarket or chemist), Co-Q10, flaxseed oil for essential omega-3 and -6 oils and you may benefit from hawthorn herbal supplement which can reduce cardiac inflammation (but always check with your Dr before taking herbal supplements if you are being given any medication).

Your best bet is to find a nutritional therapist ([url]click here)[/url] who will be able to assess what else needs doing to sort you out. This can make an enormous difference to your health!

Wishing you the best of health.

CarolineN, thank you for what is a beautifully crafted reply. There was much there that I was unaware of. The link to the medical reference certainly seems to give some credence to the idea of a vegan diet relieving, if not curing, angina.
That report said that one patient showed significant improvement after only two weeks. I have been on my diet for two weeks, and I also have improved. Though I put this down having taken positive steps, instead of just sitting there and worrying. Time will tell.
I was losing about a pound in weight a day, but strangely I put weight on yesterday. My daughter said that this is normal, every weight watchers nightmare. As I'm not trying to lose weight this is not a problem, before this I last weighed myself in about 1970 :rolleyes:
My son was for many years a vegan, so I have plenty of support and advice with this.
If any other sufferers are interested, I can give updates of my progress

Hi Reluctant vegan
I have been getting angina type chest pains for years although i have never had it professionally diagnosed i'm sure thats what it is. I am taking coenzyme q10 which seems to help and i've virtually stopped smoking. I have already given up most of lifes little pleasures as i'm on the anti candida diet (so no dairy/sugar/yeast/artificial stuff) but can't really go vegan coz my bf would go mad if i started cooking meals without meat! I think i'm using more salt to give my food more flavour as i have cut so much out of my diet but i have slightly low blood pressure anyway. The most important thing is to stay calm, if i get an attack i just sit down and relax and breathe deeply until it passes.
I seem to go through phases of getting loads of angina attacks and then it improves for a while, they seem to be pretty random though. I'm quite young so i feel silly going to the doctor saying i've got angina and i wouldn't want be loaded up with pills and stuff anyway. I blame years of leading a hedonistic lifestyle for mine but i'm trying to put it all right now! I'm reading a book on self healing which is very good so if i find any good suggestions i shall post them on here.
Good luck and stay positive

Charlie, nice to hear from you, but you really must go to the doctor and get checked. As CarolineN said, these pains, possibly angina, are a warning sign. You say you are young, all the more reason to get treatment, as you have many years ahead of you. I live alone, so following a strict diet inconveniences no one. I have taken this decision to cut out all fats, and it is not difficult. I ate very little meat anyway, a closet vegetarian you could say, never feeling at ease with the meat industry. When I worked, I lived on what ever came to hand, obviously the worst food for my body. The damage is done, and possibly is ireversible, but I am going to give this diet my full concentration. I have more tests coming, and will take or do whatever is prescribed.
You Charlie must do the same, your interest in this post indicates to me that your concern is growing, now is the time to take some action. Good luck.

Charlie, nice to hear from you, but you really must go to the doctor and get checked. As CarolineN said, these pains, possibly angina, are a warning sign. You say you are young, all the more reason to get treatment, as you have many years ahead of you. I live alone, so following a strict diet inconveniences no one. I have taken this decision to cut out all fats, and it is not difficult. I ate very little meat anyway, a closet vegetarian you could say, never feeling at ease with the meat industry. When I worked, I lived on what ever came to hand, obviously the worst food for my body. The damage is done, and possibly is ireversible, but I am going to give this diet my full concentration. I have more tests coming, and will take or do whatever is prescribed.
You Charlie must do the same, your interest in this post indicates to me that your concern is growing, now is the time to take some action. Good luck.

Hi again, ReluctantVegan

Yes, I do agree with you that Charlie should get this checked out, as it is possible that things deteriorate if you try to ignore it.

I am delighted to hear you have started to improve already!

I would like to add that care must be taken with a vegan diet to get a full range of essential amino acids (proteins) daily - always have brown rice and beans in the same day and quinoa is one of the rare plant foods that contains all essential aminos. It would be helpful to study the best balance of nutrients - some helpful info .

Secondly, you do need some fat in your diet - the essential omega oils - they are needed for many different functions including cell repair, brain function, absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (A,D,E,K) and decreasing the inflammatory load. A vegetarian source of these is linseeds - I grind them finely in my coffee grinder, to allow for better digestion and absorption each morning so they are fresh, and put them on my porridge.

Thirdly, vegans are at serious risk of becoming deficient in vitamin B12 which comes almost exclusively from animal-based products. Also, as we age, especially if one is short of stomach acid and enzymes, then our ability to absorb B12 reduces drastically, see . I take a sublingual supplement of B12, as I don't want to suffer the same/similar problems to my mother with pernicious anaemia.

A balanced vegan diet needs careful attention and is not just cutting out all animal products - one can still have a poor diet, if one is eating processed foods with additives, too much sugar and salt, etc. It is good, too, make use of a full range of herbs and spices to perk up the flavours!

Wishing you the best of health.

Thank you, Caroline N, I will do my best to maintain my vitamin intake, and I shall introduce linseeds into my diet.
However, the object of this diet is to reduce my fat intake to as near zero as Is practical. I'm eating nuts and dried and fresh fruit, hoping that these will provide some of what I need.
I'm seeing my Doctor next week, and will see what she thinks, I think I can guess the response, :(:(

Personally, I'd ask if you can have a bit longer before going on to the meds to see if the diet can help. However, as the medical training has only 6 hours on nutrition in 6 years (or used to be) she's very unlikely to understand that you can change your body chemistry through diet - but it's worth a try! (Nutritional therapists do 3 years training!) You can find some more info from trials if you want some back-up - google 'angina and vegan diet trials' - like .

Glad you are adding ground linseeds - they'll be helpful!

Good luck!!

Hi Reluctant Vegan and welcome to heathypages. Anything like Angina needs to be checked out by your GP first. I do know that the herb Hawthorn can help. It will dilate and relax coronary vessels, reducing blood pressure and improving blood supply to the heart and is therefore beneficial in the prevention and treatment of angina

Just a quick update, I saw my GP and after tests she thought that I did indeed have angina. I told her that the pain had gone since starting my vegan type diet, she smiled, and referred me to a specialist.

I have since seen the specialist, who did more tests and said that I almost certainly had angina, caused by the narrowing of an artery. The solution was to have an angiogram, this would find the blockage, and he would then operate to insert a stent, which would make the artery wider,and so relieve the pain.

I then said that I was on a strict diet, and was having no more pain, he smiled, (they all smile when I mention this), and said that diet would have no effect.

Bravely, for me, I declined all of these procedures, saying there seemed little point, as I was no longer in pain anyway.

Happily, he seemed to think this decision was acceptable, and wouldn't affect any future treatment. He in fact said that there were risks on the table, and these had to balanced against any possible gains.

This all sounds like good news, and I suppose it is, however I am having big doubts. I had had these pains for about six months, On starting my strict diet the pain vanished in about 48 hours, this seems impossible.

Could it be the placebo effect? Making the decision to do some thing about it, and making an appointment to see the doctor? (I'm a man, and haven't been to the doctor for about 18 years).

Hi, just to give another angle on this. Angina can also occur at times of stress- when the heart works harder. I think you say that you seem to have spells of it- could that tie in with stressful or anxious episodes in your life?
Even if that is the case, your arteries could still be slightly narrowed but it might explain why ordinarily, you don't feel any pain. It is only when the heart is more 'demanding' of the circulatory system, that it reacts, and you feel pain.
If you don't want a surgical procedure at the moment, you could perhaps continue on the healthy eating regime (I also agree that you do need some fat in your diet), but address all aspects of your life as well as the food. Some complementary therapies could also help. HTH Hom