Angina is the heart's way of saying that it is not getting enough oxygen. Usually, angina is a crushing or constricting pain that starts in the center of the chest, deep behind the breastbone, and may radiate to other parts of the body.
Some people feel the pain of angina only in peripheral locations such as the jaw, shoulder, or arm.
The pain can also be confused with indigestion because the tight, burning sensations are similar. If you have stable angina, you should be able to predict what sort of activity will bring on an attack. A rare type called variant angina, which involves coronary artery spasms, often occurs at rest and may occur at regular times of the day. Angina affects some three million Americans. Alone, angina causes no permanent damage because the heart is only temporarily deprived of oxygen.