What is there, apart from medication, to treat angina?
Relief measures other than medication include angioplasty and surgery. First, there are some general self-help measures. These have been discussed before but to summarise: • stop smoking; • lose weight; • cut down on alcohol; • take exercise; • Take life easier by reducing stress. The use of aspirin as a preventative drug has been discussed a lot in the media recently. What does aspirin do? Aspirin helps stop blood clotting. It reduces by 25% the risk of a heart attack and helps prevent strokes in people with angina or who have had a heart attack. You only need 75 mg a day and should not take more, unless specified by your doctor; 75 mg is a quarter of an adult 300 mg tablet. It occasionally upsets the stomach and a small number of people with asthma or bronchitis may be sensitive to it (it worsens the wheezing). Overall it is cheap, safe and very effective. Special types of coated aspirin are available for those who get indigestion but they are not always helpful. Taking a compound li
