Which term describes chest pain due to hypoxemia of the heart?

• A. Myocardial infarction
• B. Orthopnea
• C. Aneurysm
• D. Angina

Answer: (D)

Angina is chest pain caused by myocardial ischemia from an imbalance between oxygen supply and demand in the heart. When the coronary circulation can’t meet the heart’s oxygen needs—often during exertion or stress—the heart tissue becomes hypoxic, producing a characteristic pressure-like chest discomfort that may radiate and is typically relieved by rest or nitroglycerin. If ischemia persists, it can progress to a myocardial infarction, where heart muscle actually becomes necrotic. Orthopnea describes breathlessness from fluid backup in heart failure, not ischemia-driven chest pain, and an aneurysm is a dilation of a vessel or heart chamber with pain from different mechanisms. So the term for chest pain due to hypoxemia of the heart is angina.