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If your symptoms are well controlled and you make healthy lifestyle changes, you can usually have a normal life with angina.
Angina is a warning sign that you're at risk of serious problems like heart attacks and strokes.
To reduce the risk of problems like these, you should:
It's also important to stay active if you have angina.
You might worry that exercising could trigger your symptoms or cause a heart attack, but the risk is low if you:
Speak to a GP if you're not sure it's safe for you to exercise.
If you work, you can usually continue to do so.
Make sure you keep your GTN medicine with you just in case you have an attack at work.
If your job involves heavy lifting or manual labour, speak to your employer about changes you can make to reduce the risk of an attack.
This may mean changing your duties or cutting back on how much heavy work you do.
Some people worry that having sex will trigger an angina attack, but the risk of this happening is low.
If you're worried about having an attack during sex:
You can usually keep driving if you have angina.
You only need to stop if your attacks occur at rest, while driving, or are triggered by emotion. You can start driving again when your symptoms are well controlled.
Ask a GP if it's safe for you to drive.
You do not need to tell the DVLA about your condition if you only have a car or motorcycle licence. You must tell the DVLA if you have a bus, coach or lorry licence.
Living with angina can be difficult at times.
Speak to your GP if you have been feeling down for a few weeks. They may recommend treatments that can help, such as medicines or talking therapy.
You might also find it useful to use a support group such as the British Heart Foundation (BHF).
