Intestinal angina is a wake-up call DEAR DOCTOR K: For years
I've endured stomach pain after every meal. My doctor finally
diagnosed me with intestinal angina. I've never even heard of
this. You've probably heard of cardiac angina. That's when
cholesterol-filled plaque in the heart's arteries limits blood
flow to a part of your heart muscle. Typically, cardiac angina
occurs when a person starts to exert himself, not at rest.
Halfway up several flights of stairs, a squeezing pain may start
in the middle of your chest. It goes away when you stop climbing
the stairs. The cardiac angina occurs with exertion because the
heart is working harder and isn't getting the blood supply it
needs. It's the same thing with intestinal angina. When you eat,
your stomach and intestines stop resting and start to work. The
wall of your intestines contains muscle that squeezes the food
you've eaten and keeps it moving. If you have cholesterol-filled
plaque in the arteries that supply blood to your intestine, the
intestinal muscle