Chest pain due to lack of oxygen to the heart muscle is known as which condition?

• A. Angina pectoris
• B. Pleuritis
• C. Gastritis
• D. Pulmonary embolism

Answer: (A)

Chest pain caused by insufficient oxygen supply to the heart muscle is angina pectoris. This happens when the coronary arteries can’t deliver enough blood—and thus oxygen—to meet the heart’s needs, often due to narrowed arteries from atherosclerosis or during times of increased demand like exercise. The resulting sensation is typically a pressure, tightness, or squeezing in the chest, sometimes radiating to the arm, neck, or jaw, and it is usually relieved by rest or nitroglycerin.

This is distinct from pleuritis, which causes sharp chest pain that worsens with deep breaths or coughing due to inflammation of the pleura; gastritis, which produces upper abdominal or epigastric burning rather than chest-centered ischemic pain; and pulmonary embolism, which presents with sudden chest pain accompanied by shortness of breath, tachycardia, and other signs.