Chest pain from reduced coronary blood flow?

• A. Chest Pain
• B. Myocardial Infarction
• C. STEMI
• D. Angina Pectoris

Answer: (D)

Chest pain from reduced coronary blood flow is angina pectoris. It happens when the heart’s oxygen supply can’t meet its demand, usually because narrowed coronary arteries from atherosclerosis limit flow during exercise or stress. The resulting ischemia is usually reversible, so the discomfort is transient and relieved by rest or nitroglycerin, with normal cardiac enzymes since no heart muscle is irreversibly damaged. This differs from a myocardial infarction, where prolonged ischemia causes heart muscle death and elevated troponin. A STEMI is a specific type of infarction with ST-segment elevation on ECG, indicating a complete occlusion and transmural infarction. So the description best matches angina pectoris, the chest pain from reduced coronary blood flow without necrosis.