Angina, stable - How common is it?

Angina is very common. And it's more common in men than in women.

It affects about 2 million people in the UK.[1] About 6 percent to 16 percent of men and 3 percent to 10 percent of women aged 65 to 74 years have had angina.[2] [3] [4]

Angina is usually a symptom of coronary artery disease. That's the most common cause of death in the UK. This disease kills about 120,000 people every year in England and Wales.

The number of people with angina is going up, as are the numbers of people with obesity and diabetes. Both obesity and diabetes can make you more likely to get coronary artery disease, which causes angina.

References

British Heart Foundation. Statistics 2005. The scale of the problem. Available at http://www.heartstats.org (accessed on 5 October 2005).
Joint Health Surveys Unit. Health Survey for England 1998. The Stationery Office, London, UK; 1999.
Royal College of General Practitioners, the office of Population Census and Surveys and the Department of Health. Morbidity statistics from general practice: fourth national study 1991-1992. HMSO: London, UK; 1995.
Gill D, Mayou R, Dawes M, et al. Presentation, management and course of angina and suspected angina in primary care. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 1999; 46: 349-58.

Glossary

obesity: If your body stores more energy than you need, this can make you overweight. The excess energy is stored in your fat cells. If your weight goes above a certain level, doctors call this obesity. Obesity is considered a medical condition. The excess weight can be a strain on your bones and joints. And if you are obese, you're more likely to get other diseases. Doctors have developed a scale for telling how much excess weight you have. This measure, called the body mass index (BMI), depends on your height.
diabetes: Diabetes is a condition that causes too much sugar (glucose) to circulate in the blood. It happens when the body stops making a called (type 1 diabetes) or when insulin stops working (type 2 diabetes).

This information does not replace medical advice. If you are concerned you might have a medical problem please ask your Boots pharmacy team in your local Boots store, or see your doctor.