Angina is a pain in the chest caused by an inadequate blood supply, and there is no structural damage to the heart. With a heart attack, however, there is the death of the heart muscles. Angina is a restricting chest pain, which occurs behind the sternum. It starts suddenly, and it travels along the medial side of the upper arm, lasting less than 20 minutes.
There may be specific symptoms such as sweating and difficulty breathing, and the best medicine for angina is rest. A heart attack is the actual demise of cardiac muscle because of inadequate blood supply. The chest pain continues longer than 20 minutes, and some of the most typical symptoms are pressure, tightness, discomfort, squeezing, or aching feeling in chest or arms that may spread to the neck, jaw, or back. Sometimes angina can be misconstrued for a heart attack, as some of the symptoms are similar.