Dr. Cam Patterson of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine says one possible example of heart pain that isn't a heart attack is small vessel disease or microvascular disease. It is not as threatening as the blockage of large arteries in the heart and it may not necessarily require hospitalization, but it may develop into heart disease, Patterson says.
Patterson says the keys to better heart health are to stop smoking, to exercise, to eat right and to reduce stress -- which can increase blood pressure and signal the release of adrenaline, which can spark a heart attack.
"A good balanced diet does a lot to stay on an even keel, and I tell my patients a good free resource for healthy diets is www.drgourmet.com," Patterson says in a statement. "Being happy is a great way to reduce stress as well, and I've been referring my patients to the Happiness Project -- www.happiness-project.com -- because I think there is a lot of good common-sense wisdom there."
