Will angina be the same?

  Hello again,
    I had years of angina, usually brought on by exertion and emotional stress. I underwent angioplasty a year ago with stent placement. I had a follow-up heart cath done in April of this year and everything was fine. My question is... if I experience angina again... will it be the same sort of pain as before? I mean... my left arm never hurt before and it has been hurting lately. I also suffer from GERD and have been diagnosed with Barretts Esophagus and have alot of chest discomfort and back pain with these. Thank you much. Patricia
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Dear Patricia,
Thank you for your question.  The angina pain should be the same regardless what has been done.  Many things can mimic angina and you mentioned some of them.  It is possible that the pain could be slightly different in character.  I guess the bottom line is to maintain open lines of communication with your doctor and to have any episodes of chest pain evaluated.
I hope you find this information useful.  Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only.  Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies.  Please feel free to write back with additional questions.
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter.  The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.