The two forms of this affection, known commonly as true and false angina, are characterized by pain or anguish in the precordial region with reflected pains in other portions of the body. It used to be said that whenever the precordial pain was accompanied by reflected pains in the neck, or down the arm, or, as they may be occasionally, in the jaw, in the ovary, in the testicle, sometimes apparently in the left loin, this was true angina and the patient was in serious danger of death. We know now that false angina may be accompanied by various reflex pains and that, indeed, a detailed description of the anguish and its many points of manifestation is more likely to be given by a neurotic patient suffering from pseudo-angina than by one suffering from true angina. True angina occurs in most cases as a consequence of hardening of the arteries of the heart or of some valvular lesion that interferes in some way with cardiac nutrition. The definite sign of differentiation is that in practically all cases of true angina, there are signs of arterial degeneration in various parts of the body. Without these, the "breast pang," as the English {336} call it, is likely to be neurotic and is of little significance as regards future health or its effect upon the individual's length of life.

Besides the physical pain that accompanies this affection there is, as was pointed out by Latham, a profound sense of impending death. It used to be said that this was characteristic of the organic lesions causing true angina pectoris. It is now well known, however, that the same feeling or such a good imitation of it that it is practically impossible to recognize the true from the false, occurs in pseudo-angina. It is this special element in these cases that needs most to be treated by psychotherapy and which, indeed, can only be reached in this way. Where there are no signs of arterial degeneration and no significant murmurs in the heart, it should be made clear to these patients that they are not suffering from a fatal disease, but only from a bothersome nervous manifestation. Especially can this reassurance be given if the angina occurs in connection with distention of the stomach or in association with gastric symptoms of any kind. In young patients who are run down in health and above all in young women, the subjective symptoms of angina—the physical anguish and the sense of impending death—are all without serious significance.

Differential Diagnosis of True and False Angina.—In the diagnosis of angina pectoris the main difficulty, of course, lies in the differentiation between the true and false forms, that is, those dependent on an organic affection of the heart muscle or blood vessels and those resulting from a neurosis. The neurotic form is not uncommon in young people and is often due to a toxic condition. Coffee is probably one of the most frequent causes of spurious angina, though the discomfort it produces is likely to be mild compared with the genuine heart pang. It must not be forgotten, however, that neurotic patients exaggerate their pains and describe their distress in the heart region as extremely severe and as producing a sense of impending death, when all they mean is that, because the pain is near their heart it produces an extreme solicitude and that a dread of death comes over them because of this anxiety. Coffee and tea, especially when taken strong and in the quantities in which they are sometimes indulged in, may be sources of similar distress. Tobacco will do the same thing in susceptible individuals, or where there is a family idiosyncrasy, and especially in young persons.

For the differentiation of true and spurious angina Huchard's table as given by Osler is valuable:

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True Angina and Psychotherapy.—One of the most frequent occasions for the development of true angina is vehement emotion. The place of psychotherapy then in the affection will at once be recognized. A classical example of the influence of the mind and the emotions in the production of attacks of angina pectoris in those who are predisposed to them by a pre-existing pathological condition, is the case of the famous John Hunter. He was attacked by a fatal paroxysm of the affection in the board room of St. Thomas' Hospital, London, when he was about to begin an angry reply with regard to some matter concerning the medical regulation of the hospital. He had previously recognized how amenable he was to attacks of the disease as a consequence of emotion or excitement, and had even stated to friends that he was at the mercy of any scoundrel who threw him into an attack of anger. Some of the deaths from fright or sorrow at a sudden announcement of the death of a relative, or even the deaths from joy are due to angina pectoris precipitated by the serious strain put upon the heart by the flood of terror or emotion.

Men who are sufferers from what seems to be true angina pectoris must be made to understand without disturbing them any more than is absolutely necessary that strong emotions of any kind—worry, anger, exhibitions of temper, and, above all, family quarrels, must be avoided. Not a few of the serious attacks of angina pectoris which physicians see come as a consequence of family jars, owing to the persistence of a son or daughter in a course offensive to the parent. A part of the prophylaxis, then, consists in impressing this fact on members of the family and making them understand the danger. The disposition that causes the family friction is, however, often hereditary and will, therefore, prove difficult of control. It is one of the typical cases of inheritance of defeats.

Solicitude and Prognosis.—The distinguished French neurologist, Charcot, had several attacks of what seemed to be true angina pectoris. His friends were much disturbed by it. Physicians who saw him during the attack feared that he was suffering from an incurable heart lesion. He himself, as his son, Dr. Charcot, told me, refused to accept this diagnosis, and preferred to believe that what he was suffering from was a cardiac neurosis—and, of course, he had seen many of them. He was unwilling to have a heart specialist examine him very carefully for he did not wish to be persuaded of the worst aspects of his condition.

What he said in effect was, "This is either a neurotic condition, as I think it is, or it is an organic condition. If it is organic, my physicians would be apt to tell me that I must stop working so hard, and I am sure that if I should do that I would do myself more harm than good by having unoccupied {338} time on my hands. I want to go on doing my work. If I am wrong some time I shall be carried off in one of these attacks. That will not be such a serious thing, for after all I must die some time and my expectancy of life cannot normally be very long. I prefer, then, to go on with my work and think the best, for it does not seem that I could do anything that would put off the inevitably fatal issue if I am to die a cardiac death." He was found dead one morning, but he had passed into the valley of death without being seriously disturbed and without any of the neurotic symptoms that so often develop in discouraged patients. Curiously enough, one of our most distinguished heart specialists in this country went through almost the same experience and preferred to live "the brief active life of the salmon rather than the long slow life of the tortoise."

The best possible factor in therapy is secured if patients can be brought to the state of mind of these distinguished physicians who calmly faced the future, refusing to disturb themselves or their work, because they feared that the worry that would come down upon them in inactivity would aggravate their disease. Where men are occupied with some not too exacting occupation, that takes most of their attention and at which they have been for years, it is best to leave them at it, though the harder demands of it must be modified. If they can be brought to persuade themselves, as did the two physicians—though probably only half-heartedly—that their affections may possibly be merely neurotic and not true angina, it will always be better for them. Death may come, and commonly will, suddenly, but, after one has lived a reasonably full life, that is rather a blessing (and not in disguise) than the terror which it is sometimes supposed to be.

Pseudo-Angina.—The neurotic form of angina is quite compatible, not only with continued good health but with long life, and even after a long series of attacks, some of them very disturbing in their apparent severity, there may be complete relief for years, or for the rest of life. Exaggeration of feeling due to concentration of attention plays a large role in these cases, and it is evident that the dread of something the matter with the heart connected with even a slight sense of discomfort may readily become so emphasized as to seem severe pain, though many people have similar feelings without making any complaint.

In spite of reassurances attacks of pseudo-angina are likely to worry both patient and physician. The only working rule is that in younger people discomfort in the heart region, even though it may be accompanied by some sympathetic pain in the arm or in the left side of the neck, is usually spurious angina. Broadbent goes so far as to say that this is true also in many older persons. His method of making the differentiation is interesting because so easy and practical that it deserves to be condensed here. The earlier attacks of true angina are practically always provoked by exertion, while spurious angina is especially liable to come on during repose. Any cardiac symptom or pain that can be walked off may be set down as functional and due to some outside disturbing influence, or to nervous irritability. When palpitation or irregular action of the heart, or intermission of the pulse, or pain in the cardiac region, or a sense of oppression follows certain meals at a given interval, or comes on at a certain hour during the night, there need be little hesitation in attributing the disturbance, whatever it may be, to indigestion in {339} some of its forms. Nightmare from indigestion, Broadbent thought, is not a bad imitation of true angina.

In Broadbent's mind acute consciousness of any heart disturbance lays it in general under the suspicion of being neurotic in origin. He was talking to some of the best clinical practitioners in the world and some of the most careful observers of our generation, when, before the London Medical Society, he said: "The intermission of the pulse of which the patient is conscious and the irregularity of the heart's action—though this can be said with less confidence—which the patient feels very much, is usually temporary and not the effect of organic heart disease." This is particularly true, of course, in people of a neurotic character, and Broadbent went on to say that "speaking generally, angina pectoris in a woman is always spurious, and the more minute and protracted and eloquent the description of the pain, the more certain may one be of the conclusion."

I had the opportunity to follow the case of a young woman who had a series of attacks of angina pectoris some twenty years ago, so severe that a bad prognosis seemed surely justified, and though at times the attacks were rather alarming to herself and friends, nothing serious developed and for the past ten years, since she has gained considerably in weight, they have not bothered her at all. She used to be rather thin and delicate, trying to do a large amount of work and living largely on her nervous energy. At times of stress she was likely to suffer from pain in the precordia running down the left arm and accompanied by an intense sense of the possibility of fatal termination. With reasonably large doses of nux vomica, an increase in appetite came and a steadying of her heart that soon did away with these recurrent attacks. These came back later several times when she neglected her general condition, but there never were any objective symptoms that pointed to an organic lesion. After twenty years she is in excellent health, except for occasional attacks of a curious neurotic indigestion that sometimes produces cardiac disturbances. Of course, such cases are not uncommon in the experience of those who see many cardiac and nervous patients.

For the treatment of pseudo-angina, mental influence is all important. Of course, the conditions which predispose to the mechanical interference with heart action that occasions the discomfort, must be relieved as far as possible. The severity of the symptoms, however, are much more dependent on the patient's solicitude with regard to them, they are much more emphasized by worry about them, than by the physical factors which occasion them. Reassurance is the first step towards cure. After relief has been afforded from the severer attacks, the patient's solicitude as to the future must be allayed and the fact emphasized that there are many cases in which a number of attacks of cardiac discomfort simulating angina pectoris have been followed by complete relief and then by many years of undisturbed life. It is important to make patients understand that, in spite of the fact that their attacks occur during the course of digestion, as is not infrequently the case, this constitutes no reason for lessening the amount of food taken. Nearly always these attacks occur with special frequency among those who are under weight, and disappear rather promptly when there is a gain in weight. Solicitude with regard to the heart must be relieved wherever possible and then with the regaining of general health the heart attacks will disappear.{340}