Daily AncestorAngina pectoris
Angina pectoris was the name for attacks of crushing, choking chest pain caused by poor blood flow to the heart, also called breast pang.
The Latin means a strangling in the chest. Webster's 1913 adds the plain English names breast pang and spasm of the chest. Today it is understood as a symptom of coronary artery disease.
On a death record, angina pectoris usually points to heart disease in a middle-aged or older adult. On its own, angina in older records could mean any choking throat disease, such as quinsy or croup.
As seen in a recordCause of death column, 1850 to 1880 federal mortality schedule
Silas Graf, 63, M, W, Merchant, Angina pectoris
Sources
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Daily Ancestor. "Angina pectoris." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/angina-pectoris. Last checked 2026-10-10.