Course of the disease
Stable angina is a slowly progressive disease that results from a gradual mechanical obstruction of the coronary blood vessel by fat plaques.
The progression of obstruction takes years to become symptomatic and years to become disabling for the patient.
On the other hand, although it can develop on top of stable, unstable angina usually starts acutely and becomes severe from the start, necessitating intervention. This means that the patient can predict anginal attacks in stable angina, while they are incapable of predicting the onset of unstable angina.
