Symptoms typically associated with CAD include chest pain (angina) and shortness of breath, especially after stress or exercise. Women with CAD may experience breast pain or a feeling of indigestion in the upper abdomen.

However, as many as half of patients have no symptoms, despite the presence of CAD. They may have silent ischemia or be unaware of potentially dangerous abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias). The absence of chest pain or other common symptoms can also set the stage for a heart attack that occurs without warning.