Relationships among sublingual nitroglycerin (SLN) knowledge and use, general aspects of angina self-management, and quality of life were investigated in 95 patients with angina (age 63 +/-11 years). Quality of life was measured using a reliable and valid questionnaire, the Seattle Angina Questionnaire. Older age (p = 0. 04), male gender (p = 0.0001), more recent diagnosis with coronary artery disease (p = 0.02), and distant recall of SLN instruction (p = 0.02) predicted poorer SLN knowledge (R(2) = 0.26, p < 0.001). Male gender (p = 0.001) predicted more difficulty with SLN use (R(2) = 0.15, p = 0.005). A "bad" experience with SLN was associated with poorer quality of life (r = -22, p = 0.047). Sixty-five percent lacked knowledge about using SLN to prevent symptoms and 32.6% took SLN for symptoms other than chest pain. Findings support the need for more frequent reinforcement of patient education, especially in the areas of preventive use of SLN and side effect management.