Heart disease does not happen suddenly. It tends to creep into your life slowly, with symptoms that are easy to ignore at first.
If you’re 40, 50 or older, it’s even more important to pay attention to these warning signs, especially if you have a family history of heart disease. If any of these symptoms occur often, it is enough to call a doctor or cardiologist.
Although chest pain is the most common symptom of a heart attack, you should understand that the symptoms are different for men and women. For example, women are more prone to shortness of breath, nausea, and jaw pain.
Chest pain
Chest pain can vary from person to person, but is usually described as a feeling of pressure or squeezing in the center or left side of the chest. You may feel as if something is sitting or pressing on your chest. It often causes nausea and difficulty breathing.
Chest pain can be a symptom of health problems in many parts of the body, including the lungs, gastrointestinal tract, muscles, nerves, and bones. In the case of the heart, it can be a symptom of several disorders, including:
Ischemic heart disease (heart blockage)
Heart attack (heart attack)
Myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle)
Pericarditis (inflammation of the sac around the heart)
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (a genetic disorder that causes the heart muscle to thicken)
Mitral valve prolapse (a condition in which the heart valve does not close properly)
Abdominal pain or indigestion
It is a general burning sensation in the chest and stomach. One of the first things to consider is whether it occurs after eating. If so, it may be nothing more than heartburn, a common condition caused by stomach acid leaking into the esophagus. It causes pain in the neck and other parts. If you feel blue and the pain goes away, it probably has nothing to do with your heart.
This feeling is more painful when it occurs after exercise or a few hours after the last meal. If the pain is accompanied by other symptoms such as sweating and shortness of breath, it may indicate heart disease.
Excessive sweating
It’s not uncommon to sweat after a good workout or an afternoon of field work. But if you sweat while sitting on the sofa in front of the TV, this indicates that there may be a problem. When arteries become blocked, the heart has to work harder to maintain blood flow. In response, your body sweats to lower its temperature.
Night sweats are a common symptom in women with heart disease, but sometimes this symptom is mistaken for a symptom of menopause.
Arm or leg pain
Pain in the left arm is one of the most common symptoms of a heart attack. This is because cardiac nerves send signals to general brain cells. When a problem occurs, your brain can’t distinguish between the two sources, creating something called pain. This arm pain may indicate angina pectoris, a heart condition caused by a blockage or narrowing of the coronary arteries. The pain is more common in the left arm, but can occur in the right arm or in both arms at the same time.
Leg pain is often a symptom of peripheral vascular disease, a circulatory disorder in which your legs don’t get enough blood flow to meet your body’s needs. If this happens to you, your doctor may want to check your heart because the body’s plumbing systems work together. A blockage in the legs can cause problems before the flow.
extreme fatigue
This may be difficult to assess. After all, who isn’t tired these days? There are other conditions, such as depression, where fatigue is a symptom. If you’re too tired to get out of bed in the morning, it might be something else. But if your stamina is waning, it could be your heart. Maybe you’ve been walking a mile or two a day recently and suddenly feel exhausted after walking half a block.
Jaw pain or neck stiffness
Because some of these nerves pass through the neck, it is associated with arm pain. It causes pain in the jaw and even teeth when walking or exerting oneself. There are several symptoms related to your heart. For example, toothache does not go away after rest or nitroglycerin tablets.