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Early Signs and Symptoms of Heart Disease Early Signs and Symptoms of Heart Disease

Early Signs and Symptoms of Heart Disease

Artemis Hospital

August 14, 2024 |
Early Signs and Symptoms of Heart Disease 9 Min Read | 87

Heart disease silently claims lives, making early detection essential.Knowing and grasping the signs and symptoms of heart disease helps you take action and get the right care when you need it. Here's what you should know about the early and late signs of heart disease, how to stop it, and how to treat it.

Understanding Heart Disease Symptoms

Heart disease includes all illnesses that affect the heart and blood vessels, like coronary artery disease, heart attacks, heart failure and arrests. The signs and symptoms vary based on the type of heart disease, but some common signs exist. If you notice these symptoms, you can team up with your doctor to stop them from getting worse.

Early Symptoms Of Heart Disease

Some of the common early symptoms of heart disease are:

Chest Discomfort

Chest pain often shows up when heart disease is starting. You might feel like something's pressing, squeezing, or filling up your chest. It's not always clear, but if you notice a feeling that keeps coming back, that's not normal. This could mean your heart or blood vessels have a problem.

Shortness of Breath 

Feeling out of breath when you work out or lie down, might be an early sign of heart problems. This happens because your heart isn't pumping blood well enough, which leads to fluid building up in your lungs.

Fatigue

Feeling tired or weak even after resting, can point to heart issues. Your heart isn't working as well as it should, which causes fatigue and makes normal tasks feel much harder.

Heart Palpitations

If you feel your heart racing, fluttering, or pounding, this might point to an irregular heartbeat or arrhythmia. You may experience palpitations now and then or often, and they could come with other symptoms like feeling dizzy or uncomfortable in your chest.

Dizziness or Lightheadedness

Sudden feelings of being off-balance or faint can indicate less blood flowing to your brain often because of heart problems. You should pay attention to this symptom if you notice it along with other signs of heart disease.

Swollen Ankles or Feet

When fluid builds up in your lower legs, it can point to heart problems or other issues with your blood vessels. A weak heart pump causes fluid buildup in the body, often leading to swollen ankles or feet.

Persistent Cough

A cough that persists even at night or when you lie down, could point to heart issues. Fluid buildup in your lungs, caused by a poorly functioning heart, can lead to a persistent cough.

Late Signs Of Heart Disease

Late signs associated with heart disease are listed below:

Chest Pain (Angina)

As heart disease gets worse, you might feel more intense chest pain or angina when you're active or stressed. People often say this pain feels like something's squeezing or pressing on their chest. The pain can spread to your shoulders, neck, or arms too.

Heart Attack

A heart attack also known as myocardial infarction, brings on intense chest pain. This pain often comes with trouble breathing, sweating, feeling sick, and sometimes throwing up. People often say it feels like a heavy weight on their chest. The pain can be so bad that it makes breathing hard.

Heart Failure

Advanced heart disease can lead to heart failure. This condition causes constant breathing problems, extreme tiredness, swollen legs and ankles, and an uneven heartbeat. Heart failure happens when the heart can't pump blood well. This leads to fluid buildup in the body and not enough oxygen getting to where it needs to go.

Prevention Of Heart Disease

Stopping heart disease means living in a way that's good for your heart and changing things to cut down on risks:

Eating Right

Eat lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains, and lean meats to keep your heart healthy. Don't eat too much saturated fat, trans fat, or cholesterol, as these can make plaque build up in your arteries.

Working Out 

Try to do at least 150 minutes of medium-hard exercise each week. Moving your body makes your heart stronger, helps your blood flow better, and keeps your weight in check, which are all key to keep your heart and blood vessels healthy.

Weight Management

Keeping a healthy weight helps your heart and lowers your chances of getting high blood pressure and diabetes. These health issues are linked to heart disease.

Smoking Cessation

When you stop smoking, you boost your heart health. This cuts down the risk of damage to your arteries and lowers your blood pressure. Smoking is a big risk for heart disease and hurts how your heart and blood vessels work.

Blood Pressure Control

It's key to keep high blood pressure in check. You can do this by changing your lifestyle and taking medicine if you need to. High blood pressure is tough on your arteries and makes you more likely to get heart disease and have a stroke.

Cholesterol Management

Keep your cholesterol at healthy levels by eating right, working out, and taking meds as your doctor tells you. When cholesterol gets too high, it leads to plaque building up in your arteries, which can cause heart attacks and strokes.

Stress Management

Stress that lasts a long time isn't good for your heart. To keep your heart healthy, try to handle stress using methods to relax like breathing , meditating, or doing yoga.

Treatment Of Heart Disease

The management of heart disease depends on the specific condition and how far it has progressed. Options include:

  • Medications: Your doctor will prescribe drugs to control your blood pressure, cholesterol, and heart rhythm. These medicines help manage symptoms and reduce the risk of complications.
  • Lifestyle Changes: Changing your habits such as eating a balanced diet and working out , plays a key role in treating heart disease and boosting heart health.
  • Procedures: In more serious cases, treatments like angioplasty (to clear blocked arteries), stent placement (to keep arteries open), or bypass surgery (to redirect blood flow) might be necessary.
  • Surgery: In extreme cases, doctors need to operate to fix or swap out valves. Sometimes, they must do a heart transplant if the heart has serious damage or isn't working.

Conclusion

Spotting heart disease is crucial to stop a life-threatening event. Knowing the risks and living in a way that's good for your heart can cut your chances of heart disease. If you have symptoms that scare you, or if you're at risk for heart disease, visit a heart doctor. They can check you out and give you advice that fits your needs. The earlier you catch it and treat it the better your heart will be, and the better life you'll live.

If you experience any of the above mentioned symptoms, don't ignore them. Consult the best cardiologist in Chennai at Artemis Cardiac Care for expert advice.

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