There are several symptoms of heart disease. Although, all of them can be interpreted as a sign of cardiovascular system problems, each of them can be associated with specific type of heart condition.
This also makes it somewhat easier, when it comes to finding the source of the problem and establishing right diagnosis, after which the right treatment can be chosen.
SYMPTOMS OF HEART DISEASE - CHEST PAIN
Chest pain is one of the most common and most worrying heart disease symptoms. While it can be one of heart attack symptoms, you should also know that other conditions may also cause chest pain.
Sensation is usually described as pain, pressure, numbness or some other discomfort in the chest, neck, upper abdomen as well as upper or middle back. The pain may also radiate to the jaw, head or the arm.
It can last from few seconds till hours, days and even weeks, while manifesting itself in a form of pulsating, sharp or dull pain. Among all the symptoms of heart disease, this is the most worrying as well as the most obvious sign of heart related problems.
I also expirienced chest pain and sometimes throughout the day but usually in form of small like twitches in my chest area. However, there were few times when I experienced severe pulsating pain in my chest that could only be described as someone, sticking a knife into my chest and then pulling it out slowly and doing it over and over.
Whether those two types of pains were coming from my heart, I don't know. However, the fact is, as I am heart disease free now, as medical tests have shown, I no longer expirience this types of sensations.
Also, the thing that help me, was warm towel on my chest which decreased and shortened the duration of throbbing pain that I was experiencing.
SYMPTOMS OF HEART DISEASE - SHORTNESS OF BREATH
Shortness of breath can be one of the heart failure symptoms or coronary artery disease symptoms. Besides these two, shortness of breath could also be a symptom of pulmonary or lung disorders such as asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia and fluid accumulation between the lung and the chest wall.
Shortness of breath due to heart condition such as heart failure, is mostly experienced with even slightest strain or stress as well as while lying flat on the back.
In this cases, when you are gasping for air, deep breathing usually causes pain in the chest area.
However, shortness of breath is also one of the enlarged heart symptoms. While I was faced with shortness of breath the thing that help me was that I put myself in a fetal position, I hugged a pillow, covered my self up with blankets to warm up and sip some warm tea from time to time, while concentrating only on breathing, by alternating between, shallow-fast paced breathing and few deep breaths.
This lasted until the situation calmed down and I started breathing normally, again. On a time scale it could last anywhere between 30 minutes until 3 hours and it was a real torture. Also, my chest area was sore for next two to three days.
SYMPTOMS OF HEART DISEASE - HEART PALPITATIONS
Heart palpitations are irregular heartbeats that you are aware of. They aren't usually present in a healthy person but they can be quite common in a person with some form of heart disease.
Heart palpitations are one of the main symptoms of cardiac arrhythmia. They can be described as unusual sensation of rapid, irregular heartbeats or "skips" in the heartbeat.
I have also experienced arrhythmias, exactly as described above but not until I measured my blood pressure for the first time have I realized how serious the situation was. The heart beat was going something like this: "bip - bip - bip,bip - bip - bip,bip,bip - bip - bip" all the time and with every measurement that I took.
Although, I felt skip beats in my chest, I didn't realize how often do they repeat and how many of them are since I could felt only some of them.
Heart palpitations are one of the first symptoms of heart disease. In worse condition your heart is, the more frequent arrhythmias will be and the more serious they may become.
SYMPTOMS OF HEART DISEASE - DIZZINESS OR FAINTING
Dizziness and fainting are common symptoms of many diseases. Although, they can be one of the heart disease symptoms, such as heart failure and cardiac arrhythmia, they are more often than not, a symptom of dehydration, anemia, liver, kidney or thyroid disease.
Although I used to get a little dizzy from time to time, I don't think it was due to heart disease. I believe it was due to dehydration since I didn't gave enough attention to hydration, at the time.
SYMPTOMS OF HEART DISEASE - FATIGUE OR SLEEPINESS
Lack of energy can be one of the symptoms of hypertensive heart disease or heart failure. Whether you are tired throughout the day or you are sleepy all the time, you should ask yourself, what is the reason behind it.
While these symptoms can be caused by several other disorders, most often than not, impaired heart function is the main culprit.
While I had heart disease, I was tired frequently although I really didn't work much, lazy ass at the time, and I was sleepy quite often.
SYMPTOMS OF HEART DISEASE - EDEMA
Although, swelling in legs or abdomen is usually caused by kidney disease, cirrhosis or conditions such as pregnancy, excess weight and certain medications, it is also one of the heart disease symptoms.
Swelling or edema, can be a symptom of blood clot, heart failure and chronic venous disease. I didn't have any serious case of edema, besides mild swelling in my leg which was, in my case, one of the varicose veins symptoms, caused by overtraining.
CONCLUSION
If you expirience any of these symptoms of heart disease, especially the first three, you should consult with your doctor to determine the cause.
Whatever test show, heart disease or not, it is important to set accurate diagnosis, in order to start with the proper treatment. The sooner, the better.
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