EXPERIENCING ANY OF THE EARLY SYMPTOMS OF HEART DISEASE? HERE’S WHEN TO SEE A SPECIALIST
Experiencing heart disease symptoms can be a scary moment, especially if you have never had any other issues with your heart. However, there are positives and it need not necessarily be as scary as you may think. When the common symptoms of heart disease are caught early, the issue can usually be diagnosed and treated quickly and efficiently. This is often possible without the need for any invasive surgery. So, when it comes to the signs and symptoms of coronary heart disease, while you may feel anxious, it is best to be informed about your health. Similarly, it is vital to detect any potential heart valve disease symptoms early on, which can help to prevent the development of advanced heart disease later on. Early treatment of an important heart condition is vital to your health and lifespan.
Here, we have collated more information for you about the different types of heart disease symptoms, treatment, and prevention. If you have concerns about ischemic heart disease symptoms, then we can help arrange remote cardiac screening here.
MOST COMMON SYMPTOMS OF HEART DISEASE – CHEST PAIN
One of the classic coronary heart disease symptoms is experiencing chest pain. This is the most well-known symptom of heart disease in men and women. You will normally feel a central ache in the chest, often felt as a crushing chest pain or discomfort. On top of this, you may even feel pain in the jaw, arm, neck and back. This pain may feel like it is ‘radiating’ in the jaw and is often down the left arm. Women experiencing the most common symptoms of heart disease are less likely to have this ‘crushed chest’ feeling. While it affects both genders, it is commonly one of the symptoms of heart disease in men. And while the ‘crushed chest’ feeling may be horrible to experience, it is actually a very important early sign to be sure that you need to visit a specialist. The feeling is hard to ignore and easy to pinpoint to your chest.
As the symptoms of heart disease in women can be less obviously connected to the chest and heart, it can be easier for them to ignore their symptoms or brush them off as something else – which can have a negative effect in the long term. Either way, if you feel chest pains that do not go away, often worse on activity, it may be a symptom of heart disease or a heart attack. Atypical heart pain is sometimes confused as indigestion and if simple medicines do not relieve the symptoms, you should seek expert advice.
There are a few cardiac causes of chest pain, such as the narrowing of heart arteries, and aortic stenosis, so it is important to investigate any chest pain symptoms to exclude a serious underlying cause.
CORONARY HEART DISEASE SYMPTOMS – SHORTNESS OF BREATH
If you have recently developed breathlessness either during exercise or at rest, this could indicate lung problems or heart problems. One of the early symptoms of heart disease can be unexpected breathlessness. Be aware that when breathlessness is combined with one of the other top 5 heart valve disease symptoms, a cardiac cause becomes more likely.
There are a few potential cardiac causes for heart disease symptoms like breathlessness. For example, narrowing of heart arteries, valve disease, and heart failure. If you are experiencing breathlessness in a way that you do not usually feel, it is best to get this checked out by a specialist as soon as you possibly can.
WELL KNOWN HEART DISEASE SYMPTOMS – PALPITATIONS
Everyone experiences the odd jumped heartbeat. This is not out of the ordinary and is not necessarily one of the symptoms of heart disease in women or men. But if you suffer from frequent heart flutters, or palpitations as they are known, especially when episodes last several minutes or hours, then this needs to be investigated urgently. Fluttering heartbeat, or palpitations, are one of the most common early symptoms of heart disease. If you have heart palpitations and feel dizzy, you should see a doctor urgently.
If you are experiencing heart palpitations, there are a few potential cardiac causes. For example, it may be a symptom of narrowing heart arteries, or heart valve disease. It could also be isolated cardiac arrhythmias like atrial fibrillation, or atrial flutters. It is always important to have symptoms of palpitations checked by an expert.
EARLY SYMPTOMS OF HEART DISEASE – ANKLE SWELLING
Ankle swelling is something that you may not instantly recognise as to be one of the early symptoms of heart disease. This is because people do not often associate their ankles with their heart. However, this can actually be one of the most common yet overlooked signs of heart valve disease. When your heart is struggling, the blood flow slows down, and then ‘backs up’, creating back pressure in the veins in your legs. This causes fluid to build up in your ankles, causing swelling. This important sign of heart disease can occur in men and women equally and may also be associated with abdominal swelling and rapid weight gain due to fluid accumulation in the body. When this happens, a very urgent investigation is required.
ONE OF THE SYMPTOMS OF HEART DISEASE IN WOMEN & MEN – DIZZINESS
Dizziness is quite a sinister sign of heart valve disease or heart rhythm problems. This is caused by a lack of blood flow from the heart to the brain, and can be accompanied by fainting, or feeling extremely tired. It can even cause feelings of nausea. If you experience dizziness and no other symptoms, it may be vertigo, or dehydration in which case it will be short lived and resolve naturally. If dizziness persists, or when it is combined with other heart valve disease symptoms, it can quickly pose a threat and should be checked out immediately.
EARLY SIGNS OF HEART DISEASE SYMPTOMS – WHEN SHOULD YOU SEE A SPECIALIST?
When Should You See A Specialist?
If you suffer from any of the top five symptoms and signs of heart disease mentioned above, you should seek specialist advice. In combination, there is likely to be an even higher risk that you have an important, but highly treatable heart condition. Other associated conditions that may increase your risk for heart disease include diabetes, high blood pressure, family history of heart problems, smoking, high cholesterol, highly stressful occupations and obesity. Less well recognised conditions like mental health issues, going through the menopause, history of pregnancy complications, inflammatory diseases, and inactivity, should also make you hyper aware if you begin to experience early symptoms of heart disease. This is because while some signs and symptoms of heart disease can be put down to other issues, these conditions increase your chance of having underlying heart disease as the cause of your symptoms. So – if this is you – and you start to feel the symptoms or see the signs; pay close attention and see a specialist.
There are a few underlying conditions that may cause more risk for heart disease, and therefore you may be more susceptible to experiencing heart disease symptoms. If you have:
- diabetes,
- high blood pressure,
- family history
- obesity
- smoking
- you have high cholesterol levels
- unhealthy diet
- mental health issues,
- are going through the menopause,
- have a history of pregnancy complications,
- have a risk of inflammatory diseases
The more of these features that apply to you, the more likely your symptoms may be due to coronary heart disease or heart valve disease.
Finally, you may have heard of congenital heart disease symptoms, where you have had the defect from birth. The symptoms can include shortness of breath a rapid heartbeat and the development of a blue tinge to the skin (cyanosis). Most congenital heart defects are corrected in early life, but secondary problems can occur as you get older. It is always important to be aware that the development of new symptoms of heart disease needs to be investigated.
The common symptoms of heart disease in its early stages are too often ignored and sometimes for too long. We understand that with a busy schedule, it can be easy to ignore your own needs and to attend to more pressing issues. But the downside of this is that if you are experiencing the early signs of heart disease symptoms, and you choose to ignore them, you may be making your treatment and recovery much harder.
The risk of heart disease only increases with age, so there is little benefit to ‘putting off’ treatment or even just talking to an expert about what you are experiencing. To catch any issues before they become advanced heart disease symptoms, see your doctor as soon as possible, and explain that you believe you may be experiencing the most common symptoms of heart disease.
HOW WE CAN HELP YOU AT The Keyhole Heart Clinic
Here at The Keyhole Heart Clinic, our team are industry experts in many different types of heart diseases and their symptoms. We can provide advice, treatment, and surgical options for heart disease symptoms treatment and prevention. This includes remote cardiac screening, to make sure you can live the healthiest, fullest life possible. We understand the physical and emotional toll that ischemic heart disease symptoms of recurring chest pain or discomfort can have on a person. We want to help everyone feel their best selves possible. You can read our testimonials to find out what our patients have to say about us, and get in contact to talk to one of our keyhole surgery experts today. Do not ignore the early signs of heart disease symptoms; let us help you today.
Don’t ignore heart disease symptoms. Let us help you today.
+44(0)208 064 0535 info@thekhc.com thekeyholeheartclinic.com
16 Devonshire Street London, W1G 9AF
