13 Alarming Heart Disease Symptoms You Shouldn’t Ignore

May 9, 2020

According to the estimation of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in the United States, approximately 30.3 million adults diagnosed with heart disease. Heart diseases are one of the common diseases, yet people usually are not able to identify heart disease symptoms. This is because the symptoms are very similar to other diseases and are very mild.

So, here in this article we will cover 13 alarming heart disease symptoms that you should never ignore.

Let’s begin.

13 Alarming Heart Disease Symptoms

There are many types of heart disease but not every disease show warning symptoms. Some heart diseases come with symptoms at initial stages, some show symptoms at chronic stages, and some are asymptomatic heart diseases. But, what heart disease symptoms one should look for that might indicate a problem?

Well, here is solution. Here are some of the leading heart disease symptoms that no one should never ignore.

1. Chest Pain or Chest Discomfort

One of the common heart disease symptoms is chest pain or chest discomfort. In most of the cases, the regular chest pain or discomfort is linked with some kind of heart disease. For example, a person having a heart attack or myocardial infraction may feel pain, pressure, and tightness in the chest. Everyone feels this pain in a different way based on the severity and cause of the disease. Some may feel the pain like an elephant is sitting on the chest, others may feel like burning or pinching.

The pain usually lasts for more than a few minutes and triggers when a person is resting or doing some physical activity. One should always consult a doctor if he/she experiences this heart disease symptom frequently.

2. Arrhythmia (Irregular Heartbeat)

Since proper functioning of the heart involves normal heartbeat rate, arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat can be one of significant heart disease symptoms. However, sometimes it’s normal to add or skip a beat due to emotional trauma or excitement. It may also cause due to lack of sleep or excess of caffeine. But, if this problem happens regularly, it can be an indication for atrial fibrillation, which should be treated as soon as possible.

So, the best one can do is to consult a doctor and check it out.

3. Breathlessness

As heart pumps oxygenated blood throughout the body, people suffering from heart disease may face difficulty in breathing properly. Due to blocked arteries breathlessness is one of the common heart disease symptoms. It is an unpleasant sensation of uncomfortable and one feel like puffed or winded. People with heart disease usually experience difficult in breathing while exercising and intense workout.

4. Choking Sensation

Choking sensation or feeling tightness in the chest is another common heart disease symptoms. Sometimes this choking sensation can be up in the throat that can trouble a person. It is advised to visit a physician and check it out.

5. Common Indigestion Problems

Indigestion, stomach pain, nausea, and heartburn are also some of the common heart disease symptoms. Of course, one can have this problem because of stale or bad food and not because of heart disease, but he/she should be aware that these conditions happen during a heart attack also.

This doesn’t mean that every time these situations indicate a heart attack, but if it happens regularly along with other heart disease symptoms, visit the doctor and check it out.

6. Arm Pain

Another common heart attack symptom is pain that spreads to the arm, particularly to the left arm or left side of the body. The pain usually start from the chest and then radiates to the arm.

7. Throat and Jaw Pain

According to the article by Harvard Medical School, there are many symptoms of silent myocardial infarction (SMI) that are mild and people don’t consider them problematic. And, throat and jaw pain is one of them. Most people usually ignore jaw and throat pain because they are mild. People also think that these types of pain have nothing to do with heart disease.

However, throat and jaw pain can be a warning sign of SMI and need medical attention.

8. Dizziness

Dizziness or loss of balance or feeling like fainting can happen due to many reasons like dehydration or dieting. However, if a person suddenly faints or passed out with chest pain, there is a high chance of low blood pressure or the heart is not able to pump the blood properly. In this case, one should immediately take professional help.

9. Fatigue

If a person suddenly feels exhausted after doing something which earlier he/she can easily done like walking, climbing upstairs, doing household stuffs, or eating, he/she consult a doctor immediately.

Unexplained weakness for longer period of time can be heart disease symptom, especially in case of women.

10. Sweating

According to the article of Science Daily, sweating in hot weather or during exercising is normal and healthy. However, excessive sweating with chest or arm discomfort can be an indication of a heart attack.

11. Persistent Cough

Interestingly, this cannot be a symptom of heart disease in most of the cases. However, if a person is at risk of developing heart disease (means he/she has high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or other heart disease symptoms), he/she should keep an eye on it and consult a doctor. Persistent coughing with pink mucous can be a symptom of heart failure. This happens due to blood leakage into the lungs.

12. Snoring

Who doesn’t love sound sleep and it’s okay to snore sometimes while snoozing. But, unpleasant and loud snoring sound is a symptoms of sleep apnea. When a person stops breathing for a moment many times during sleep, it puts a lot of stress and pressure on the heart. This is why in case of regular snoring problem, consult doctor immediately.

13. Swollen Lower Limbs

Swollen lower limbs like legs, ankles, or feet can be sign that the heart is not pumping the blood properly and cause bloating or inflammation in the legs. Also, due to heart failure, it is also possible that kidneys are not able to remove the eexcess water whicha may cause bloating.