Did you know heart disease is the leading cause of death for men in the United States,
killing almost 350 thousand men in 2017—that’s about 1 in every 4 male
deaths? Hi and welcome back to our channel. What’s even more shocking is that half of
the men who die suddenly of coronary heart disease had no previous symptoms.
The term heart disease can refer to several types of heart conditions,
including coronary artery disease and heart attack. There are several
causes for heart disease from high blood pressure, high cholesterol to smoking.
Sometimes heart disease may be silent isn’t diagnosed until you have experienced signs
or symptoms like a heart attack and heart failure. This can be a dangerous situation.
Identifying the signs and symptoms of heart disease early can be vital in controlling it.
In today’s video we’ll tell you what the signs and symptoms of heart disease are, so keep watching!
Shortness of Breath: If you have been experiencing shortness of breath,
even without doing any laborious work or tiresome activity, you may have heart disease.
Breathlessness or shortness of breath is common for people with heart disease.
Your breathing and your heart pumping blood effectively are very closely related. Your
heart pumps blood so it can circulate to your tissues as well as get oxygen from
your lungs. If your heart can’t pump blood properly, you can feel short of breath.
Difficulty breathing after physical exertion can indicate a problem in
your heart valves. Another reason for your shortness of
breath could be due to inflammation and weakening of your heart muscle.
Chest Pain: Chest Pain or Angina is a classic symptom of heart
disease. Type and duration of chest pain indicates the underlying heart disease.
This painful condition is sometimes the precursor to cardiac arrest,
although it can also recur for years without triggering any more serious signs. Angina can
manifest itself in a variety of ways, including a feeling of heaviness in your chest, pain,
a squeezing sensation, weight on the chest or a deep pain that causes you to catch your breath.
The pain that you experience can be short term,
constant, stabbing or sharp in nature. It can last for a few seconds to hours.
You may mistake angina for heartburn or indigestion,
particularly since you may feel pain in other areas of your body as well,
including your shoulder, middle or upper region of the back or even your jaw line.
Excessive Sweating: Sweating more than usual, especially if you aren’t
exercising or being active, it could be an early warning sign of heart problems.
Pumping blood through clogged arteries takes more effort from your heart,
so your body sweats more to try to keep your body temperature down
during the extra exertion. You may also experience cold sweats or clammy skin.
Night sweats are also a common symptom of heart trouble. If you
wake up and your sheets are soaked or you cannot sleep due to your sweating,
this could be a sign of heart trouble and you should consult your doctor immediately.
Swollen Feet: Swollen feet or Edema is another indicator of heart disease in men. When you
have heart disease, one or both of your heart's lower chambers lose their ability to pump blood
effectively. As a result, blood can back up in your legs, ankles and feet, causing edema.
Edema can also occur when tiny blood vessels in your body leak fluid. The fluid builds up
in surrounding tissues, leading to swelling. Although edema can affect any part of your body,
you may notice it more in your hands, arms, feet, ankles and legs.
If fluid builds up quickly, you can get fluid in the lungs. If your heart failure
is on the right side of your heart, edema can develop in the abdomen.
Fatigue:
If performing simple activities that don’t require much exertion is causing you to feel exhausted,
you may be suffering from heart disease. Potential heart disease can cause exhaustion due to the
extra stress on your heart that’s trying to pump blood while an area of blood flow is blocked.
If you often feel tired or exhausted for no reason, it could be a sign that something is
wrong. Unusual fatigue and sleeplessness have been shown to be early warning signs
of a heart attack. You may also experience fatigue just before a major heart attack.
Sometimes, you may experience chest pain and fatigue,
but the nausea might be much more prominent so you may mistake the symptoms for the flu.
Heart Palpitations: Palpitations make you feel like your heart is beating too hard or too fast,
skipping a beat, or fluttering. You may notice heart palpitations in your chest, throat, or neck.
They can be bothersome or frightening but usually aren't serious or harmful and often
go away on their own. In rare cases, palpitations can be a sign of a more serious heart condition.
Get immediate medical attention if they come with shortness of breath,
dizziness, chest pain and fainting.
Difficulty Keeping Your Hands and Feet Warm:
This condition is also known as Atherosclerosis and may be an indicator for heart disease.
Your major arteries can get narrow or even blocked due to the build-up of plaque from
too much cholesterol. Years ago, it was referred to as hardening of the arteries.
As your arteries become clogged, blood flow to and from the heart is restricted,
forcing your heart to work harder. This can cause
poor circulation leading to difficulty in keeping your hands and feet warm.
Pain In Unexpected Areas: When it comes to heart diseases, the first thing that
would come to your mind is chest pain. But discomfort related to heart diseases
can occur on other parts of your body, too. It can manifest in your stomach, legs,
especially calves, arms, especially your left one, jaw, and back.
This is due to the narrowing of the blood vessels that bring blood to other parts of
your body, increasing your risk for heart attack.
It happens when fatty materials like plaque build up on the walls of your arteries.
Poor blood supply to your body parts can lead to pain, achiness, fatigue, burning,
or discomfort in the muscles of your feet, calves, or thighs.
Symptoms may often appear during walking or exercise,
and go away after several minutes of rest. You may also feel pain in your legs or feet
when you are at rest. Your legs may also feel cool to the touch, and the skin may look pale.
Snoring During Sleep: Snoring when you are sleeping can be more than just a sign
of you being tired. You may be experiencing sleep apnea which can lead to heart disease.
Sleep apnea increases your risk of heart disease and other cardiovascular problems.
With sleep apnea, you could stop breathing for 10-20 seconds or more while sleeping,
and this can occur several times during the night.
If you have significant sleep apnea, chemicals in your brain that trigger breathing fail to
function, and ultimately, oxygen levels go down greatly. When this happens,
there will be a surge of the levels of adrenaline, cortisone and other hormones,
which contribute to a variety of heart conditions.
As sleep apnea prevents restful sleep, and increases stress hormones, it’s linked
with high blood pressure which increases the risk of a heart attack or a stroke.
Chronic Cough: Have you had a cough which is not going away
even after medications? Chances are you may have heart trouble.
A persistent cough is not always a sign your heart has a problem, because it’s a symptom
of many common illnesses like a cold, flu, and bronchitis. But a never-ending cough can
be a sign of fluid building up in your lungs, which is a sign of congestive heart failure.
When you have heart problems, your heart becomes weak. It is
not able to keep up with the oxygen demands of your body. As a result,
the blood pressure within the heart builds up and causes back pressure into your lungs.
The fluid buildup in your lungs can result in a persistent cough or wheezing, that may
produce phlegm which is a thick, mucous-like substance that may be tinged with blood.
When this happens, you will get a chronic cough, especially when lying flat or exerting yourself.
Sore Gums, Jaw, and Mouth Problems:
You may be wondering, how could sore gums possibly mean there’s a problem with my
heart? It’s not accurate to say that if you have gum disease like gingivitis,
then you definitely have a heart problem, but gum disease and heart issues are often related.
Your gums are very vascular, meaning they are full of blood vessels, and your mouth is full
of bacteria. If you disrupt the gum layer, even a little bit, you’re going to get bacteria in
your bloodstream, which can go anywhere and trigger inflammation throughout your body.
If you have open wounds and infected parts of your mouth, it would allow bad things
for your heart to flow directly to it, affecting your heart’s overall health.
Have you ever experienced any of these signs of symptoms? Did any
surprise you? Let us know in the comments section below.