Cardiovascular disease takes lives of thousands Americans each year.
Lack of physical activity, poor dietary choices and unhealthy habits like smoking and binge drinking work together with genetic factors to increase your chances of getting heart dysfunction.
Obesity, which is a rising and relevant problem in our modern society, was found to have a close link with atherosclerosis, heart attack, arrhythmias and heart failure.
Heart-related disorders are commonly associated with pain in the chest, irregular heartbeats and breathlessness.
But in reality, sometimes it’s rather difficult to understand that problems occur in the heart. The reason is that cardiovascular disease often sends signals, which can be misinterpreted and confused with other illnesses or natural aging processes.
BE AWARE ABOUT THESE SIGNS, YOUR BODY SENDS, WHEN SOMETHING GOES WRONG IN YOUR HEART:
1. Swollen legs – your ankles may become really big, when your heart fails to pump blood as needed. But it can be also a sign of other health issues, like kidney disease.
2. Loud snoring – it’s OK, if you snore sometimes, when drop off to a snooze. But abnormally loud, gasping snoring may be a sign of so-called sleep apnea. In this condition, person stops breathing for several moments during the sleep. This causes excessive pressure on the heart, increasing risks for serious problems.
3. Indigestion – it’s not uncommon that people, who experience heart diseases, complain of heartburn, nausea, vomiting and discomfort in the upper abdomen.
4. Tiredness – we all feel exhausted from time to time. But if your fatigue doesn’t go away after rest, it may be a sign of health disorder. You may also notice that you feel tired after performing usual activities like climbing up the stairs or walking with your dog.
5. Pain in the arm – did you know that pain and tightness in the left arm may have a link with heart dysfunction, especially if these symptoms get worse after physical exertion?
6. Not-quitting cough – in the majority of cases, cough has nothing to do with your heart. But if your heart fails to work properly for a long time, this may result in leakage of the blood into the lungs, causing cough with pink or white mucus.
7. Dizziness and unsteadiness – there is high number of factors, which can make you feel lightheaded and near-faint. This may happen as a result of low blood glucose, drop of blood pressure, heart attack, stroke etc. If these symptoms develop suddenly, call for medical help without delay.