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Main > Specialty Areas > Cardiology >
Symptoms of Heart Disease
Symptoms of heart disease vary according to the type of heart disease. Unfortunately, some heart diseases cause no symptoms early in their course. When symptoms occur, they vary from person to person.
Angina as a Symptom
The main symptom of coronary heart disease is Angina. Due to reduction in blood flow, insufficient oxygen reaches your heart muscle. In Angina, one experiences a feeling of heaviness, tightness, or pain in the middle of the chest that may extend to your arms, neck, jaw, face, back, or abdomen.
Angina Triggers
Angina most often occurs during exertion, for example, while climbing stairs or walking at a brisk pace. It may also occur in cold weather, when you are feeling stressed, or after overeating.
Good news about Angina is that it can subside once you stop what you are doing or take medication. Unfortunately, for many people, the first indication that something is wrong is a heart attack - also known as myocardial infarction.
Heart Attacks
Heart attacks occur when the blood supply to a part of the heart muscle is interrupted or stops, usually because of a blood clot in the coronary artery. The pain of a heart attack is often severe and may also be mistaken for indigestion. However, unlike angina, the pain doesn't subside when you rest.
| Make an appointment with your doctor today, if you experience:
Sudden breathlessness even while at rest.
Angina - chest pain or heaviness in the chest that occurs during exertion, emotional stress. It may spread to your arms, neck, jaw, face, back or stomach.
Palpitations that last for several hours or recur over several days and/or cause chest pain, breathlessness, or dizziness.
Fainting - it occurs due to insufficient oxygen in the brain
Oedema i.e. fluid retention or puffiness.
Bluish tinged fingernails or around lips i.e. cyanosis.
Fatigue
Severe crushing chest pain while at rest and accompanied by sweating, light-headedness, nausea, or shortness of breath and lasts more than 15 minutes.
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Symptoms of a Heart Attack
Symptoms may include chest pain, shortness of breath, weakness and fatigue, palpitations (the sensation of the heart beating in the chest), lightheadedness, and fainting, or feeling about to faint.
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| Random Useful Tip: |
Epinephrine shot If you are known to have a severe anaphylactic reaction, carry an epinephrine (adrenaline) shot with you at all times. Pay attention to expiration date and replace it regularly: upon expiration, it loses its effectiveness. |
| Random Drug Info: |
Levothyroxine Levothyroxine is a pure synthetic form of T4 hormone that is made in a laboratory to be an exact replacement for the T4 that the human thyroid gland normally secretes. It comes in multiple strengths, which means that an appropriate dosage can almost always be found for each patient. |
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