5 Heart Disease Symptoms in Men and Women to Watch For
Heart disease symptoms in men and women: chest pain, irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath, dizziness and severe fatigue, and when to see a doctor.
Heart disease should never be ignored, because the heart is a vital organ. Its job is to pump blood throughout the body. When the heart has a problem, blood flow to the rest of the body is disrupted, so other vital organs lose their function, which can have fatal consequences, including death. When the heart stops, the systems in the body stop too, because the blood stops flowing. When the heart stops beating, the patient needs treatment immediately to prevent death.
To keep heart disease symptoms in men and women from appearing, maintain a healthy diet, because cholesterol clogs the blood vessels of the heart and keeps blood from flowing smoothly to and from it. It is also important to keep blood pressure normal, because people with hypertension are at high risk of heart disease.
Symptoms of Heart Disease
Unfortunately, heart disease remains a silent killer. Many people don't realize they have it, which often leads to sudden death. Some people look perfectly fine in the morning and are reported dead by the afternoon. That is how dangerous heart disease is: it can take a life quickly. Many people have already fallen victim to its ferocity. Comedian Basuki, Adjie Massaid, Ricky Jo, and many others died of heart attacks. To get treatment early, learn to recognize these symptoms of heart disease in both women and men:
- Chest pain
The first symptom is chest pain. This pain comes and goes, so it is often brushed off as not serious. That is why a person may not realize they have heart disease. To tell whether chest pain is normal, look at where it hurts. A person with heart disease will feel unbearable pain on the left side of the chest. The pain also spreads to the arm, neck, shoulder, and jaw, even to the back. If the pain lasts for days or even weeks, you need to see a doctor.
- Irregular heartbeat
The next symptom of heart disease is an irregular heartbeat. In a healthy person, the heart rate rises during heavy activity and returns to normal after rest. What you should watch for is a heartbeat that suddenly races when you are not doing anything strenuous, which is a sure sign of a heart problem. Also, if you feel your heart stop and then suddenly pound hard, you should see a doctor right away, especially if it happens again and again.
- Shortness of breath
Shortness of breath is an early sign of heart disease, because impaired heart function keeps blood from flowing smoothly through the body, including to the lungs. That leaves the lungs short of oxygen, and that is when the patient feels short of breath. This symptom usually appears together with chest pain.
- Dizziness
Dizziness can be caused by a brain that is short of oxygen. In people with heart disease this symptom feels very much like being about to faint: the head feels heavy or light and floating, and vision becomes blurry. That said, not all dizziness comes from heart disease. It can also be caused by anemia, a pinched nerve, a tumor, and other conditions. So if you often have headaches for a long time, it is important to get checked right away to find out whether or not a heart disorder is the cause.
- Severe fatigue
The last symptom is severe fatigue. It can occur in both men and women. If you are not doing anything very strenuous but your body often feels tired, it is best to see a doctor to find out why.
So look after everyone in your family and watch for the symptoms of heart disease, which can strike at any time. We hope this information is useful.
