Signs That You Have Heart Disease or a Heart Attack – MUST WATCH
Snoring can also be a red flag. Sleep-disordered breathing, such as sleep apnea, “is associated with metabolic syndrome, which is associated with heart disease,” says Eleanor Levin, M.D., clinical professor of cardiovascular medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Between 40 and 80 percent of people in the United States with heart disease also have obstructive sleep apnea, according to the American Heart Association. Sleep apnea can worsen heart disease, which in turn can worsen sleep apnea.Lower-body pain can result from injuries, arthritis or being out of shape, but it may also signal circulation problems in the legs from peripheral artery disease. “Much like blockages in the heart arteries can cause heart attacks, blockages in the leg arteries can cause pain when walking,” says Deepak L. Bhatt, M.D., director of Mount Sinai Heart and Dr. Valentin Fuster Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Health System. If large leg arteries are clogged, smaller arteries in the heart probably are, too.
Circulation-related pain often occurs when you exercise and ends when you stop (the obstruction limits the amount of oxygen reaching the muscles). Diabetes or chronic stress can cause erectile dysfunction (ED), but it may be a sign of budding heart disease, says Michael Blaha, M.D., director of clinical research at the Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. ED is often a blood-flow problem, and risk factors — from smoking to hypertension — are similar for vascular ED and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (hardening of the arteries). The root cause of both issues is endothelial dysfunction, in which blood vessels have difficulty expanding and contracting properly, which reduces blood flow to the heart and the penis.“The first step of developing cardiovascular disease, or coronary artery disease, is the endothelial dysfunction,” says Ernst von Schwarz, M.D., a cardiologist, researcher and clinical professor at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and the University of California Los Angeles. This leads to blood vessel issues as well as blood-flow abnormalities, plaque formation, artery calcification and blockage, and, eventually, a heart attack.Swelling can also occur when veins in the legs can’t return fluid to the heart. In cases related to heart failure, swelling often occurs in both legs. Swelling in one leg could be due to a blood clot or an infection. Call your doctor if leg swelling is accompanied by heart failure symptoms such as shortness of breath.Most women cite fatigue as their first symptom before having a cardiac event, says Jean McSweeney, professor emerita at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Nursing. Fatigue can occur months before a heart attack and may result from lower blood flow to the heart. If you feel unusually tired from mundane activities, call your doctor.