On any given day, you might find yourself in a few situations that make you question whether you’re experiencing the signs of heart problems.>>>CONTINUE FULL READING HERE....CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE
Perhaps you climbed a flight of stairs only to find yourself panting at the top, or it took you slightly (okay, several minutes) longer to finish a run
you used to speed through.
Maybe you even noticed your heartbeat racing and thought, ‘Am I out of shape?’, ‘Is it anxiety
?’, ‘Or is something more serious going on?’
If you’re younger it’s probably nothing to be concerned about—but in some cases, an underlying cardiovascular issue could be at play.
I was diagnosed with heart failure at 26. Here’s the first symptom I experienced
“I was told I was fine and that this was a normal feeling after you have a baby.”
By Korin Miller
Heart problems you’re born with, AKA congenital heart defects, can impact how effectively yours can pump blood. And it’s possible to develop coronary artery disease (CAD) – the most common type of heart disease—in your 20s, 30s, or 40s, although it doesn’t happen as often.
That’s when clogged arteries block blood flow to the heart, which can lead to a heart attack (when part of the heart muscle is damaged or dies). There are also other cardiovascular problems, like an irregular heartbeat, called an arrhythmia, or heart failure, meaning your heart can’t pump enough blood to the rest of the body.
Some people live with these issues long before they see a doctor. That’s because you might feel nothing much at all, shrug off symptoms, or—more often if you’re a woman—a health care provider may not take those symptoms seriously or misdiagnose them.
Again, feeling like your heart is acting wonky doesn’t always mean you have full-on heart disease.
But knowing the (sometimes subtle) signs to watch for can help you spot a problem before it becomes, you know, a really big problem.
Here are six red flags and potential signs of heart problems to be aware of, even if you’re young.
Because your heart pumps life-giving oxygen and nutrients to your body, any slowdown in that process can make you feel like you’re trudging through mud.
Not only that, but when your heart isn’t functioning correctly (particularly in the case of heart failure), fluid can back up in and around your lungs and make it harder to take a deep breath.
Heart disease can show up a little differently depending on who you are, says Nikki Bart, MD, PhD
, a heart failure and heart transplant cardiologist at St. Vincent’s Hospital Sydney. “Women are more likely to have more subtle signs,” she tells SELF. “For example, if a woman is going to have a heart attack, she won’t always experience crushing chest pain. She’s much more likely to have shortness of breath and fatigue.”
But how can you tell if gasping for air and constant tiredness are due to an underlying heart problem rather than a lung condition, a lingering infection, or something else?
“The most important thing is that the fatigue and shortness of breath
are new,” Dr. Bart notes. So if you were able to do your regular chores a few weeks or months ago, only to find yourself needing to sit down soon after starting, that’s something to pay attention to—and could be a potential sign that something’s up with your heart.
It’s also worth noting that if you smoke; have a substance use disorder, diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol; or have a family history of heart problems, you’ve got a much higher chance of developing heart disease than someone who doesn’t fit that description, Frederick L. Ruberg, MD
, says the chief of cardiovascular medicine at Boston Medical Center.
When you faint
, it usually means your brain is not getting enough blood flow, often because your blood pressure just plummeted. And repeatedly passing out for seemingly no reason is definitely not normal, Dr. Ruberg explains.
While fainting at rest is the most telltale sign that a big health issue is at play, if you’re working out and constantly feel on the verge of passing out, that’s also a problem, Dr. Ruberg points out. “It’s normal to feel a little short of breath while exercising. It’s not normal to just lose consciousness if you really feel like you’re going to pass out when you’re exerting yourself.”>>>CONTINUE FULL READING HERE
