Heart Condition Symptoms

How do you know you have a heart condition?

There are many different heart conditions that effect the people's lives every day. A heart condition, or heart disease, has many causes and does not affect everyone equally. Symptoms of a heart condition depends on many factors such as age, race, and gender.

Heart Conditions Statistics:

Heart disease is the top reason for American deaths. Twenty-three million Americans have heart disease, 13 times the number of people with Alzheimer's. Heart disease is the number 1 killer of women: nearly 500,000 a year, more than the next six diseases combined. About 700,000 Americans will have a stroke this year.

Types of Heart Conditions:

• Cardiomyopathy - Enlargement of the heart leading to heart failure due to ineffective pumping of the heart.


• Heart Disease - Narrowing of the coronary arteries causing heart attacks due to blockages that interrupt blood flow.


• Congestive Heart Failure - Back flow of blood into the lungs and other tissues.


• Atherosclerosis - Hardening of the arteries due to a build up of plaque on the interior wall of the coronary arteries.


• Cardiovascular Disease - Disease of the heart or blood vessels


• Congenital Heart Defects - Occurs when the heart or blood vessels near the heart don't develop normally before birth.

What are the Symptoms?

Symptoms of a heart condition can take many forms and vary from person to person. Symptoms can be vague, mild, or intense depending on the severity of the disease process. Sometimes, conditions related to heart disease carry no symptoms at all, and can be deadly if not diagnosed, such as hypertension (HTN). Symptoms of heart conditions include:

• Heart palpitations (irregular heart beat)


• Feeling tired and sluggish


• Sleep disturbances


• Swelling of the legs and ankles (edema)


• A bluish tinge around the lips


• Chest pain


• Shortness of breath


• dizziness


• Heartburn and indigestion

What Can I do?

If you suspect that you have a heart condition or heart disease and experience any of the symptoms related to it, your physician should be contacted immediately for evaluation and treatment. He will order specific tests to find the root cause of your heart condition symptoms and prescribe the appropriate treatment regimin. This will help to successfully manage any problems that may be found. This could mean a drastic change in lifestyle and eating habits. In addition to this, your doctor may prescribe medications to decrease or alleviate your symptoms. Weight management and stopping smoking will go a long way to increase your sense of health and well being.

Should you suddenly experience an increase in your heart condition symptoms, call 911 or have someone do it for you if you are unable. Quick action could mean the difference between life and death, as well as preventing further damage to your heart in the interim.

by Barb Hicks, RN/LMT