Heart Conditions: Symptoms

What are the symptoms of heart conditions?

Heart conditions cause dysfunction of the heart, lungs, kidneys, and other organs that may result in many different symptoms. The symptoms can vary in intensity among individuals.

Common symptoms of heart conditions

You may experience symptoms of heart conditions daily or just once in a while. At times, any of these heart symptoms can be severe:

• Chest pain or pressure
• Difficulty breathing or rapid breathing
• Pain, numbness, weakness or coldness in your legs or arms

Abnormal heartbeat symptoms of heart conditions

Symptoms of heart conditions caused by abnormal heartbeats (heart arrhythmias) include:

• Chest pain
• Dizziness
• Fainting or change in level of consciousness or lethargy
• Fluttering sensation in your chest
• Lightheadedness
• Rapid heart rate (tachycardia)
• Slow heart rate (bradycardia)

Congenital heart defects symptoms of heart conditions

Less commonly, symptoms of heart conditions related to heart defects present at birth include:

• Buildup of fluid in the heart or lungs
• Pale gray or blue skin color (cyanosis)
• Poor exercise tolerance (becoming short of breath or tiring quickly during exercise or activity)
• Shortness of breath during feedings, leading to poor weight gain in infants
• Swelling in the abdomen, legs, ankles, feet, hands, or areas around the eyes

Cardiomyopathy symptoms of heart conditions

Symptoms of heart conditions related to cardiomyopathy include:

• Abdominal swelling, distension or bloating
• Difficulty breathing with exertion or even at rest
• Dizziness, lightheadedness and fainting
• Fatigue
• Irregular heartbeats that feel rapid, pounding or fluttering
• Swelling of the legs, ankles and feet

Heart infection symptoms of heart conditions

Symptoms of heart conditions related to heart infections include:

• Chest pain or pressure
• Fatigue
• Fever
• Irregular heartbeats
• Shortness of breath (dyspnea) or rapid breathing (tachypnea)
• Skin rash or unusual spots
• Swelling of the feet or ankles

Serious symptoms that might indicate a life-threatening condition

In some cases, heart conditions can be life threatening. Seek immediate medical care (call 911) if you, or someone you are with, have any of these life-threatening symptoms including:

• Abdominal, pelvic, or lower back pain that can be severe
• Blurred or double vision
• Chest pain or pressure, which may radiate to the shoulder and arm
• Difficulty swallowing
• Garbled or slurred speech or inability to speak
• Loss of consciousness for even a brief moment
• Numbness, weakness or paralysis of one side of the face
• Rapid heart rate (tachycardia)
• Severe back pain
• Shortness of breath or rapid breathing (tachypnea)
• Worst headache of your life