Heart Disease: Symptoms

What are the symptoms of heart disease?

Symptoms of heart disease can differ depending on the type and severity of heart disease and individual factors. One well-known symptom of heart disease is chest pain, but not all chest pain is caused by heart disease.

In addition, not all people who have heart disease experience chest pain. Some people even have a heart attack without having chest pain. By the time a person experiences chest pain, he or she may have had a form of heart disease, such as atherosclerosis, for many years.

It is common for a person with certain types of heart disease, such as atherosclerosis, not to have noticeable symptoms until complications occur. The only definite way to detect heart disease in its earliest, most treatable stage is through regular medical care that includes comprehensive evaluations from a licensed physician or health care professional.

Symptoms of heart disease

Heart disease symptoms can be vague, mild and subtle. Symptoms include:

• A feeling of indigestion

• Anxiety and restlessness

• Backache

• Difficulty feeding and poor weight gain in infants

• Erectile dysfunction

• Fatigue

• Mild, transient shortness of breath with exertion

• Mild weakness and feeling lightheaded

• Nausea and vomiting

• Pain, numbness, and mild swelling in the feet and ankles

• Pale skin with or without sweating

• Wet cough

Serious symptoms that might indicate a life-threatening condition

Some symptoms of heart disease and its complications are severe and may indicate a serious or life-threatening condition that needs immediate treatment. Seek immediate medical care (call 911) if you, or someone you are with, have any of these symptoms:

• Bluish discoloration of the lips and fingernails (cyanosis)

• Change in level of consciousness or alertness, such as passing out or unresponsiveness

• Chest pain, tightness, pressure, squeezing, or fullness (angina)

• Extreme sweating and clammy, pale skin

• Loss of pulse

• Nausea and vomiting

• Pain in the shoulders, back, neck, jaw, or arms that radiates from the chest. Chest pain can also occur by itself.

• Respiratory or breathing problems, such as shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, labored breathing, wheezing, not breathing, or choking

• Severe dizziness

• Severe swelling that can affect the arms, legs, and abdomen