Signs of an Unhealthy Heart

Your heart is one of the most important organs in your body. The organs effectively pump oxygenated blood throughout the body. So, the fist-sized organ maintains a steady rhythm for keeping you active and alive. But, heart diseases can cause severe complications, including death. Cardiovascular disease is one of the main causes of death around the world. To avoid any severe complications, you need to listen to the telltale warning your body sends. Here are the common signs that point towards an unhealthy heart:

Chest Pains

It is one of the most common signs associated with heart disease. You can experience left side chest pain (near your heart), which indicates a potential heart attack. You feel pain due to the death of cells in your heart muscles. So, you experience severe tightness or strain on the heart that leads to upper torso pain.

Sleeping And Snoring Problems

Do you snore at night? Can you not sleep properly at night? While they may sound simple, these problems can indicate underlying heart problems. Insomnia and sleep apnea occurs due to disruptions in your breathing when you sleep. It is linked directly to heart problems.

Irregular Heartbeat

Arrhythmias or an irregular heartbeat always indicates some problem with your heart while pumping blood at its normal rhythm. While young and healthy people can suffer from irregular heartbeat, it is also a sure sign indicating an unhealthy heart.

Edema

Your feet or hands become swollen for a long time. It occurs when your heart fails to pump blood throughout the body properly. So, you suffer from swelling or edema. It is a signal from your body that indicates something is amiss in your heart.

Shortness Of Breath And Fatigue

You may get winded on occasions, which is normal. But, if you experience shortness of breath and fatigue while doing normal chores, then it indicates heart problems.

Dizzy/Lightheadedness

Feeling dizzy or lightheaded is a signal indicating insufficient blood flow to your brain. The restriction of blood to the brain can cause a heart attack or stroke. A drastic drop in blood pressure can also cause fainting spells. So, you need to take action.

Cold Sweat

Without performing any physically draining task if you sweat profusely, then it signals the onset of a heart problem leading to a heart attack.

Erectile Dysfunction

Men can find it difficult to get and keep an erection firm for sexual intercourse. Most people can attribute the condition to advancing age. But, it is an early warning sign of heart problems.

Nausea/Vomiting

Due to inflammation of the bottom lining of the heart, which surrounds the stomach structures can cause abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting.

Jaw Pain

Sudden pain in jaw, neck or teeth can indicate an impending heart attack. So, never ignore jaw pain as it indicates something is happening with your heart. Ignoring the signal from your body can lead to severe complications.

When you see the above-mentioned signs, you need to make an appointment with the doctor. So, you need to follow the instructions carefully. It is never too late to take action for preventing further heart issues. So, you can adopt a healthy lifestyle for better heart health.

Dr. Gaurav Singhal Cardiologist: DM (Cardiology), MD (Medicine) 11 Years Experience. Dr. Gaurav is director of Hridyam Heart Care Clinic, is one of the most promising and emerging cardiologists of Jaipur.

Heart disease can happen to anyone and if you don’t keep your heart healthy, you are surely putting yourself at a major risk. No days 9 out 10 people have at least one factor of heart disease and it is something that shouldn’t be avoided. Heart specialist says that the power of prevention from this is in your hands. The lifestyle you lead is the main thing for prevention.

The heart risk factors include depression, too much smoking, and drinking, diabetes, high cholesterol levels, and high blood pressure, too much stressful life and bad diet and nutrients. Smoking is one of the leading causes of heart disease which is followed by obesity and high blood pressure. So it is very essential for all the age groups especially younger ones to keep a look at lifestyle habits. A cardiologist says that heart disease can strike anyone at any stage of life, no matter how active you are.

A cardiologist or heart specialist gives some precautionary measure which is essential to follow to keep your heart healthy. Below are some precautions and change in your lifestyle advice:

Lifestyle Modification:

First and foremost lifestyle change will come when you start working out or when you start doing exercise and meditation on a daily basis. Healthy body weight is important to reduce the risk of heart attacks and it also helps to keep the blood pressure under control.

Brisk walking:

Doing any physical activity daily will help in keeping your heart healthy and fit. You can also go for activities related to aerobic like doing jogging. Apart from this making a daily routine of light exercise like taking the stairs or walking while attending the phone calls also helps.

Avoid smoking:

Smoking is related to one in five deaths from heart disease as it can damage your blood vessels and decrease the oxygen to the heart and boost blood pressure

Diet for Healthy Heart:

Involve more of fiber to your daily diet and add raw vegetables, grains and beans and fruits to your diet. Your body needs 21 grams of fiber daily in a day. Also, consumption of 6 grams of salt in a day is essential.

Cut off the food that contains too much vegetable oil and fat from our diet and also whole fat dairy products should be avoided. Try and stay away from fried food as much as possible and limit the total fat to 30 percent of the total calories for the whole day.

Check Your Health and reduce stress:

Make sure that your blood pressure and blood sugar level are in control and get them to check regularly. Also, maintain the cholesterol levels. Meditation, exercise and healthy eating reduce stress.

Also, there are some precautions given by heart specialists for the patients who have undergone heart surgeries like avoiding wearing tight-fitting clothes and not carrying any heavy things for two to three months after surgery. Also, avoid sleeping on the stomach while you are taking rest and quit smoking and consumption of alcohol.

What are the signs of an unhealthy Heart?