A leading cardiologist has revealed the top 10 heart symptoms you should be alert to, including sweating during even light exercise, nausea with chest ache, and being tired on waking up in the morning.
You might think you’d be able to spot the symptoms if your heart wasn’t quite working as it should, but turns out there are some other, less obvious, signs your heart could be in trouble and experts say you should never ignore them.
Consultant cardiologist at Spire Bushey Hospital, Dr. Ameet Bakhai, shared some other signs that could indicate your heart is in less than tip-top condition, including heaviness in the arm on exertion, shortness of breath walking up stairs, and frequent extra or missed heartbeats.
Difficulty bending down and standing up, feeling dizzy when standing up quickly, and swollen legs are also indicators that your heart may need attention.
But research of 2,000 adults found more than half (54%) of those surveyed wouldn’t associate most of these symptoms with poor heart health. And half have suffered at least one of these symptoms before.
As well as the potential heart symptoms we should be looking out for, Dr. Bakhai also shared some other indicators your heart may be struggling, including not being able to run up two flights of stairs without getting out of breath and – randomly, not being able to squat on a toilet.
Of course, that’s providing you have no other health conditions.
“We often ignore our heart health and its signals until it’s too late,” explains Dr Bakhai.
She warns that most people ignore the small signals that our heart is not performing ideally.
“Heart issues can often get progressively worse, until one day you have a more complicated issue – that could have been avoided if you’d heeded the warning signs.”
Dr Bakhai goes on to say that heart issues can be connected to other health conditions.
“You might consider not being able to run up two flights of stairs more of a lung condition or a lack of fitness or of weight gain, but there is a lot of overlap with coronary artery disease or heart valve problems or irregular heart rhythms,” he explains.
“So, looking after your heart health is essential and should be planned as a new year resolution every year.
“Warning signs like chest tightness, aches in your arms or jaw, dizziness on standing, breathlessness with bending down should act as a wake-up call that your heart is calling out for help,” he added.
Dr Bakhai is now calling for people to become more heart-aware, particularly as almost three-quarters of those polled (72%) have never seen a medical professional about potential heart conditions.
He laments that though millions know that heart health is vitally important yet ignore warning signs and do heart-unfriendly things like eating junk food, smoking and the survey showed people are trying to make changes but there is a clear lack of knowledge.”
But there are some simple switch-ups people can make to help improve their heart health.
“Simple dietary changes and supporting dietary gaps with heart specific supplements, can all make a difference over time,” he adds.
