According to statistics from the World Health Organization, heart disease is the number one killer in the world. Every two seconds, one person dies of heart disease. Heart disease is a collective name for all heart-related diseases with many types having its own symptoms and treatments that vary according to the patient’s gender. For example, men tend to have chest pains, while women often suffer from symptoms such as shortness of breath, nausea, extreme fatigue, and chest discomfort.
The following are the symptoms of 6 common types of heart disease:
Atherosclerotic disease – heart disease symptoms caused by blocked blood vessels
Plaques are fat, cholesterol, calcium, and other substances found in the blood. Plaques that are formed in the arteries can cause atherosclerosis. This type of heart disease is usually associated with bad lifestyle habits, including uneven diet, lack of exercise, smoking and alcoholism. The symptoms include:
• Chest pain, chest tightness or chest discomfort (commonly known as angina)
• Shortness of breath, pain in the jaw, neck, back and upper abdomen
• Pain, numbness, coldness or weakness in the arms or legs
Arrhythmia – heart disease caused by abnormal heartbeat
When the electrical pulses that coordinate the heartbeat cannot function properly, it will cause arrhythmia, causing the heart to beat too slowly, too fast or irregularly. Symptoms of heart disease caused by abnormal heartbeat include:
• Accelerated or slow heartbeat
• Chest tremor, chest pain or chest discomfort
• Difficulty breathing or dizziness
• Dizziness or feeling faint
Dilated cardiomyopathy – heart disease symptoms caused by weak heart muscles
Cardiomyopathy is caused by a weakened heart muscle usually at an early stage, where in most cases, patients may have no symptoms. As the disease progresses, the body will start to show the following symptoms:
• Fatigue, dizziness, and fainting
• Shortness of breath when tired or at rest
• Swelling of legs and ankles
• Chest fibrillation or rapid heartbeat
Endocarditis – symptoms of heart disease caused by bacteria, fungi or pathogenic bacteria
The endocardium is the membrane that lines the inside of the ventricle. When bacteria, fungi or other germs invade the blood and enter the damaged area of the heart, it can cause infection which leads to endocarditis. The symptoms include:
• Fever, fatigue or weakness
• Asthma, dry cough or persistent cough
• Irregular heartbeat
• Swelling of legs and ankles
• Rash-like spots on the body
Birth defects – symptoms of heart disease caused by the heart defects
For pregnant mothers, an echocardiogram can be used to check whether the foetus has serious congenital heart defects. If the foetus has a congenital heart defect, it will usually be discovered after birth, and before a heart attack, the following symptoms will appear:
• Pale or blue complexion (cyanosis)
• The tip of the nose, lip colour and fingers (toes) are purple
• Swelling of the abdomen, legs or area around the eyes
• Difficulty or shortness of breath
• Insufficient weight gain during feeding
Valvular heart disease – heart disease symptoms caused by damaged or defective valves
Valvular heart disease is caused when one or more of the four heart valves is damaged or defective. The function of the four valves is to ensure that the blood flow does not leak in one direction. If you have valvular heart disease, a narrow valve will push blood to the adjacent ventricle, but a damaged or defective valve will cause blood to leak back into the chamber from where it left. The symptoms include:
• Prone to fatigue, dizziness and fainting
• Difficulty breathing
• Chest pain and chest discomfort
• Irregular heartbeat
• Swelling of the legs and ankles