11 possible heart symptoms you should never ignore

Heart problems don’t often come with warning signs. You may not even know what’s wrong with your heart and your obliviousness will only keep adding to your forthcoming despair. Bollywood movies may show that a heart problem is always about a clutch you feel at your chest, holding which you collapse on the floor. But in reality, truth is that a lot of symptoms of a heart problem don’t even occur in your chest.

Heart symptoms you should never ignore

1. Discomfort in the chest

This is the most common symptom of a heart problem. A feeling of tightness, pain, burning, or pinching sensation in the chest can be alarming. It can happen anytime while doing a physical activity or being at rest. Some heart attacks don’t involve chest pain, this is especially in the case of women. So, in case you have any kind of chest discomfort, please get it checked by a doctor immediately.

2. Heartburn, nausea, indigestion, or stomach ache

These symptoms during a heart attack are quite common, especially in women. Of course you can have a stomach ache for a completely different reason, but you should not completely overlook the fact that it can also be indicative of a heart attack, especially if you have a history of heart problems. You can also feel like vomiting during this.

3. Pain that slowly spreads to the arm

This is another prominent heart attack symptom. In this case, the pain slowly descends from the left side of the chest towards the left arm. In some cases, the pain in fact predominantly shoots from the left arm when a person is having a heart attack.

4. Jaw or throat pain

In a general context, a throat or jaw ache has more to do with a sinus issue or cold rather than the heart. However, if it’s a pain that builds from the chest and comes up to spread to the throat or jaw, it’s more likely that it’s a heart attack.

5. Dizziness or feeling lightheaded

Normally, feeling dizzy or lightheaded can be attributed to the possibility of you being an empty stomach or having eaten very little, making you faint. However, if that’s teamed up with shortness of breath or chest discomfort, you ought to head to the doctor right away. It’s on the line that your blood pressure is dropping low since your heart is unable to pump the required blood as it should.

6. Fatigue

If you feel fully exhausted and weak doing activities that you had no problems doing in the recent past, you should be alarmed. Shortness of breath while climbing the stairs or carrying groceries from the store to the car is something that’s indicative of a heart problem. In case you have been feeling too tired and weak sometimes for days at once, get yourself checked by a doctor right away.

7. Snoring

Snoring a little when you sleep is absolutely normal. However, loud snoring, which seems like one is gasping or choking, indicates sleep apnea. This is a condition wherein you stop breathing for brief periods while you’re still asleep. This results in extra pressure on your heart. In this case, your doctor will conduct a sleep study on you and then work towards smoothing your breathing patterns.

8. Sweating

Breaking into cold sweats when there’s no apparent reason for it is indicative of a heart attack. If this is paired with any other symptom mentioned above, visit a doctor immediately.

9. Swollen legs, feet, and ankles

When your heart can’t pump adequate blood, it will result in blood backing up in veins, resulting in bloating. A poorly functioning heart also messes up kidney functions due to which the kidneys may fail to flush out the extra water and sodium from the body, resulting in bloating.

10. A cough that wouldn’t go

Normally, cough is not related to heart failure. However, in case you know you’re at a risk or have a history of heart problems, you should pay grave attention to this system. In most cases, when the heart can’t meet the demands of the body, it causes the blood to leak back into the lungs. This results in a long-lasting cough that produces white or pink mucus.

11. Irregular heartbeat

In situations when you’ve had a fast run, are excited or nervous, or simply high on caffeine, your heart may beat extra fast. However, in some cases, it may be indicative of a condition called atrial fibrillation. So, it’s better to check with your doctor if you spot irregular heartbeats!