Your heart is an amazing muscle. Day after day, year after year, it works to keep blood and oxygen pumping through your body. While nature designed the heart to perform its job reliably for decades, it doesn't always work just as it should. Heart disease can make the heart perform poorly and create other health problems and risks. Different heart problems may manifest in different ways. Here are six kinds of heart conditions and their symptoms. If you're experiencing similar symptoms, it may be wise to consult cardiology specialists in Suffolk County, NY.
Cardiovascular Disease
When the disease is centered in your blood vessels it's called cardiovascular disease. Symptoms are often different in men and women. Men are more likely to feel chest pain, often described as a tightening or squeezing feeling in the chest. Women are more likely to complain of shortness of breath, nausea, and severe fatigue. There may also be numbness, pain, or coldness in your extremities or even you neck, jaw, abdomen, or back.
Arrhythmias
An abnormal heartbeat is called an arrhythmia. Your heartbeat might be too fast, too slow, or simply beat irregularly. Arrhythmias may cause shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, racing heart, fainting, or a fluttering feeling in your chest.
Heart Defects
Most serious congenital heart defects are discovered soon after you're born or in early childhood. Children might appear pale grey or blue, have swollen legs, arms, or abdomen, or have difficulty breathing, especially while feeding if they're an infant. This could lead to poor weight gain. Less serious congenital heart defects might not be discovered until later, even until adulthood. Side effects are generally milder and might include shortness of breath during activity, getting tired easily during exercise, and swelling in the feet, ankles, and hands.
Weak Heart
A weak heart doesn't always cause symptoms, but as the heart muscle deteriorates, symptoms will start to appear and can include shortness of breath during exercise and at rest, swelling in your extremities, fatigue, dizziness, and an irregular heartbeat.
Heart Infections
Endocarditis affects the membrane that separates the valves and chambers of the heart. This infection can cause fever, rashes or unusual skin spots, change in heart rhythm, dry cough that doesn't go away, weakness and fatigue, and swelling in legs, feet, and abdomen.
Valvular Heart Disease
As implied by the name, valvular heart disease is concentrated in the valves of the heart. There are four different valves which work together to direct blood through the heart. Valves may be too narrow, be leaking, or not be closing properly. Symptoms may vary depending on which valves are affected, but they often include weakness, fainting, chest pain, swollen feet or ankles, irregular heartbeat, and difficulty breathing.
If you're experiencing any of these symptoms regularly or they're severe, it's important to seek cardiology services at a medical center with physicians trained in advanced cardiology in Suffolk County, NY. To find the nearest medical center near you, visit http://www.pbmchealth.org.