Heart disease kills hundreds of thousands of people in the UK and US every year.
But you can ignore some of the key signs of poor heart health.
Dizziness when you stand up quickly and swollen legs are just some of the symptoms you should never let go unnoticed, say experts.
Dr Ameet Bakhai, a cardiologist at Spire Bushey Hospital in London, said people often ignore the signs “until it’s too late”.
And he revealed that a healthy adult should be able to walk up two floors without standing up quickly, hold their breath for 20 seconds and squat on the toilet without feeling dizzy – assuming they don’t have any other medical conditions. conditions have not.
Dr Ameet Bakhai, a cardiologist at Spire Bushey Hospital in London, said people often ignore the signs “until it’s too late”.
But Dr Bakhai said many people think symptoms such as dizziness and leg swelling are caused by something else, so early signs of a beating heart are missed.
He said things like a heaviness in the arm with exertion, shortness of breath when climbing stairs, and regular, extra or absent heartbeats could be “your heart calling for help.”
For example, some symptoms such as Difficulty bending over and standing up may indicate that your heart is “not adjusting to your posture or maintaining a fluid reserve in the body.”
The consultant claims other symptoms that you should never ignore, such as sweating with slight exercise, nausea with chest pain and fatigue when you wake up.
But of the 2,000 adults surveyed, more than half (54 percent) said they did not believe these symptoms were heart-related, although 50 percent said they had experienced them.
The 10 Heart Health Symptoms You Shouldn’t Ignore
- Dizziness when standing up quickly
- short of breath
- Difficult to bend over
- palpitations
- tightness in the chest
- Arm pain – neck or upper arms (often left)
- difficulty standing up
- Breast discomfort (other than breast tightness)
- Swollen legs
- Frequent extra or skipped heartbeats
Dr Bakhai, who advised Healthspan on the Love Your Heart line of nutritional supplements, said: “Heart problems can often get progressively worse until one day you have a more complicated problem – which could have been avoided if we had heeded the warning signs.”
He added that caring for your heart is “essential” and should be a priority.
Despite the lack of awareness of symptoms, 68 percent of those surveyed consider heart health to be “very important,” and even 80 percent of those over 65.
Rob Hobson, a sports nutritionist at Healthspan, said it showed a discrepancy between what people say and do about their health.
“Millions of people know heart health is essential but ignore warning signs and do heart-friendly things like eating junk food, smoking and the survey showed people are trying to make changes but there is a clear lack of knowledge,” he added.
The poll also found that 26 percent of people did not classify the symptoms as “severe”, while 17 percent thought they were too young to have heart problems.
Dr Bakhai said: “Which is unfortunately a misunderstanding, as heart disease can affect people of all ages, especially in the era of Covid and beyond, as the virus can attack the heart and the lining of the heart, very commonly as myopericarditis ( inflamed heart and heart).covering—the pericardium).’
A 2021 NHS survey found more than half of those admitted to hospital with Covid suffered heart damage.
The heart injuries found included inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis), scarring or death of heart tissue (infarction), restricted blood flow to the heart (ischemia) and combinations of all three, the London-based researchers said.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.