Each day, our hearts beat 100,000 times to pump eight pints of blood (give or take) around our body, delivering oxygen and nutrients so our organs and muscles can work properly.
It’san impressive feat but, despite its obvious indispensable role in our health, we’re neglecting our hearts. Some 7.6 million people in the UK are living with heart or circulatory disease (and 180,000 in NZ, according to the Heart Foundation) and, worryingly, its symptoms can be hard to spot.
Professor Tony Heagerty, head of the School of Medical Sciences at the University of Manchester, has shared the symptoms to be aware of to help you separate the innocuous from something far more serious.
When you grip on to something, whether it’s a door handle, tennis racket or lawnmower, a healthy heart will send extra blood and oxygen to the muscles required for gripping.
However, if you have heart disease or heart failure, the blood supply to the heart muscle is inefficient and the organ can’t increase its activity to supply those muscles, Heagerty says.
“Therefore your muscles are weakened and your grip strength is reduced,” he says.
A person may notice their grip strength has weakened if they struggle to hold on to things as normal, he says, such as shopping bags or cartons of milk.
If poor grip strength is the only symptom that you’re worried about, you probably don’t need to turn to your doctor, Heagerty says. However, if you’re also suffering from other worrying symptoms – such as breathlessness and chest pain – then you should visit your GP.
Struggling to hold on to items may indicate heart disease due to reduced blood supply to the muscles. Photo / 123RF
2. You have indigestion-like pain
A painful burning sensation in the chest may just be a sign of indigestion. However, it may also be a sign of a heart problem, Heagerty warns.
“Sometimes people get chest pain and they think that it’s indigestion when it’s actually coming from the heart,” Heagerty says. It can be difficult to distinguish between the two because the nerves that supply the stomach and the heart are similar.
One way of telling them apart is that a chest pain caused by a heart problem usually occurs during exercise and disappears at rest, while indigestion typically only occurs after meals.
If you’re suffering indigestion-like pain after exercising, it’s worth going to the doctor, Heagerty says.
Chest pain during exercise that eases at rest could be a sign of a heart problem rather than indigestion. Photo / 123rf
3. You have a choking-like sensation
Angina is a type of chest pain caused by the narrowing of the arteries, which reduces blood flow to the heart, Heagerty says. It is a symptom of heart disease that can also trigger a choking sensation or a feeling of tightness or pain in the throat.
This symptom is caused by the heart being unable to pump out enough blood to the muscles, which causes a build-up of lactic acid in the organ. “This is often felt as a choking sensation in the throat,” he explains.
“Some people develop angina symptoms relatively quickly and the amount [of physical activity] they can do before the symptoms come on deteriorates very rapidly,” he says. “That is a sign of a critical narrowing of a coronary artery and could herald a heart attack.”
Angina, caused by narrowed arteries, can result in a choking feeling or throat tightness. Photo / 123RF
4. Your ankles are swollen
Swollen ankles are normally seen in patients with heart failure, Heagerty says.
“In this condition, the heart muscle is unable to effectively pump blood into the circulation and supply all the vital tissues in the body,” he notes.
“If you stand up for any length of time, fluid will ooze out of your blood vessels and pool around the ankles. That represents inefficient circulation and is symptomatic of heart failure.”
However, swollen ankles can also be caused by medication, being overweight and varicose veins. If you’re concerned about swollen ankles, mention it to your GP, who will be able to either reassure you that nothing is wrong with your heart or refer you to a specialist if they are concerned.
Heart failure can lead to fluid pooling in the ankles due to inefficient circulation. Photo / 123RF
5. You’re suffering from aching calves
Wearing in the arteries that supply blood to the legs causes lactic acid to build up in the muscles and results in aching. It’s a sign of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and is often seen in patients who smoke, have high blood pressure or high levels of cholesterol, says Heagerty.
The pain is usually in the calf, behind the knee, or sometimes in the buttock. “It’s associated with exercise and relieved by rest,” he says.
“Some patients can walk half a mile and then it comes on, while others get it very quickly and it accelerates [to the point] they can’t do anything.”
If the ache persists, even at rest, that’s a critical problem that requires urgent investigation by a GP and a referral to a vascular surgeon, Heagerty says.
Pain in the calves which comes on during exercise and is relieved by rest may be a symptom of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Photo / 123RF
6. You’ve noticed aches or pains in your shoulders, arms or jaw
Pain in the heart can be referred through the nerves that supply the shoulder, arms and jaw, which means that heart problems can present as less worrying aches, Heagerty says.
These pains can be caused by the heart being unable to pump blood effectively during physical activity, he says. “There is a build-up of lactic acid, which stimulates nerve fibres, causing discomfort in the chest, shoulders and typically the left arm.”
If you’re suffering from these types of pain, it’s recommended you go to your GP for further investigation. “However, if the pain comes on at rest, it’s an emergency and patients should take an aspirin and present at the A&E department of their local hospital.”
Heart problems can manifest as aches in these areas due to referred pain from nerve signals. Photo / 123RF
How to protect your heart health
When it comes to avoiding developing heart problems in the first place, it’s a case of living a healthy lifestyle.
“Stay fit and active,” Heagarty says. Regular exercise strengthens the heart, meaning it can pump more blood around the body with less effort. Exercise also helps to lower cholesterol and maintain healthy blood pressure.
You should follow a balanced diet, including plenty of fruit, vegetables and whole grains. Limiting sugar, salt and saturated fat is key for reducing the risk of type-two diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol – all of which increase the risk of heart disease.
It’s also vital not to smoke, or if you do, to quit, Heagerty says. Smoking is a major risk factor for developing atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries), which makes it difficult for blood to flow through the them, increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
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