Examining and Defining Heart Disease; How Do You Know You Have It

Women, this is really important to you!

What are symptoms of heart disease?

The first thing to understand is that they can be much different for women than for men. The next important thing to understand is that there may be no symptoms; still you can have heart disease and even be experiencing a heart attack.

Stereotypical symptoms that both men and women experience are a squeezing feeling in the middle of the chest; they may experience dizziness; they may experience pain in other areas such as the jaw shoulders and arms. They may vomit and they may feel constant nausea. Further, there may be unusual fatigue that does not clear up no matter how much you rest. There may be pain in the back between the shoulders.

Symptoms unique to women include a feeling of doom, recurring chest discomfort and recurring indigestion.

What causes the symptoms? Typically, it is the build-up of cholesterol that blocks blood flow. This lack of blood flow causes a lack of oxygen which creates feelings such as dizziness. It also can affect the heart directly; it can impair its function so that there is heart death or spasm. That creates pain.

What are conditions that lead to the symptoms?

Certainly high blood pressure can create damage and symptoms. Sugar levels that are not under control can create heart problems.

These problems often become more of an issue as a person ages because as they age they are less active which causes them to gain weight. This increase in food and weight increases cholesterol.

Another thing that is a big offender is diet. Finally, family history plays a role. You may do nothing wrong and still develop problems simply because they are in your family.

Are there things you can do to avoid these problems with your heart? Yes, there are.

The first thing to do is to watch the food that you put in your mouth. Rather than eating potato chips every time you want a snack, try eating a salad. You want to stay away from fatty foods as well fried food. Baked foods, vegetables and fruits are good for your cholesterol.

Another key thing to do is to watch sodium because it will raise blood pressure.

Perhaps the best thing that you can do for your health is exercise. Exercise burns fat, sugar and reduces weight as well as increasing oxygen levels.

Finally, don’t smoke.

Never make presumptions that you are too young to have heart problems. They can come on at any time.

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