Having either high LDL cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol) or low HDL cholesterol (“good” cholesterol)—or both—is one of the best predictors of your risk of heart disease. A blood lipid profile measures both your cholesterol numbers and your triglycerides, another type of fat in the blood that is a risk factor.
You can check for heart disease at home by measuring your pulse rate and your blood pressure if you have a blood pressure monitor. You can also monitor yourself for symptoms of heart disease, such as: Chest pain, pressure, discomfort, or tightness. Being short of breath.
Some of the early warning signs of a heart attack include: Chest pain or discomfort that lasts longer than a few minutes or goes away and then comes back. This pain may be severe and feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing or fullness that is not relieved by changing positions or resting.
For some people, symptoms can occur months or even longer before a heart attack occurs, Dr. Xu says. For others, they might not experience anything before a heart attack happens.
You may not even know you've had a silent heart attack until weeks or months after it happens. It's best to know what's normal for your body and get help when something doesn't feel right.
Small vessel disease signs and symptoms include: Chest pain, squeezing or discomfort (angina), which may get worse with activity or emotional stress. Discomfort in the left arm, jaw, neck, back or abdomen along with chest pain. Shortness of breath.
Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center or left side of the chest that lasts for more than a few minutes or that goes away and comes back. The discomfort can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain. Feeling weak, light-headed, or faint.
Imaging tests: A chest X-ray can show heart problems like blood vessel damage, fluid around your heart, and changes to its size. A computerized tomography (CT) scan of the heart takes X-ray images at different angles around the heart.
Fullness, indigestion, or choking feeling (may feel like heartburn) Sweating, nausea, vomiting, or dizziness. Extreme weakness, anxiety, or shortness of breath. Rapid or irregular heartbeats.
An echocardiogram is a common test. It gives a picture of your heart using ultrasound, a type of X-ray. It uses a probe either on your chest or down your oesophagus (throat). It helps your doctor check if there are any problems with your heart's valves and chambers, and see how strongly your heart pumps blood.
Dizziness or weakness. Heart palpitations, or sensations of your heart racing or fluttering. Nausea or sweating. Shortness of breath.
Heart disease—and the conditions that lead to it—can happen at any age. High rates of obesity and high blood pressure among younger people (ages 35–64) are putting them at risk for heart disease earlier in life.
In some people, there may be little change to your blood pressure at all. In other cases, there may be an increase in blood pressure. Any blood pressure changes that may occur during a heart attack are unpredictable, so doctors generally don't use them as a sign of a heart attack.
Increase in blood pressure
Blood pressure might rise during a heart attack because hormones, such as adrenaline, are released. These hormones are released when the “fight or flight” response is triggered at times of intense stress or danger. This automatic response might make the heart beat faster and stronger.
Wires from the electrodes are connected to the ECG machine, which records the electrical impulses. An ECG is important because: it helps confirm the diagnosis of a heart attack.
One lung problem, pulmonary embolism, can mimic a heart attack and is equally serious. A pulmonary embolism is a blood clot in an artery in the lungs. This clot cuts off blood flow, and the lung tissue begins to die. A pulmonary embolism is a life-threatening medical emergency that requires immediate treatment.
Heart-related chest pain
Crushing or searing pain that spreads to your back, neck, jaw, shoulders, and one or both arms. Pain that lasts more than a few minutes, gets worse with activity, goes away and comes back, or varies in intensity. Shortness of breath. Cold sweats.