Care for Your Heart: How to Detect Heart Disease & High Blood Pressure
Recognizing the signs of serious cardiac conditions like heart disease and hypertension can be a literal lifesaver, but don’t wait until it’s too late — take the necessary precautions now to improve your heart health. Even if you don’t have any symptoms, regular health screening with your primary care provider and healthy day-to-day habits can potentially save your life.
Heart-Healthy Habits
Healthier lifestyle choices can have a tremendous impact on heart health and reduce the risk of a cardiac event in the future. One simple change is eating a healthier diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, skinless poultry and fish, nuts and legumes, and non-tropical vegetable oils. On the flip side, limit saturated and trans fats, alcohol, sodium, fatty and processed meats, and items with added sugar.
Exercise is another great way to improve heart health. The American Heart Association recommends at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic activity, or a combination of both spread throughout the week. Activities may include walking, biking, rowing, swimming, playing team sports, or taking fitness classes. Whatever you do, start slowly and gradually increase the amount and intensity.
Changing your daily habits may also help improve your cardiovascular health. While stress can harm the heart, finding ways to eliminate or reduce it can improve outcomes for both your heart and your mental health. Try the following to help reduce stress in your daily life:
- Meditation
- Yoga
- Regular physical activity
- Your favorite hobbies
- Sleep at least seven hours per night
- Limit alcohol intake, avoid overeating, and quit smoking
As you incorporate healthier habits into your daily life, monitor your blood pressure regularly to see whether you need to take further action. Blood pressure screenings are a routine component of most healthcare visits, so schedule annual physicals or check-ups with your primary care provider. Your care team may recommend ways to lower blood pressure — including lifestyle changes and medication — and may also suggest home blood pressure screening.
Recognize the Warning Signs
While heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, it can be detected early on. Some of the most recognizable symptoms of heart problems include:
- Chest pain is a common sign of poor blood flow to the heart — a condition known as angina. While intensity of pain doesn’t always correlate with the severity of cardiac problems, pain can vary from patient to patient; some report a crushing pain, while others report a mild discomfort ranging from the sensation of the chest being squeezed to a burning feeling. This pain may also be felt in the sternum (breastbone), neck, arms, stomach, jaw, or upper back. Chest pain resulting from angina usually occurs with physical activity or emotion, gradually fading with rest.
- Shortness of breath is another common symptom. This is caused by fluid buildup in the lungs due to the heart’s inability to pump blood as well as it should, subsequently causing blood to back up in the veins.
- Coughing and wheezing may also be a sign of fluid buildup in the lungs caused by poor blood flow and heart function.
- Swelling in the legs, ankles, and feet may be caused by poor flow resulting in blood building up in the leg veins and fluid buildup in the tissues.
- Poor blood supply to extremities is caused by narrowing blood vessels that occur as substances like cholesterol and plaque accumulate in the arteries. This can lead to pain, achiness, fatigue, burning, or discomfort in the muscles of the feet, calves, or thighs. Symptoms may appear during walking or exercise and fade after resting. Patients may also experience numbness in the legs or feet when at rest, as well as legs that are cool to the touch and pale skin.
- Fatigue may be a sign of heart disease when patients feel more tired than usual, feel so tired they can’t participate in their day-to-day activities, or have sudden, severe weakness. Fatigue is also a sign of heart attacks in women, many of whom feel very tired before or during a heart attack.
- Fast or uneven heartbeats are caused when the heart is struggling, forcing it to overcompensate by working harder. This can feel like the heart is racing or throbbing and may also be a symptom of arrhythmia.
Numerous medical conditions can increase the risk of developing heart disease, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and obesity, as well as genetics and family history. Similarly, some lifestyle choices can lead to heart disease too, including diet, lack of physical activity, alcohol consumption, and tobacco use.
Though many often recognize chest pain as an indicator of a cardiac event, it may sometimes be a symptom of a less serious condition such as heartburn or indigestion. However, if you’re experiencing severe or unusual chest pain, always err on the side of caution and call 911. Patients should also seek emergency care if they have other symptoms of a heart attack — such as upper body discomfort, shortness of breath, cold sweat, nausea, and lightheadedness — or chest pain that doesn’t fade after 5 minutes of rest or after taking nitroglycerin as prescribed. If you become short of breath, think you may have lost consciousness, or suspect you may be having a heart attack, call 911 immediately.
The Silent Killer
One contributing cause of heart disease that should be frequently checked is hypertension (high blood pressure). Hypertension puts excess strain on blood vessels, causing small tears to develop. This can lead to a condition called atherosclerosis, which occurs when cells accumulate to repair the tears, along with other substances like cholesterol, narrowing blood flow and increasing blood pressure even more. Left untreated, hypertension can lead to heart attack and stroke, in addition to other health complications.
Often referred to as “the silent killer” because it appears with no symptoms, hypertension can only be detected by measuring blood pressure regularly. This chart from the American Heart Association provides a guide to blood pressure categories and measurements, so you can recognize a problem when you measure it yourself.
| Systolic mm Hg (upper number) |
and/or | Diastolic mm Hg (lower number) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | Less than 120 | and | Less than 80 | ||
| Elevated | 120 - 129 | and | Less than 80 | ||
| Stage 1 hypertension | 130 - 139 | or | 80 -89 | ||
| Stage 2 hypertension | 140 or higher | or | 90 or higher | ||
| Severe hypertension | 180 or higher | and/or | 120 or higher | ||
| Hypertensive emergency (Call 911 if you have symptoms*.) | 180 or higher | and/or | 120 or higher |
*Symptoms include chest pain, shortness of breath, back pain, numbness, weakness, change in vision, and trouble speaking.
Conversely, low blood pressure or hypotension occurs when blood pressure measures less than 90/60. Hypotension is generally less harmful, but it can be serious if it causes symptoms like blurred vision, confusion, dizziness, fainting, fatigue, headaches, heart palpitations, nausea, or neck or back pain.
Hypertension is cause for concern, but you can manage it with some lifestyle choices. Ways to lower your blood pressure include:
- Eating a well-balanced diet
- Limiting or avoiding alcohol
- Exercising regularly or enjoying any physical activity
- Managing stress
- Losing weight
- Quitting smoking
- Taking medications as prescribed by your provider
Monitor and improve your heart health with the help of the primary care team at Carlinville Area Hospital & Clinics. Additionally, the cardiology specialists at the Outpatient Specialty Clinic are here to help. Learn more about cardiology at Carlinville Area Hospital & Clinics or call 217.854.3141 for more information.