How Do You Know If You Have Heart Disease?
Just because you have heart disease does not mean that you will experience
heart disease symptoms.
Plaque can be building up in your arteries with no symptoms. In fact, it usually takes many years of plaque buildup before
symptoms of heart disease appear. Symptoms generally appear when the coronary arteries have been sufficiently clogged to cause a reduction in blood flow to the heart. At this point, a person will experience heart disease symptoms from clogged arteries.
The most common heart disease symptoms are:
- Chest pain or discomfort (angina)
- Pain in one or both arms, the left shoulder, neck, jaw, or back
- Shortness of breath
- Dizziness
- Faster heartbeats
- Nausea (feeling sick to your stomach)
- Abnormal heartbeats
- Feeling very tired.
There is no one single
test for heart disease. In order to make a
heart disease diagnosis, your doctor will ask about your medical and family history, your risk factors, and do a physical exam and several tests. These procedures are used to determine if you have heart disease, the extent and severity of the disease, and to rule out other possible causes of your symptoms.
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