Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally, accounting for almost 18 million fatalities every year. It refers to conditions that affect the heart and circulatory system including coronary heart disease, strokes and heart failure.
And within the UK it is just as deadly, contributing to around a quarter of all deaths. Therefore, being aware of any of the warning signs could be life saving.
While some of the signs might seem obvious, such as chest pain, there are others that are less so. One expert revealed six “unexpected or surprising” symptoms that could occur with heart failure.
Speaking to his more than 11 million subscribers, Doctor Eric Berg, shared the signs not to ignore via a YouTube video.
He said: “Since heart disease pretty much is the number one cause of death worldwide compared to any other death, I think it’s appropriate to understand this problem a little bit more, especially the unexpected or surprising signs or symptoms that can tell you you have a heart problem without even knowing about it.”
High blood pressure
In his video Dr Berg explained that there are two types of heart failure – compensated and decompensated.
With compensated heart failure the heart is already weak, however, it is still working well enough that it either doesn’t cause any obvious symptoms or these symptoms are easy to manage.
But it will cause you to experience high blood pressure.
Dr Berg said: “When you have a weak heart initially you’re not going to have the same output of blood flow or oxygen. So the body compensates to help you out to increase the amount of blood flow by increasing the pressure and the retention of sodium.
“So compensated heart failure has no symptoms except high blood pressure.”
Coughing
Dr Berg said coughing was one of several symptoms of heart failure people are “not used to hearing about”.
He continued: “That could be a version of congestive heart failure where the blood flow is backing up into not just your ankles but into organs and your lungs and creating this irritation or a cough.”
Signs of dementia
Forgetfulness might not just be a sign of ageing or dementia, it could be a telltale sign of a heart problem.
“You’re starting to forget things, why? Because you don’t have the blood flow to your brain as well as you used to,” Dr Berg said.
“There’s a problem with not getting enough oxygen and blood flow to the brain that can affect your memory over time if it becomes chronic.”
Low urine output
If you’re not able to urinate as much as you used to, this should sound alarm bells.
Dr Berg said: “The amount of urine that you’re putting out is definitely not what it should be and that is because your body is retaining sodium because your body’s trying to compensate for this lack of blood flow and oxygen so it’s just holding on to fluid.”
Difficulty breathing while lying flat
This is a common side effect of exercise or being winded but if you are struggling to breathe while doing nothing you should seek help.
“Difficulty breathing when you’re laying flat on the ground, okay,” Dr Berg said.
“So you get relief when you sit up or stand up. A lot of people don’t associate that, they think it’s always like if I exercise and I get winded no actually when you lay on your back.”
Awakening from sleep gasping for air
He added: “If you’re awakened out of a sleep one to two hours later trying to gasp or trying to catch your breath that’s another sign or a connection between the heart and your breathing.”