5 Symptoms of Heart Problems Commonly Ignored - Part 2

In our previous article, we've discussed part 1 of the commonly ignored symptoms of heart problems. Here's the continuation.

3. Dizziness, faintness, or shortness of breath

A study show less than 50 percent of women have experienced shortness of breath in the days before a heart attack. You might feel like you can't can’t catch your breathe while walking upstairs, feeling dizzy or seem to faint when doing activities that used to cause you no trouble. If that’s the case, you better be on the alert. The problem is there’s not enough blood getting through the arteries to carry sufficient oxygen to the heart. The heart muscle pain of angina may also make it hurt to draw a deep breath. Coronary artery disease (CAD), in which plaque builds up and blocks the arteries that feed the heart, prevents the heart from getting enough oxygen. The sudden sensation of not being able to take a deep breath is often the first sign of angina, a type of heart muscle pain.

To distinguish lung disease to heart problem, the former comes on gradually as lung tissue is damaged by smoking or environmental factors while on heart or cardiovascular disease, the shortness of breath may come on much more suddenly with exertion and will go away when you rest.

4. Indigestion, nausea, or heartburn

While most of us expect a pain in the chest on heart problems, it may actually occur in the abdomen instead. Some people, particularly women, experience the pain as heartburn or a sensation of over-fullness and choking. A bout of severe indigestion and nausea can be an early sign of heart attack, or myocardial infarction. As one study shows, women were more than twice as likely as men to experience vomiting, nausea, and indigestion for several months leading up to a heart attack. It is because of blockages of fatty deposits in an artery that reduces or cut off the blood supply to the heart. It cause feelings of tightness, squeezing, or pain -- most typically in the chest but sometimes in the abdomen instead. Depending on which part of your heart is affected, it sends pain signals lower into the body. Nausea and light-headedness can also be signs that a heart attack is in progress, so call your doctor right away if the feeling persists.

Like all types of angina, the abdominal pain associated with a heart problem is likely to worsen with exertion and get better with rest. Also, you're likely to experience repeated episodes, rather than one prolonged episode as you would with normal indigestion or food poisoning.

5. Jaw and ear pain

Ongoing jaw pain are annoying signs that can be attributable to several causes but can sometimes be a clue to coronary artery disease (CAD) and impending heart attack. The pain may travel along the jaw all the way to the ear. This is a symptom doctors have only recently paid attention to because of post-heart attach reports from patients says this is one of the only symptoms they noticed in the days and weeks leading up to the attack. The reason behind this is the damaged heart tissue that sends pain signals up and down the spinal cord to junctures with nerves that radiate from the cervical vertebrae out along the jaw and up to the ear.

Unlike the jaw pain caused by temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ), tooth pain, or ear infection, the pain doesn't feel like it's in one isolated spot but rather like it's diverging outward in a line. The pain may extend down to the shoulder and arm, particularly on the left side. Applying ice, heat or doing massage don't seem to help alleviate the pain.