There are many different types of coronary artery disease.  As such, there are many different symptoms.  Some symptoms are common to more than one type of coronary artery disease. Some symptoms are more severe compared to others.  Call your doctor if you begin having any of the symptoms mentioned below.

The most common symptom is angina or chest pain.  Angina has been described many different ways –

• simple discomfort
  
• heaviness in your chest
  
• pressure, aching, burning in your shoulders, chest, neck, jaw and even your back. 

These are the primary symptoms.  Sometimes it might even mimic heartburn or indigestion.  It has been reported that the pains are different for women – that’s why any kind of chest pain in a woman is treated as if it might be a pending heart attack.

You might notice these symptoms when you are in bed, watching television or exercising.  If you are active, you may be forewarned by –

• shortness of breath
  
• irregular heart beats
  
• dizziness
  
• fast pulse
  
• nausea
  
• and, even excessive sweating in which you haven’t done an equivalent amount of exercise to justify that level of sweating.
  

A heart attack is called a myocardial infarction (MI).  Typical symptoms are –

• pain in or around your back, jaw, throat and or arm along with overall discomfort or pressure
  
• sweating
  
• nausea
  
• vomiting
  
• dizziness
  
• shortness of breath
  
• an irregular heart beat
  
• anxiety
  
• overall weakness

These symptoms may last up to an hour or more, and start out mild and get more noticeable.  The usual treatments that most people take (aspirin, meditation, deep breathing, antacids, etc) don’t work to relieve the pain.

Don’t wait!  Call 911!  

 Immediate treatment can save you life.  Half of the people who die from a heart attack never have a symptom prior to dying – they just keel over and that’s it.  This occurs more often with diabetics.

An abnormal heart rhythm is called an arrhythmia.  You can feel your heart beat skip – sometimes fluttering and sometimes it feels like it is running as fast as it can.  It gets your attention quickly.  You may also have –

• light to severe pounding in your chest
  
• along with dizziness
  
• shortness of breath
  
• overall sluggishness or fatigue
  

Some people have been known to faint.  Like a heart attack, you need to get medical attention.  Many of the symptoms are similar and you need someone with the experience and right equipment to determine an arrhythmia from a heart attack.

I was running one afternoon in New Orleans many years ago, and I noticed that my pulse was skipping a beat.  I always check my pulse after running, and particularly after a strenuous run (sometimes even in the middle of a run).  My pulse rate was in the upper 170’s. I counted, one, two, three, miss – one, two, three, miss – several times in a row.  I didn’t feel it without sensing it through my fingers on my wrist (I’ve never been able to take my pulse rate using my carotid artery).  I normally run (even today) with my pulse rate in the 150’s.  After running, I expect my pulse rate to return to below 120 in less than a minute (and most of the time I’m never disappointed).  However, that day, I had an intense workout, and I noticed the ‘missing’ heart beat.  I felt great and didn’t really do anything different after running (drank my beer and had a good time with my fellow runners). 

I did not tell anyone about it (I should have told my wife).  My flight physical was eminent and I mentioned this event to my flight surgeon.  He said that sometimes, under high stress, your heart will skip a beat – the electrical connections are inundated and can’t process everything as quickly as they occur.  My pulse had gone back to normal range for post-running evaluation – somewhere in the 140-150 range – within a couple of minutes – and then lowered, as expected, to below 120 beats a minute within a minute, and I was happy.  The moral of my anecdote is that you don’t always feel your heart miss a beat.

A specific type of arrhythmia is called atrial fibrillation (AF).  The typical symptoms are similar to those mentioned above, and may be none at times.  Sometimes the symptoms start, last a short time and then go away.  Don’t neglect your health.  You are responsible – not your spouse, parent, or doctor.

Over time, you might develop heart valve disease.  The symptoms are similar, but allow me to identify those usually found with heart valve disease.  

Shortness of breath or difficulty catching your breath – especially when you are active – going up stairs, or running for the phone.  

You can also have this shortness of breath when you are lying in bed.  Fatigue and dizziness are common.  Pressure on your chest – like an elephant sitting on it, may also be present.  This is more noticeable when going from a warm place to a colder one.  

The symptoms identified already with arrhythmia can also be present.  As the heart valve disease progresses, you may see –

• swelling in your feet, ankles or abdomen – you look and feel bloated
  
• quick weight gain of a few pounds within a couple of days

The main problem with heart valve disease is that the level of symptoms don’t always equate to the level of the disease.  You might have very slight discomfort and be at high risk or a heart attack and vice versa.  Mitral valve prolapse is usually accompanied with severe symptoms, yet the heart valve disease might be minor.

As I stated earlier, 50% of people with pending heart attacks don’t have symptoms and they die – their death is the first symptom.  Heart failure, like many other health problems, starts out at a level that you can’t feel – and, in many cases, you can’t even test for it.  Over time the disease may – or may not – present symptoms.  Heart muscle disease is called cardiomyopathy.  You can have cardiomyopathy and never know it.  A good majority of the time you feel nothing different.  Sometimes you might have a minor bout of something, and it goes away. You think that whatever you had is gone, and there is nothing to worry about.

You can have cardiomyopathy at any time in your life – you don’t have to wait until you are past age 65.  Typical symptoms have been already covered above (you can begin to see why it is so difficult to determine what kind of heart problem you might have from a particular symptom).  You might also have -

• chest pain or pressure when exercising or eating
  
• swelling of your legs and joints 

Sudden death might occur when you start combining coronary heart diseases.  You can have an arrhythmia, cardiomyopathy and heart valve disease at the same time.  It is critical for get a baseline health examination so that your previous health can be compared to your current health.

Pericarditis is a little different from angina.  The symptoms associated with this disease are sharp pains in your chest, usually located in the center.  This pain may even radiate to your neck, your arms and even your back.  You might feel worse if you try to take a deep breath, cough or swallow.  Lying down seems to make the symptoms worse.  Many times pericarditis is accompanied with a low-grade fever and an elevated pulse rate.  The typical symptoms associated with heart disease are -

• chest pain
  
• extremities (fingers and toes) feel cold
  
• extremities going numb
  
• night cramps in your extremities
  
• a diagonal crease in your earlobe
  
• tingling in your lips and fingers
  
• easily out of breath from normal activities
  
• aches and pains in your legs from short walk
  
• frequent memory loss
  
• a whitish ring under the cornea of your eye
  
• loss of sexual potency
  
• ankles that swell late in the day 

High blood pressure cannot be felt, but you might experience increased headaches, or pain in your eyes.  These symptoms might indicate high blood pressure.

If you don’t have a blood pressure monitor, please get one and check your blood pressure routinely (there are too many inexpensive digital blood pressure meters available not to have one).  Get an annual physical.  Get a baseline of your heart status so that you have something as a reference as you age.

Your Prosperity Professor, Red O’Laughlin

Copyright 2010 MRO Global, LLC

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