Heart diseases

Heart diseases have been so common in this world that it is compulsory to know the general symptoms of these diseases. However there are not specific signs and symptoms that may surely indicate heart diseases. But one must exclude diagnose of heart disease because it is one of the leading cause of death all over the world. What are these general symptoms and signs?
Usually these symptoms due to imbalance between oxygen supply to heart and demand of oxygen by heart.

These common symptoms are following.

Chest pain or discomfort: one with heart disease may feel like pressing, squeezing or weight like in chest. This chest pain or discomfort may radiate in neck, lower jaw or either shoulder or arm most commonly the left shoulder and left arm. This pain usually lasts only minutes. In some heart disease chest pain is usually accompanied by sense of fear.

Dyspnea: it is described as uncomfortable, distressful or labored breathing. It usually happens when heart is not able to supply oxygen carrying blood to body. Dyspnea can be progressive or acute in some cases that can be worsen by stress, exercise or heavy physical activity and when the disease is severe it may be present at rest also. Sometime changing the body position can diminish or abolish the dyspnea for example bending forward or lying on a side and sometime it may be diminished just by resting. Sometime dyspnea causes one to awake during the night and is relieved by sitting, called as nocturnal dyspnea.
Weakness: it usually occurs because of inadequate functioning of heart to pump the blood for whole body. Initially weakness can be due to physical exertion and when the disease progresses weakness is present even at rest also. Weakness is usually accompanied with dyspnea.
Palpitation: it is defined as awareness of rhythmic or arrhythmic heart beat. It is accompanied by dyspnea, weakness and feeling of light headedness.

Syncope: it is described as a sudden brief loss of consciousness that usually happens due to inadequate blood supply to brain secondary to heart disease that causes dysfunction of heart to pump properly and when one change body position suddenly standing after prolonged bed rest causing in brief fall in blood pressure. It may happen in healthy individual standing for long periods without moving. Syncope is common in the elderly. It is accompanied with faintness, dizziness or light headedness.