Heart Disease: Symptoms, Causes and Treatment
Heart disease covers conditions that affect the heart's arteries, muscle, valves or rhythm. Coronary artery disease — narrowing of the arteries that supply the heart — is the most common form.
- Cardiology
- 5 urgent warning signs
At a glance
- Department
- Cardiology
- Hospital
- Goga Ji Hospital
- Location
- Jawahar Colony, Near Disposal Chowk, Faridabad
- Appointments
- +91-9266088551
This page explains the condition in plain language: what it is, what causes it, what to watch for, and when a symptom needs urgent attention rather than an appointment.
What is heart disease?
"Heart disease" covers several different problems. The most common by far is coronary artery disease, where the arteries supplying the heart muscle gradually narrow with fatty deposits. Others include heart failure, where the heart pumps less effectively, valve disease, and rhythm disorders.
What they share is that they develop over years, usually silently, and that a great deal of the damage is preventable. Blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and smoking do most of the work — and all four can be changed.
Symptoms
Heart disease can be present for years without symptoms. When symptoms do appear, these are the common ones.
- Chest pain, pressure or tightness, often brought on by exertion and relieved by rest
- Breathlessness on activity, or when lying flat
- Palpitations — a racing, thumping or irregular heartbeat
- Unusual fatigue on ordinary activity
- Swelling of the ankles, legs or abdomen
- Dizziness or fainting
- Pain spreading to the arm, jaw, neck or back
Causes and risk factors
Most risk factors are modifiable. That is the single most useful fact about heart disease.
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Diabetes, which raises cardiac risk substantially
- Smoking and tobacco in any form
- Being overweight, and carrying weight around the abdomen
- Physical inactivity
- A family history of early heart disease, and increasing age
- Chronic stress and poor sleep, which act partly through the factors above
When to seek help
The first group needs emergency care today. The second warrants an appointment.
Go to emergency now
- Chest pain or pressure that is severe, lasts more than a few minutes, or does not settle with rest
- Chest discomfort with sweating, nausea, vomiting or breathlessness
- Pain spreading to the arm, jaw, neck or back
- Sudden severe breathlessness, or breathlessness at rest
- Fainting, or collapse
Book an appointment
- Chest discomfort that comes on with exertion and settles with rest
- Breathlessness on activity that is new or getting worse
- Palpitations that recur
- Ankle swelling
- Blood pressure or cholesterol results you have not discussed with anyone
- A family history of early heart disease, for a risk assessment
How it is diagnosed
Diagnosis combines what you describe with tests of the heart at rest and under load.
- An ECG, recording the heart's electrical activity
- Blood tests for cardiac markers, cholesterol, blood sugar and kidney function
- Echocardiography, to see the heart muscle and valves working
- Exercise testing, where symptoms only appear on exertion
- Coronary angiography, where a significant narrowing is suspected
Treatment
Treatment nearly always combines medication with changes to the risk factors. Procedures address blockages that already exist; the rest protects the arteries you still have.
Risk factor control
Blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and smoking. Unglamorous, and responsible for more prevented heart attacks than anything else.
Medication
Drugs to reduce the heart's workload, prevent clots, lower cholesterol and control rhythm, chosen for your particular problem.
Angioplasty and stenting
Opening a significantly narrowed artery to restore blood flow.
Heart surgery
Bypass or valve surgery where several arteries are involved or a valve is failing.
Cardiac rehabilitation
Structured, supervised exercise and education after an event, which measurably improves outcomes.
Living with it
What you do between appointments matters more than what happens at them.
- Take prescribed medication consistently — most cardiac drugs only work while you are taking them
- Stop smoking. Nothing else you can do has as large an effect
- Aim for regular moderate activity, as advised for your condition
- Reduce salt, and cut fried and processed food
- Keep blood sugar and blood pressure monitored rather than assumed
- Learn the warning signs of a heart attack, and have a plan for who to call
Frequently asked questions
Can heart disease be reversed?
Narrowed arteries do not generally return to normal, but progression can be slowed markedly and risk reduced substantially — with medication, stopping smoking, activity and control of blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar. Many people live long, full lives with coronary artery disease that is well managed.
I have no symptoms. Could I still have heart disease?
Yes. Coronary artery disease commonly develops silently over years, and a heart attack is the first symptom for a significant number of people. That is why blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar checks matter even when you feel completely well.
Is chest pain always the heart?
No — acidity, muscular strain, anxiety and lung problems all cause chest pain. But the consequences of assuming it is not cardiac are severe. Chest pain that is severe, persistent, or accompanied by sweating, nausea or breathlessness should be assessed urgently rather than reasoned about.
At what age should I start getting my heart checked?
Around 40 for most people, and earlier if you smoke, have diabetes or high blood pressure, are significantly overweight, or have a family history of heart disease before 55 in men or 65 in women.
This page is general health information, not medical advice. It cannot account for your history, medication or test results. Please speak to a qualified doctor about your own symptoms and treatment. If you think you are having a medical emergency, seek immediate help.
Need a medical evaluation?
Explore cardiology care at Goga Ji Hospital, Faridabad.