Category Archives: Symptoms of Cardiovascular Disease
Medical History And Physical Examination For A Heart Patient
Before going for a physical examination a doctor must first Take a full medical history from the patient. The Doctor will ask about the different symptoms that are being experienced by the patient. Symptoms which include shortness of breath, pain in the chest, palpitations and swelling observed in the feet, ankles and legs as well as the abdomen are often determined as symptoms of cardiac disorder. Other general symptoms such as weakness, fever, and feeling of fatigue, lack of appetite and the general experience of discomfort or illness might also suggest cardiac disorder. Doctors can often determine peripheral arterial disease in case the symptoms experienced by the patient include numbness, pain, cramps and the muscles of the leg. Peripheral arterial disease often affects the arteries located in the trunk, legs and arms. However the peripheral arterial disease does not affect the arteries which supply blood to the heart.
After examining the different symptoms experienced by the patient the doctor often asks the patient about infections experienced in the past as well as previous exposure to harmful chemicals and also about the use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs. The doctor might also ask whether any other family member has experienced a cardiac disorder in the past or has experienced any other disorder that affects the blood vessels or the heart.
During performance of the physical examination the doctor will note down the heart rate of the patient as well as overall appearance of the patient which includes checking for paleness, drowsiness and perspiration. Since these symptoms often indicate cardiac disorder. The doctors will also note the general feeling of overall well-being and the general mood of the patient.
During physical examination assessment of the color of the skin is extremely important since pale skin color or skin color that is purplish or bluish often indicates the presence of inadequate blood supply or anemia. The skin colors will tell the doctor that the skin has not been receiving the appropriate amount of oxygen from the blood because of any cardiovascular disorders such as cardiac failure, lung disorders or any other circulatory problem.
During physical examination the doctor must feel for pulse beneath the arms, in the arteries located in the neck, at the wrist, at the right and left elbow, in the abdomen, at the knees, in the groin and also in the feet and ankles to determine whether the blood supply to these parts of the body is adequate and also to determine whether the blood supply is equal on the right as well as on the left side of the body. Similarly the doctor will also check the body temperature and blood pressure of the patient. In case any abnormality is observed by checking the body temperature, blood pressure or blood supply then the patient is suffering from a blood vessel or cardiac disorder.
The veins located in the neck of the patient are inspected by the doctor when the patient is lying down and the trunk of the body is elevated at an angle of 45°. The veins located at the neck of the patient must be inspected since these veins are directly connected to the atrium on the right side of the heart, which receives blood flow from the rest of the body which contains high levels of carbon dioxide and other waste products and low levels of oxygen. Examination of the veins located in the neck of the patient will provide the doctor an indication of the pressure and volume of the blood supply entering the right-hand side atrium of the heart.
During physical examination the doctor also presses the skin over the legs and the ankles. The doctor might also press the skin over the lower back of the patient to check for accumulation of body fluids in the tissues located under the skin.
Often the doctor uses an ophthalmoscope to inspect the blood vessels located in the retina which is a light-sensitive membrane that is located on the inner surface of the back part of the eye. The retina is the only place in the human body where the doctor can directly view the arteries and veins. Abnormalities in the arteries and veins of the retina are clearly visible in case the patient is suffering from diabetes, high levels of blood pressure, bacterial infection in the valves of the heart and arteriosclerosis.
During physical examination the doctor will also observe the movements of the chest during normal breathing to determine whether the movements of the chest and the rate of breathing are normal. Often the doctor will also tap the chest of the patient with the fingers which is commonly known as percussion so that the doctor can determine if the lungs are being filled with air which is normal or if the patient is experiencing any abnormality of the lungs such as the lungs filling up with fluids. Percussion often helps the doctor to determine whether the membrane layers that cover the lungs (pleura) or the sac that envelope the human heart commonly known as the pericardium, contain fluid. This is determined by the doctor with the use of a stethoscope and by listening to sounds of breathing, also by determining whether the airflow is obstructed normal and hence whether the lungs are filled with fluid resulting from cardiac failure.
The doctors often place a hand on the chest of the patient to feel any palpitation of the heart and to determine the position of the heart by checking for the location where the palpitation is the strongest. By feeling the palpitation of the heart the doctor can also determine the size of the heart. Similarly the force and quality of the contractions during the different heartbeats can also be determined by the doctor by feeling the palpitation of the heart. The doctors also look for abnormalities such as disturbed flow of blood in the blood vessels located in the heart chambers. These abnormalities often cause a vibration which is known as a thrill and can be felt between the palms at the fingertips of the doctor that has been placed on the chest of the patient.
The doctor during physical examination also listens to the heart using a stethoscope which is known as auscultation. Using a stethoscope the doctor can listen to the distinctive sounds produced by the closing and opening of the valves of the heart. In case any abnormalities are present, the valves of the heart will create a disturbed blood flow that produce characteristic sounds during heart beat that are known as murmur. The disturbed blood flow usually occurs when the blood moves through valves that are leaking or that have become narrow.
However, not all murmurs indicate cardiac disorder and neither all cardiac disorders will produce murmurs during the heartbeats. For example doctors examining pregnant women will observe murmurs in the heart because during pregnancy the women often experience increased blood flow. Similarly murmurs of the heart which are harmless are also commonly observed in children and infants because the blood flow through the heart of the children and infants is usually rapid because of the small structure of their heart. Often murmurs in the heartbeats are also observe in aged people because as a person ages the walls of the blood vessels, tissues and valves of the heart of the aged percent begins to stiffen which disturbs the normal blood flow and hence the murmurs are produced even if there is no occurrence of a serious cardiac disorder. Hence the doctors often check for clicking sounds and snapping sounds produced by opening of the valves of the heart which are abnormal. The doctors similarly also check for a galloping rhythm which is the sound that resembles the galloping of a horse and is produced due to the extra heart sounds in the patient. The doctors check for the galloping rhythm to determine whether the patient is suffering from cardiac failure.
During physical examination the doctors also place a stethoscope over the veins and arteries of the patient in the different body parts. By doing so the doctors listen to the sound of disturbed blood supply blood is known as bruits. Disturbed blood supply is often caused when the blood vessels begin to narrow. Disturbed blood supply might also occur due to increase in the blood supply to a certain body part as well as due to an abnormal connection that occurs between a vein and an artery, a condition commonly known as arteriovenous fistula.
During physical examination the doctor also checks the abdomen of the patient to determine whether there is an enlargement of the liver since enlargement of the liver often indicates accumulation of blood in the major veins that provide blood supply to the heart. Similarly swelling in the abdominal area might also occur due to accumulation of fluids that might help the doctor determine whether the patient is suffering from cardiac failure. The doctors usually gently press the abdominal area and also check for pulse in the abdominal area which helps the doctor determine the width of the aorta located in the abdominal area.
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Leg Pain And Sudden Leg Pain
A person might experience leg pain in case the tissues of the leg do not get the adequate blood supply required and this condition is commonly known as ischemia. Ischemic leg pain usually occurs when the tissues do not receive the appropriate amount of blood supply that is carried to the tissues because and therefore waste products are not carried away by the blood from the tissues and they accumulate in the tissues.
In case the blood flow has been completely blocked due to clotting of blood in a large artery then the person will experience a continuous constant pain which might occur suddenly and often the affected body part such as the legs or the arm turns pale and becomes cold. Often the blood supply in the legs is partially blocked which occurs due to a condition known as atherosclerosis. In atherosclerosis the person usually experiences a feeling of tiring pain as well as tightening in the calf muscles during strenuous or normal physical activity. This pain is commonly known as claudication. The condition is often relieved by resting; however, the pain might occur during similar strenuous or normal physical activity.
Leg pain might also occur due to straining of the muscles or due to injuries to the nerves that are located near the spinal cord. Leg pain also occurs due to formation of blood clots inside the veins, a condition which is commonly known as venous thrombosis. Similarly leg pain can also occur due to infections of the muscle or skin. In case the cause of leg pain has been determined as a disorder of the blood vessels then the doctor often prescribes Doppler ultrasonography to be performed on the patient to evaluate the supply of blood to the affected area.
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Leg Edema Or Leg Swelling
Swelling in different parts of the body often occurs because of the accumulation of body fluids in the tissues. Accumulation of body fluids in tissues (called edema) will result in swelling of that body part. Leg swelling occurs when the blood accumulates in the veins of the legs which increases the blood pressure and often forces fluid out of the veins directly into the tissues. Accumulation of blood might also occur in case the heart cannot pump out the blood supply that it receives from the other parts of the body as seen in case of heart failure. Accumulation of blood similarly might also occur in case the deep veins located in the legs are blocked which happens in the case of deep vein thrombosis.
Hence many doctors diagnose the cause of swelling in the ankles, legs and feet as venous problems like deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or cardiac failure. However in most cases leg swelling is caused by normal situations such as sitting or standing for long periods of time in one position, changes in the veins of the leg as the person ages and can also be commonly observed in the legs of women during pregnancy. Swelling otherwise might occur due to disorders in the kidney or liver.
In case a body part receives inadequate blood supply that body part often feels numb. The inadequate blood supply can be observed in different body parts in patients suffering from anemia. The inadequate blood supply is also observed if the veins in the human body do not drain in the proper manner and the skin of the affected place begins to appear purplish, bluish or pale in color.
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Fainting and Causes of Lightheadedness
Lightheadedness causes a sensation that a person is about to faint. Fainting is described as the brief and sudden loss of consciousness which is subsequently followed by the spontaneous return of consciousness in the person who has just fainted.
Causes of Lightheadedness
The causes of fainting and lightheadedness are usually the same since a person cannot lose his or her consciousness unless the function of the brain is considerably disturbed. The disturbance in the functioning of the brain is usually caused by inadequate blood supply to the brain. Adequate blood flow to the brain can also be reduced due to a cardiac disorder, rather a cardiac disorder which interferes with the normal return of blood supply to the heart which consequently affects the blood supply to the brain. It is because of this reason that older people are particularly susceptible to inadequate blood supply to their brain. However brain disorders generally do not cause fainting unless they affect the blood vessels carrying blood to the brain. Other brain disorders such as seizures can often cause loss of consciousness but this loss of consciousness is not considered to be fainting.
In cardiac disorders adequate blood supply to the brain can be reduced when the heart rhythm is abnormal that is, it is too fast or too slow or when the heart is not able to pump adequate blood to the brain because the blood flow is blocked. Blood flow can often be blocked because of a defective valve in the heart such as a defective aortic valve. Blockage of blood flow can also be due to blood clots in the heart or in the lungs and is rarely caused by atrial myxoma or heart tumors.
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Fatigue and Limitation of Physical Activity
Cardiac disorders can often limit a person’s ability to perform different physical activities. Hence one of the most essential ways to evaluate the severity of a cardiac disorder is to determine how limited is the capability of a person to perform physical activities. Doctors often use the New York Heart Association functional class system to evaluate the severity of the cardiac disorder. Class I consists of mild cardiac diseases in which performance of ordinary physical activity may not be limited. In Class II the cardiac disorder is moderate in severity and ordinary physical activity might cause the appearance of symptoms. In Class III the cardiac disorder is moderately severe and even less than ordinary physical activities can cause the appearance of different symptoms. In Class IV the cardiac disorder is severe and the symptoms might appear during rest and the symptoms worsen during any physical activity.
However this class system is not completely foolproof because there are certain cardiac disorders which do not produce any symptoms even if they are serious. These cardiac disorders might not produce any symptoms in case the person reduces his or her physical activity level to compensate for the cardiac disorder.
Fatigue:
As in heart failure, when the heart pumps inefficiently the muscles of the body suffer from inadequate blood supply especially during physical activity. Inadequate blood supply to the muscles causes feeling of fatigue and weakness even though the symptoms are often quite subtle. People often compensate the feeling of fatigue and weakness by reducing the level of their physical activities and often they also blame the symptoms of fatigue on increasing age.
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What Are The Causes of Shortness of Breath
Shortness of breath also known as dyspnea is a sensation of labored or difficult breathing.
What Are The Causes Of Shortness of Breath
Shortness of breath is often caused by any disorder that upsets the delicate and normal balance between the oxygen requirement of the human body and the oxygen supplied to the human body. Shortness of breath is often caused by lung disorders such as infection, asthma and different allergies. Shortness of breath is also seen in people who suffer from respiratory muscle disorders as well as disorders of the central nervous system that might interfere with the normal breathing process of the individual. Shortness of breath is also caused when few blood cells are carrying the oxygen to the tissues. This condition is commonly known as anemia.
Shortness of breath is also observed when a person is suffering from different cardiac disorders such as coronary artery disease and also heart failure.
The shortness of breath in heart failure usually occurs because the fluid seeps into the air sacs of the lungs and this condition is commonly named pulmonary edema or pulmonary congestion. This process is extremely similar to the process of drowning. Shortness of breath caused by heart failure might occur only during physical activities. However shortness of breath due to physical activities occurs only during the early stages of heart failure. As the heart failure condition progresses the shortness of breath occurs with very less physical activity and subsequently begins to occur even when the person is at rest. The dysnea caused by heart failure usually occurs when the person lies down and the fluid starts to seep throughout the lung tissue. This symptom is also known as nocturnal dyspnea since it usually occurs at night when the person is lying down.
When the person sits up and dangles his or her legs the gravity causes the fluid to collect at the base of the lungs thus reducing the symptoms. Hence many people suffering from nocturnal dyspnea usually sleep with their pillows propped up so that they can avoid lying flat on their back. Shortness of breath in coronary artery disease is caused only during physical activity but in people suffering from severe coronary artery disease the dysnea might occur even during minimal physical activity as well as during rest.
Diagnosis:
The doctors often use the symptoms to determine the cause of shortness of breath. Nocturnal dyspnea is relieved by the person sitting up straight and dangling the legs to allow the fluid to collect at the base of the lungs by the effect of gravity. This sign is used to determine heart failure. Similarly the doctors can determine the cause of dysnea as coronary artery disease if it occurs only during physical activity and is also often accompanied by chest pain. The doctors can determine the cause of shortness of breath as lung infection in case it is accompanied with fever and chronic coughing. Similarly the doctors can conclusively determine the cause of shortness of breath as allergy disorder or asthma if the it is triggered by exposure to elements of the environment such as animal hair or smoke.
In case the cause is not obvious after analyzing the symptoms, the doctors usually perform tests and physical examination on the person suffering from shortness of breath. The doctors usually choose the tests based on the particular symptoms exhibited by the person as well as other factors which might suggest a specific disorder. The most common tests performed on the person suffering from shortness of breath include measurement of oxygen levels using a small sensor placed over a finger of the person as well as chest x-ray. In case the patient is at a high risk of cardiac disorders, electrocardiography is commonly performed to determine the cause of shortness of breath.
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What Are Heart Palpitations
Palpitations are nothing but evidence of activity of the heart and palpitations often cause a sensation of fluttering, pounding, skipping beats and even racing of the heart.
Heart Palpitations Causes:
Most people will never notice their heart activity but sometimes they are aware of the heart activity when the heart rate is heightened due to different reasons. Some can also feel the heart activity when they lie on their left side and also in certain situations such as exercising vigorously or experiencing a dramatic emotional episode. During such circumstances even healthy people become aware of the activity of their heart. They can sometimes feel that their heart is beating very rapidly or very forcefully and sometimes they can even sense irregular heart beat.
Palpitations often result from disturbance of the rhythm of the heart which is known as arrhythmia. The arrhythmia can often be harmless but in most cases is life-threatening. Arrhythmia which is the premature contraction of the atrial or premature contraction of the ventricular is harmless. These irregular heartbeats or arrhythmias can occur in normal people who do not suffer any heart disorder. There are other arrhythmias such as atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation as well as ventricular tachycardia that usually occur in people suffering from cardiac disorders such as the coronary artery disease or the heart valve disorder which usually affects the electrical conduction system of the heart.
Alcohol, caffeine and drugs such as ephedrine, amphetamines, cocaine, epinephrine and also theophylline can lead to palpitations. Palpitations also occur due to an overactive thyroid gland, low levels of oxygen in the blood, low levels of potassium in the blood as well as anemia .
Evaluation Of Heart Palpitations:
To determine whether heart palpitations are normal or abnormal can often depend on the answers to numerous different questions like whether the palpitations occur abruptly or gradually, whether any activity triggers the palpitation, heart rate during the palpitation as well as the extent of irregular heartbeat. An occasional irregular heartbeat might suggest premature atrial contraction or premature ventricular contraction. In case the person experiences a permanent sensation of heart beats that are irregular the person might be suffering from atrial fibrillation. In case the person experiences irregular heartbeats which become rapid all of the sudden and then slow down to the normal heart rate, the person might be suffering from ventricular tachycardia or supraventricular tachycardia. Heart Palpitations which are occurring with several other symptoms such as pain, shortness of breath, weakness, fainting spells and fatigue usually result from a serious cardiac disorder or extreme irregular heart rhythm.
To evaluate palpitations the doctors usually listen to the heart using a stethoscope. ECG or Electrocardiography is usually performed on the person experiencing palpitations. The ECG is usually performed on the person experiencing palpitations when the symptoms are occurring. In case the person is experiencing severe but on and off symptoms the doctor usually prescribes continuous ambulatory electrocardiography (Holter ECG). Other possible tests to determine the cause of palpitations include echocardiography or ultrasonography of the heart and certain blood tests.
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What Causes Chest Pain
Chest pain is often caused by a cardiac disorder as well as disorders of the esophagus, lungs or large blood vessels located almost anywhere between the jaw and the upper abdomen of the human body which includes the shoulders and arms. The discomfort felt due to chest pain can be described as burning, pressure, aching as well as a sharp and shooting pain.
What Causes Chest Pain:
There are numerous causes of chest pain and the most immediate as well as life-threatening cause of chest pain includes a heart attack. Separation of the layers of the walls of the aorta also causes chest pain and is equally life-threatening as a heart attack. Similarly rupture of the esophagus, blood clots in the lungs as well as a collapsed lung can build up pressure that obstructs normal blood flow returning to the heart can cause severe chest pain. The less dangerous causes of chest pain include inflammation of the sacs that envelope the heart, inadequate supply of blood to the heart, pneumonia, cancer as well as inflammation of the pancreas.
Acid reflux in the esophagus, inflammation of the rib cartilage as well as peptic ulcer can also cause chest pain but are rarely dangerous causes of chest pain. Similarly inflammation of the membranes covering the lungs, disorder of the gallbladder as well as straining of the chest muscles can cause chest pain and these causes are not dangerous life-threatening in any manner. Often the mitral valve prolapse can also cause chest pain where the people suffering from mitral valve prolapse experience intermittent episodes of sharp and stabbing pain. Mitral valve prolapse occurs when the valve between the left ventricle and left atrium bulges back into the left atrium after the left ventricle contracts.
Evaluation of Chest Pain:
Often the symptoms of the causes of chest pain can help the doctor determine the real cause of chest pain. For example in case the person experiencing chest pain also experiences a squeezing sensation in the chest as well as tightness in the chest that occurs during physical activity the doctor will be able to determine the actual cause of chest pain as inadequate blood supply to the heart. In case of inadequate blood supply to the heart the person often gets relief from the pain by resting for a few minutes. Similarly in case the person is experiencing a sharp pain that usually worsens when the person breathes deeply or lies down the doctor will be able to pinpoint the cause of chest pain as pericarditis in case the chest pain is not caused by any physical activity.
The other symptoms of the causes of chest pain include increase in pain by deep breathing and the cause is usually pleuritis. Aortic dissection which is one of the main causes of chest pain produces excruciating and sharp pain between the shoulder blades, the back of the neck, the abdomen as well as down the back.
The symptoms caused due to the dangerous and rarely dangerous chest disorders can often overlap and vary considerably. Hence most doctors suggest the performance of different tests and physical examinations on the person suffering from chest pain. The physical examinations and evaluations are usually performed in an emergency department or in the hospital if the cause of chest pain is serious. The tests to be performed on the person experiencing chest pain are chosen according to the physical examination of the person, age of the person, medical history of the person, risk factors and other symptoms. The most commonly prescribed test on persons suffering from chest pain is the electrocardiogram or ECG. Other common tests prescribed on persons suffering from chest pain include measurement of oxygen levels and chest x-ray. In case the doctor suspects a heart attack several blood tests are performed to measure the levels of proteins and enzymes in the heart muscle. High levels of enzymes and proteins in the heart muscle indicate damage to the muscles of the heart. In case the doctor suspects angina the doctor usually prescribes an exercise stress test to determine the diagnosis.
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Facts About Symptoms of Cardiovascular Disease
Different disorders that affect the blood vessels or the heart are known as cardiovascular disorders. The cardiovascular disorders are usually divided into two parts that is the peripheral blood vessel disorders and the cardiac or heart disorders. The cardiac disorders affect the blood vessels that supply blood to the muscles of the heart as well as different heart structures such as heart valves. On the other hand the peripheral blood vessel disorders affect the blood vessels in the other parts of the body such as the trunk, legs and arms. Disorders which affect the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain are known as cerebral vascular disorders. One example of cerebral vascular disorder is stroke.
No single symptom can be used to positively identify a cardiac disorder but there are certain symptoms of cardiovascular Disease which can be used to determine the possibility of a cardiac disorder. Often several symptoms together can allow the doctor to make the diagnosis of cardiac disorder for certain. The doctors usually identify the symptoms by interviewing the patient and also by obtaining the medical history and by performing physical examinations. Often the doctors also use diagnostic procedures on the patient to confirm the diagnosis of a cardiac disorder. In some cases the cardiac disorder does not produce any symptoms even when it is serious until it reaches the last stage. Thus most doctors suggest routine health checkups to uncover cardiac disorders which do not produce any symptoms. It is also because of this reason that many doctors perform several procedures to screen for a cardiac disorder even when there is no evidence of existence of the cardiac disorder.
The symptoms of cardiac disorder include shortness of breath, different types of pain, fatigue, lightheadedness, and palpitations such as fast, slow and even irregular heart beat in addition to swelling in the ankles, legs and feet. The presence of the symptoms does not always indicate a cardiac disorder. For example a chest pain might be the result of a digestive disorder or even a respiratory disorder rather than a cardiac disorder.
Symptoms indicating the peripheral blood vessel disorders usually vary and depend on the location of the affected blood vessels. The symptoms of peripheral blood vessel disorders may or may not include shortness of breath, pain, muscle cramps, fatigue and the muscles, lightheadedness, numbness, swelling and also a change in the skin color of the affected body part.