
Subtle Signs of Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease is an umbrella term for a group of diseases affecting your heart and blood vessels. Some forms may present with symptoms, while others produce none until you hit a crisis.
Cardiovascular disease includes:
- Narrowing of the blood vessels in your heart or throughout your body from plaque
- Congenital heart and blood vessel problems
- Heart valves that don’t work correctly
- Irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias)
About 50% of US adults have some form of cardiovascular disease, and it doesn’t discriminate. It affects people of all ages, sexes, ethnicities, and socioeconomic levels, and it’s the leading cause of death both in the US and around the globe.
At Associates in Family Medicine, Dr. Mahshid M. Hamidi and our staff understand just how important your cardiovascular health is to your overall well-being. That’s why we diagnose and treat all forms of disease at our office in Clairemont, San Diego, California. As not all signs are recognizable, we’d like to take this opportunity to get you in the know about this pervasive problem.
Primary causes of cardiovascular disease
There are many different types of cardiovascular disease, including:
- Arrhythmia: problem with your heart’s electrical conduction system, leading to abnormal heart rhythms
- Valve disease: tightening or leaking in your heart valves between chambers
- Coronary artery disease: blockage (plaque) in your heart’s blood vessels
- Heart failure: problem with heart pumping/relaxing functions, leading to fluid buildup
- Peripheral artery disease (PAD): narrowing or blockage of the blood vessels of your arms, legs, or abdominal organs
- Aortic disease: problem with the large blood vessel directing blood from your heart to your brain and body
- Pericardial disease: problem with the heart lining
- Cerebrovascular disease: narrowing or blockages in the blood vessels that deliver blood to your brain
- Deep vein thrombosis (DVT): blockage in the deep leg veins that return blood to heart
In most cases, narrowing or blockages are due to plaque buildup. Plaque is a sticky material made of fats, cholesterol, protein, cell debris, and calcium. It sticks to the arteries’ walls, causing them to narrow or harden. This condition is called atherosclerosis, colloquially known as “hardening of the arteries.”
Signs of cardiovascular disease, both common and subtle
As we’ve said, not all types of cardiovascular disease produce symptoms. You may not know, for example, that you have high blood pressure (usually due to atherosclerosis) until you have a heart attack or stroke, because it doesn’t present symptoms until it’s far advanced and you reach a crisis.
Some of the most common signs of heart issues include:
- Chest pain (angina)
- Chest pressure, heaviness, or discomfort, sometimes described as a “weight on the chest”
- Shortness of breath (dyspnea)
- Dizziness or fainting
- Fatigue or exhaustion
Some of the most common signs of blockages in blood vessels throughout your body include:
- Pain or cramps in your legs when you walk
- Leg sores that don't heal
- Cool or red skin on your legs
- Swelling in your legs
- Numbness in your face or a limb, especially if it's on one side of your body (may indicate a stroke)
- Difficulty with talking, seeing, or walking
What’s become better known recently is that women often have more subtle signs of cardiovascular disease than men, which is why they often go unrecognized. These may include:
- Pain in the neck, jaw, or throat
- Pain in the upper abdomen or back
- Heartburn
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Fatigue that won't go away or feels excessive
- Dizziness
- Shortness of breath
- Palpitations
- Swellings of the legs, feet, and/or abdomen
All of these may indicate a heart attack in progress. Call 911 or get to your nearest emergency room.
If you’re experiencing any of the above signs or symptoms, or if you haven’t had a medical workup in awhile, call Associates in Family Medicine at 858-565-6394 to schedule an appointment with Dr. Hamidi, or send us a message online. We also accept telehealth appointments.
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