A Healthy Heart: 10 Symptons You Should Never Ignore

Heart disease kills hundreds of thousands of people across the UK and US every year.

But you could be ignoring some of the key signs of poor heart health.

Feeling dizzy when you stand up quickly and swollen legs are just some of the symptoms you should never let go unchecked, experts say.

Dr Ameet Bakhai, a cardiologist at Spire Bushey Hospital in London, said people often ignore the signs ‘until it’s too late’.

And he revealed a healthy adult should be able to run up two flights of stairs, stand up quickly without dizziness, hold their breath for 20 seconds and squat on the toilet – providing they have no other health conditions.

But Dr Bakhai said many people think symptoms such as dizziness and leg swelling are caused by something else, so early signs of a struggling heart are missed.

He said things like heaviness in the arm on exertion, shortness of breath when walking up stairs and frequent, extra or missed heartbeats can be ‘your heart calling out for help’.

Some symptoms, such as difficulty bending down and standing up, could indicate that your heart is ‘not adapting to your positions or is holding spare fluid in the body’.

The consultant claims other symptoms you should never ignore include sweating with light exercise, nausea with chest ache and being tired on waking.

But of 2,000 adults quizzed, more than half (54 per cent) said they wouldn’t think these symptoms were heart-related, despite 50 per cent claiming to have experienced them.