signs of heart disease

A heart arrhythmia is an abnormal heartbeat. Your heart may beat too quickly, too slowly or irregularly. Heart arrhythmia symptoms can include:

• Fluttering in your chest
• Racing heartbeat (tachycardia)
• Slow heartbeat (bradycardia)
• Chest pain or discomfort
• Shortness of breath
• Lightheadedness
• Dizziness
• Fainting (syncope) or near fainting

How the heart works
Your heart is a pump. It's a muscular organ about the size of your fist, situated slightly left of center in your chest. Your heart is divided into the right and the left side. The division protects oxygen-rich blood from mixing with oxygen-poor blood. Oxygen-poor blood returns to the heart after circulating through your body.

• The right side of the heart, comprising the right atrium and ventricle, collects and pumps blood to the lungs through the pulmonary arteries.
• The lungs refresh the blood with a new supply of oxygen. The lungs also breathe out carbon dioxide, a waste product.
• Oxygen-rich blood then enters the left side of the heart, comprising the left atrium and ventricle.
• The left side of the heart pumps blood through the aorta to supply tissues throughout the body with oxygen and nutrients.

Heart valves

Four valves within your heart keep your blood moving the right way by opening only one way and only when they need to. To function properly, the valve must be formed properly, must open all the way and most close tightly so there's no leakage. The four valves are:

• Tricuspid
• Mitral
• Pulmonary
• Aortic

Heartbeats

A beating heart contracts and relaxes in a continuous cycle.

• During contraction (systole), your ventricles contract, forcing blood into the vessels to your lungs and body.
• During relaxation (diastole), the ventricles are filled with blood coming from the upper chambers (left and right atria).

Electrical system

Your heart's electrical wiring keeps it beating, which controls the continuous exchange of oxygen-rich blood with oxygen-poor blood. This exchange keeps you alive.

• Electrical impulses begin high in the right atrium and travel through specialized pathways to the ventricles, delivering the signal for the heart to pump.
• The conduction system keeps your heart beating in a coordinated and normal rhythm, which keeps blood circulating

Risk factors for developing heart disease include:

• Age. Aging increases your risk of damaged and narrowed arteries and weakened or thickened heart muscle.
• Sex. Men are generally at greater risk of heart disease. However, women's risk increases after menopause.
• Family history. A family history of heart disease increases your risk of coronary artery disease, especially if a parent developed it at an early age (before age 55 for a male relative, such as your brother or father, and 65 for a female relative, such as your mother or sister).
• Smoking. Nicotine constricts your blood vessels, and carbon monoxide can damage their inner lining, making them more susceptible to atherosclerosis. Heart attacks are more common in smokers than in nonsmokers.
• Poor diet. A diet that's high in fat, salt, sugar and cholesterol can contribute to the development of heart disease.
• High blood pressure. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can result in hardening and thickening of your arteries, narrowing the vessels through which blood flows.
• High blood cholesterol levels. High levels of cholesterol in your blood can increase the risk of formation of plaques and atherosclerosis.
• Diabetes. Diabetes increases your risk of heart disease. Both conditions share similar risk factors, such as obesity and high blood pressure.
• Obesity. Excess weight typically worsens other risk factors.
• Physical inactivity. Lack of exercise also is associated with many forms of heart disease and some of its other risk factors, as well.
• Stress. Unrelieved stress may damage your arteries and worsen other risk factors for heart disease.
• Poor hygiene. Not regularly washing your hands and not establishing other habits that can help prevent viral or bacterial infections can put you at risk of heart infections, especially if you already have an underlying heart condition. Poor dental health also may contribute to heart disease.

Heart disease can be improved — or even prevented — by making certain lifestyle changes. The following changes can help anyone who wants to improve heart health:

• Stop smoking. Smoking is a major risk factor for heart disease, especially atherosclerosis. Quitting is the best way to reduce your risk of heart disease and its complications.
• Control your blood pressure. Ask your doctor for a blood pressure measurement at least every two years. He or she may recommend more frequent measurements if your blood pressure is higher than normal or you have a history of heart disease. Optimal blood pressure is less than 120 systolic and 80 diastolic, as measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg).
• 
  Check your cholesterol. Ask your doctor for a baseline cholesterol test when you're in your 20s and then at least every five years. You may need to start testing earlier if high cholesterol is in your family. If your test results aren't within desirable ranges, your doctor may recommend more frequent measurements.
  
  Most people should aim for an LDL level below 130 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), or 3.4 millimoles per liter (mmol/L). If you have other risk factors for heart disease, you should aim for an LDL below 100 mg/dL (2.6 mmol/L). If you're at very high risk of heart disease — if you've already had a heart attack or have diabetes, for example — aim for an even lower LDL level — below 70 mg/dL (1.8 mmol/L).
  
• Keep diabetes under control. If you have diabetes, tight blood sugar control can help reduce the risk of heart disease.
• 
  Move. Exercise helps you achieve and maintain a healthy weight and control diabetes, elevated cholesterol and high blood pressure — all risk factors for heart disease. If you have a heart arrhythmia or heart defect, there may be some restrictions on the activities you can do, so talk to your doctor.
  
  With your doctor's OK, aim for 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity most days of the week.
  
• Eat healthy foods. A heart-healthy diet based on fruits, vegetables and whole grains — and low in saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium and added sugar — can help you control your weight, blood pressure and cholesterol.
• Maintain a healthy weight. Being overweight increases your risk of heart disease. A BMI of less than 25 and a waist circumference of 35 inches (88.9 centimeters) or less is the goal for preventing and treating heart disease.
• Manage stress. Reduce stress as much as possible. Practice techniques for managing stress, such as muscle relaxation and deep breathing.
• Deal with depression. Being depressed can increase your risk of heart disease significantly. Talk to your doctor if you feel hopeless or uninterested in your life.
• Practice good hygiene. Stay away from people with infectious diseases such as colds, get vaccinated against the flu, regularly wash your hands, and brush and floss your teeth regularly to keep yourself well.

Also, get regular medical checkups. Early detection and treatment can set the stage for a lifetime of better heart health.