The heart is a muscular organ that serves to collect deoxygenated blood from all parts of the body, carries it to the lungs to be oxygenated and release carbon dioxide. Then, it transports the oxygenated blood from the lungs and distributes it to all the body parts. In humans and other mammals and in birds, the heart is a four-chambered double pump that is the centre of the circulatory system.
The heart, although a single organ, can be considered as two pumps that propel blood through two different circuits. The right atrium receives venous blood from the head, chest, and arms via the large vein called the superior vena cava and receives blood from the abdomen, pelvic region, and legs via the inferior vena cava. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 610,000 people in the United States die each year from heart disease. Heart disease affects both men and women for a variety of reasons that are linked to a certain way of life.Not all heart problems come with clear warning signs.Here are the warnings that your heart doesn’t work properly;
Chest pain is discomfort or pain that you feel along the front of your body, between (and including) your neck and upper abdomen. There are many causes of chest pain that have nothing to do with your heart.But chest pain is still the most common symptom of poor blood flow to the heart or a heart attack. This type of chest pain is called angina.Chest pain can occur when the heart is not getting enough blood or oxygen. The amount and type of pain can vary from person to person. The intensity of the pain does not always relate to how severe the heart problem is.
Coughing or wheezing that doesn’t go away can be another sign that fluid is building up in your lungs. You may also cough up mucus that is pink or bloody.
Fatigue : Tiredness can have many causes. Sometimes it simply means that you need more rest. But feeling run down can be a sign of a more serious problem. Fatigue may be a sign of heart trouble when:
- You feel much more tired than normal. It’s common for women to feel severely tired before or during a heart attack.
- You feel so tired that you can’t do your normal daily activities.
- You have sudden, severe weakness.
Shortness of Breath When the heart can’t pump blood as well as it should, blood backs up in the veins that go from the lungs to the heart. Fluid leaks into the lungs and causes shortness of breath. This is a symptom of heart failure.