What Is Tongue Tie and How Do You Spot It?
Apr 28, 2025
Published on
5/5/2025
The LivingCare Group
The LivingCare Group
Feeling tired all the time. Getting short of breath. Swollen ankles at the end of the day. They’re all-too-common symptoms of stress, age and feeling unfit. As such, they’re easy to ignore. However, they’re also subtle signals your body could send about cardiovascular illness.
They may not be as dramatic as other symptoms of heart problems. But heart disease is one of the UK’s biggest health challenges, and many people don’t realise they’re at risk until a serious event happens. Learning about the ‘silent signs’ of heart trouble will help.
The statistics paint a sobering picture. Heart and circulatory diseases are behind one in four UK deaths – 170,000 annually, according to the British Heart Foundation. That's one death every three minutes.
Awareness becomes even more critical as we enter the warmer summer months. Heat can strain the cardiovascular system more, especially for those with undiagnosed heart conditions.
Understanding these less obvious symptoms could help you seek timely care and potentially prevent a medical emergency.
Heart trouble doesn't always announce itself with dramatic chest clutching. Many patients later diagnosed with heart conditions initially experienced symptoms they attributed to stress, ageing, or minor ailments.
Feeling exhausted after climbing stairs or carrying shopping bags when these activities have never troubled you before could signal reduced blood flow due to heart problems. When your heart can't pump efficiently, your muscles don't receive adequate oxygen.
Patients might describe it as a profound tiredness that seeps into their bones. For some, this fatigue arrives suddenly in waves – moments where energy vanishes, leaving behind a leaden sensation.
If you notice your ankles, feet, or legs swelling, particularly at the end of the day, it could indicate that your heart isn't pumping effectively.
The swelling might begin subtly – perhaps your rings feel tight, or your shoes leave deeper imprints on your ankles. The skin might feel tight and shiny or, when pressed with a finger, leave a slight indentation that slowly refills (a sign doctors call "pitting oedema").
Waking up gasping for air, experiencing sleep apnoea, or feeling unusually restless at night could be connected to heart function. When your heart struggles to pump efficiently, fluid can sometimes back up into your lungs, causing breathing difficulties that become more noticeable when lying down.
Many patients describe the sensation as feeling like they're drowning while lying in bed, prompting them to prop themselves up with extra pillows to find relief. Others report waking suddenly with a jolt of anxiety, heart racing, lungs desperate for air, only to have the feeling subside when they sit upright.
Cough that won't go away? Seeing white or pink-tinged mucus? This can indicate that fluid has collected in the lungs due to heart failure. This symptom is often mistaken for a respiratory infection or allergies, but when it persists without other cold symptoms, it warrants investigation.
This isn't a dry tickle in the throat or occasional clearing – it's persistent, often worse when lying down, and can be exhausting. Some patients describe it as feeling like there's always something in their lungs that needs to be cleared, a sensation that never quite resolves despite repeated coughing.
Nausea, indigestion, or lack of appetite can be signs of heart distress. These digestive symptoms are common in women, who may experience heart problems differently than men do.
The sensation might feel like a persistent fullness after eating only small amounts, unusual bloating that doesn't correspond with diet changes or a general aversion to food that previously brought pleasure. Some describe it as feeling perpetually "off" – not quite ill enough to blame food poisoning, but persistently uncomfortable enough to notice.
Certain factors increase your risk of heart disease, making it even more important to pay attention to subtle symptoms:
Even mild symptoms warrant attention if you have one or more risk factors.
Heart disease affects men and women differently. Women are more likely to experience:
Women's heart attack symptoms are often misattributed to anxiety, stress, or indigestion, which can lead to dangerous delays in seeking treatment.
At LivingCare, we offer comprehensive cardiac care with state-of-the-art diagnostic capabilities at our clinics in Leeds and Sheffield. Our services include:
Early detection doesn't just save lives – it preserves quality of life. Treatment at earlier stages is often less invasive and has better outcomes. Your heart works tirelessly every moment of your life; it deserves the same vigilance from you.
