Pulmonary heart disease referred to as pulmonary hypertension, “is considered rare amongst the U.S. population,” as outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a study reporting incidences from 1980 through 2002. Heart and circulatory disorders exhibit symptoms such as breathlessness during exertion or at rest, swollen ankles, chest pain, palpitations, dizziness and pain. However, many other health problems, some of them minor, can also cause these symptoms.
Dizziness and Fainting
Most attacks of dizziness, where an individual feels unsteady and lightheaded for a few seconds, are harmless. However, recurrent attacks of dizziness may be due to a heart or circulatory problem.
Fainting is due to a lack of oxygen reaching the brain. Fainting is usually harmless and is often the result of standing for a long time in a hot or stuffy atmosphere. Sometimes fainting is due to over stimulation of the vagus nerve, which helps control the heart rate, or results from severe pain or a sudden shock. According to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, dizziness and feeling lightheaded often advances to fainting, as the disease gets progressively worse. Anyone who faints during exercise should have the cause investigated immediately; it could be a symptom of something more serious.
Breathlessness
Breathlessness is common during strenuous exercise because the heart and other muscles require more oxygen. According to the Cleveland Clinic, breathlessness when you are resting or doing non-strenuous exercise may be a symptom of pulmonary heart disease. The heart becomes less efficient at pumping blood through the lungs. This results in breathlessness, because the lungs cannot maintain an adequate supply of oxygen to the circulation and because fluid accumulates in the lungs because of inefficient circulation.
Chest Pain and Palpitations
A strained muscle, a broken rib, a trapped nerve, emotional stress or irritation of the esophagus are all associated with short-term chest pain, which is common. In some people, the pain continues or worsens over time and can be the result of a heart condition such as angina, a heart attack or pericarditis.
Palpitations are fluttering or thumping sensations in the chest or neck that make you aware of your own heartbeat. According to the Cleveland Clinic, some individuals suffer palpitations when they are anxious, others when they feel relaxed and rested, but in advanced stages of pulmonary heart disease, palpitations can be a strong throbbing sensation in the chest. An ectopic heartbeat, an isolated, irregular beat, can cause palpitations, but it is not usually due to heart disease or disorder. If an individual suffers with chest pain and palpitations, which seem to be getting progressively worse or more frequent, it may be a symptom of pulmonary heart disease
Swollen Ankles
Swelling of the ankles is an indication of fluid retention in the tissues. According to the Mayo Clinic, one of several causes is heart disease and heart failure, in which the heart’s ventricles do not empty properly. Blood retained in the right ventricle causes a buildup of blood causing an increase in pressure throughout the circulatory system, forcing fluid out into the surrounding tissues. The ankles, in particular, will swell because the effect of gravity pulls the fluid down into the lower extremities.
