Heart Disease Care

> ⚠️ Ask your doctor or health care professional. This information is AI generated for education and NOT medical advice.

Heart disease covers a range of conditions affecting the heart, including coronary artery disease, heart failure, and arrhythmias, each with different causes and management.

Common symptoms

Chest pain or discomfort, shortness of breath, fatigue, palpitations, swelling in the legs/ankles/feet, and lightheadedness — specific patterns vary by condition (see Cardiology Assessment's CCS/NYHA classifications).

General self-care measures

• Take prescribed medication consistently.
• Follow dietary guidance (often lower sodium and saturated fat).
• Engage in physical activity at a level approved by your care team.
• Monitor and manage related conditions (hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol).
• Avoid smoking and limit alcohol.

When to seek medical attention

• New or worsening chest pain, especially with shortness of breath, sweating, or pain radiating to the arm/jaw — call emergency services; see Urgent Emergency Care.
• Sudden severe shortness of breath or swelling.
• Fainting or a rapid, irregular heartbeat.

Common pitfalls

• Dismissing chest discomfort as indigestion — cardiac and digestive symptoms can overlap; when in doubt, treat chest symptoms as potentially cardiac and seek urgent evaluation.
• Stopping medication when feeling well — as with hypertension, feeling fine is often a sign the treatment is working, not that it can be stopped.
• Underestimating gradual symptom changes — a slow worsening over weeks (more breathlessness, more swelling) is easy to normalize but worth reporting rather than waiting out.

Learn more

• Cardiology Assessment for how heart conditions are clinically assessed and classified.
• Hypertension Care for a closely related cardiovascular condition.
• Health Care for general navigation of health systems.