Does anxiety make you tired and weak

10 Most Common Physical Symptoms of Anxiety : Intrepid Mental Wellness, PLLC: Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners

10 Most Common Physical Symptoms of Anxiety

Anxiety and panic disorders can produce a wide range of distressing physical symptoms. Many people are unaware that their symptoms are caused by anxiety, which can make the problem worse, as many people worry that their symptoms are caused by an underlying disease, leading to further anxiety. This vicious circle can be broken by learning about anxiety and being able to recognize the physical symptoms. Here are the 10 most common physical symptoms of anxiety.

Fatigue

Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms associated with anxiety, panic disorder, chronic stress, depression and other mental health disorders. Chronic anxiety leaves the body and mind in a constant state of tension and high alertness. The mind is constantly scanning the external and internal environment for threats, leading to emotional distress and physical tension. This constant state of high alertness leads to mental and physical exhaustion, which will often persist even after a long sleep.

Increased Heart Rate

Anxiety is a natural response to danger and is needed for humans to survive. High levels of anxiety trigger changes in the body to help prepare for dealing with threats and danger, also known as the fight or flight response. However, if you're living with chronic anxiety, your body and mind are often unable to tell the difference between real and imagined dangers, which means that the fight or flight response may be continually active. One of the first changes to occur during the fight or flight response is an increase in heart rate.

Heart Palpitations

Heart palpitations are often one of the most distressing symptoms associated with anxiety, as they can feel scary and many people worry that they are having a heart attack, particularly when palpitations are combined with chest pain. Heart palpitations can feel like your heart is pounding, fluttering, beating too fast or missing beats. Some people can even feel their heart beating in their throat, neck or head. While heart palpitations can be scary, they usually pass within a few seconds.

Shortness of Breath

Shortness of breath is another distressing symptom that leads many people to worry that they are having a heart attack, choking or experiencing problems with their lungs. Shortness of breath is usually caused by breathing too quickly (hyperventilation), as the body is inhaling too much oxygen and exhaling too much carbon dioxide. Hyperventilation will not harm you, but you may feel as if you are choking, have a lump in your throat or are unable to take in enough air.

Dizziness

Feeling dizzy, faint or unsteady is often the result of hyperventilation, although it may also be caused by other issues related to anxiety, such as muscle tension in the neck and shoulders. Many people feel lightheaded and worry that they might pass out during a panic attack, but some people with an anxiety disorder also experience chronic dizziness and problems with balance.

Muscle Aches

Muscle aches and joint pain can be caused by tension, as well as general poor health. Anxiety causes the muscles to tense up, which can lead to pain and stiffness in almost any area of the body. Constant stress and worry can also prevent the immune system from working properly, leading to decreased resistance to infection and disease. Infection increases inflammation in the body, which can cause a range of symptoms, including joint pain.

Muscle Weakness

Another common symptom of chronic anxiety is weakness in the muscles, most commonly experienced in the legs and sometimes the arms. During the fight or flight response, the body is preparing to take action against danger. One of the ways in which the body prepares for this action is to redirect blood flow to the areas most needed, including the legs, which are needed to run away from danger. Increased blood flow to the legs can make them feel weak, tingly or like jelly.

Headaches

Headaches and migraines are often caused by tension, particularly in the neck and shoulders. Teeth grinding, facial tension, poor posture and hyperventilation can also cause headaches and migraines. Sharp pain, a dull ache or a feeling of pressure around the head and eyes are common symptoms associated with anxiety. As anxiety can also upset the balance of hormones in the body, some women notice an increase in migraines, as they can be triggered by changes in hormones.

Digestive Discomfort

Excess gas, bloating, stomach cramps, acid indigestion, heartburn, constipation and diarrhea can all be caused by stress and anxiety. Several digestive problems, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), have been linked to chronic stress and mental health problems. Anxiety can also increase the symptoms of food intolerance and sensitivities in some people.

Tingling Sensations

Pins and needles, tingling and numbness are common symptoms that mostly affect the extremities, but can also be experienced anywhere in the body. Tingling of the lips, face and arms can be particularly distressing, as many people worry they are having a stroke. Odd sensations in the body, including tingling and numbness, are usually the result of hyperventilation, but can also be caused by physical tension.

Anxiety can cause a wide range of distressing physical symptoms, but recognizing and accepting that these symptoms are temporary and harmless helps to alleviate fears and prevent further anxiety. The most common physical symptoms of anxiety include fatigue, increased heart rate, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, muscle aches, muscle weakness, headaches, digestion, discomfort and tingling sensations.

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Does Anxiety Make You Tired?

If you often feel anxious, you may recognize this emotional pattern: Something stresses you, a test, a bill, a conflict — and the anxiety begins.

It builds and builds while the physical symptoms — the racing heart, the quickened breath — intensify. And as soon as the stress stops, CRASH. You’re suddenly so tired you could collapse and sleep right on the spot.

Even when anxiety is low-grade or long-term rather than the peak-and-plummet kind, it’s often accompanied by a feeling of exhaustion.

Are anxiety and fatigue interrelated somehow? Here’s what science says about the connection between the two.

Anxiety is a feeling of fear, dread, or apprehension. It can be brought on by a stressful event or by the way you think about an event. Sometimes people feel anxious even when there doesn’t seem to be an external trigger at all.

When you perceive a threat, your hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal glands release a torrent of hormones to prepare you to fight, flee, or freeze. In response, you might feel any or all of these physical symptoms:

shaking
quickened heart rate
chest pain
fast, shallow breathing
dry mouth
muscle tension
dizziness
nausea
diarrhea

Given the surge of hormones and the intensity of these symptoms, it isn’t hard to imagine why you’d feel tired after a bout of anxiety. You might feel relieved, drained, or even exhausted.

Most of the time, a good night’s sleep is enough to restore your energy levels. Sometimes, however, the tired feeling doesn’t go away as quickly as you’d like.

Fatigue is a persistent feeling of being either mentally or physically tired. It may feel like a lack of energy, a lack of motivation, or a lack of strength.

The National Health Interview Survey put out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that women report feeling fatigued more often than men.

It can be brought on by any number of physical conditions, including:

cancer
arthritis
diabetes
sleep disorders
stroke
infections

Fatigue is also associated with a fair number of psychological conditions, including:

grief
work-related or financial stress
depression
anxiety

Is it adrenal fatigue?
The term adrenal fatigue is sometimes used to describe a feeling of tiredness that comes from chronic stress and anxiety. Some claim that your adrenal glands (two small glands that produce stress hormones) can become worn out by all the upheaval.
A 2016 review of 58 studies concluded that there’s no current research to support the existence of adrenal fatigue. That doesn’t mean your feeling of exhaustion isn’t real. It simply means the reason may not be that your adrenal glands are depleted.

Anxiety can cause you to lose sleep, either because you have trouble falling asleep when you first lie down, or because worries wake you up when you’d otherwise be sleeping. If that’s the case, you may be feeling extra tired during the day.

The relationship between sleep and anxiety is complex. Anxiety can disrupt your sleep and the lack of sleep can eventually make you more anxious. In a 2019 study, people with insomnia were 9.8 times more likely to have anxiety than the people in the study who didn’t have insomnia.

The night shift and anxiety
Studies show that people who work the night shift are at a high risk for sleep problems because their sleep cycles (circadian rhythms) are disrupted. The disturbed sleep pattern makes shift workers more vulnerable to anxiety disorders.

Chronic exposure to stress changes your brain and your body in mostly negative ways. Researchers have found that when you’re exposed to long-term stress and anxiety, it can:

harm your memory
affect your judgment
lead to mood disorders
suppress your immune system
cause heart problems
disrupt your gastrointestinal system

Long-term anxiety and distress are also associated with chronic fatigue syndrome, a condition that makes you feel tired no matter how much rest you get.

If stress and anxiety have left you tired, there are remedies and activities that may help revive you. Here are a few:

Try revamping your sleep practices. A cool, quiet sleeping space, a regular bedtime, limited naps, and relaxation techniques are key — along with curbing your caffeine and powering down your screens an hour before bed.
Get regular exercise. Exercise reduces anxiety sensitivity and promotes healthy and restorative sleep.
Meditate. Relaxation techniques like meditation and mindfulness can help quiet your mind, regulate your breathing, and lower the amount of stress hormone in your bloodstream.
Trim the crash-causing foods from your diet. Whole, unprocessed foods, such as lean proteins, bright fruits and veggies, nuts, seeds, and complex carbs, can give you sustained energy. Foods high in saturated fat and sugar are associated with higher anxiety levels, studies show.
Talk to a therapist. A psychologist or counselor may be able to help you identify your anxiety triggers and develop coping skills that lead to less anxiety and greater relaxation.
Consider medication. Talk to your healthcare provider about whether your symptoms warrant treatment with anti-anxiety medication.

When to seek medical help
If anxiety is interfering with your sleep, your relationships, or your ability to function throughout the day, it’s probably time to talk with a healthcare provider about it. Anxiety can cause serious health problems if left untreated too long, so it’s a good idea to reach out to a health professional to help you identify any underlying causes and come up with a workable treatment plan.

Anxiety causes a hormonal rush that can leave you feeling drained and tired. The crash is probably temporary, but the feeling of exhaustion lasts. Even after you’ve gotten some rest, you may be experiencing fatigue.

Chronic anxiety and fatigue go hand in hand. Anxiety could be interfering with your ability to sleep at night, which can worsen your daytime sleepiness and could lead to other health problems.

To help your body recover from short-term or long-term anxiety, you may want to try relaxation techniques, regular exercise, healthy eating, and good sleep hygiene practices. A healthcare provider may recommend psychotherapy or medication if you just can’t shake that post-anxiety malaise.

How to cope with anxiety and not get lost in stressful situations.

Life hacks

The life of a modern person is full of stress. Every day we face many situations that cause anxiety: difficulties at work, health problems, family troubles, fear of public speaking. All sorts of stressful situations literally surround us at every turn. However, our excitement is especially noticeable when we are in front of a large number of people.

Participants of the show “The Weak Link” on the MIR TV channel also have to experience stress every time. Some even had to take sedatives!

Watch the legendary show "The Weak Link" on Fridays at 19:15 on the MIR TV channel.

Fortunately, there are many ways to deal with your feelings. MIR 24 is in a hurry to relieve you of stress and, together with experts, reveals the secrets: how to get rid of anxiety and not get lost in important life situations?

Is it normal to feel anxious?

Many are interested in the question, does anxiety really change our psyche and isn't it better to always live in a state of relaxation? This question is answered by psychologist Andrey Smirnov.

“Excitement is a normal reaction of the body to certain changes in the external environment. But sometimes the level of excitement goes off scale and it gives a lot of trouble to a person. Breathing becomes more frequent, slight dizziness may appear, discomfort in the abdomen, pressure rises. This comes from the fact that the human brain requires increased blood flow to perform work that requires energy, and the hormone adrenaline released at the same time just gives strength in order to carry out this work. Therefore, such manifestations should not be afraid. Although the sensations are not always pleasant, and a person begins to panic even simply because of the fact of the appearance of excitement, ”explains Andrey Smirnov.

With excitement, as with any other manifestation of emotions, it is important to do without too much fanaticism. So, according to psychologist Ziyada Saidutova, it is first of all important to understand how much such anxiety, fear or excitement captures you and your life. To what extent are these experiences justified and do they interfere with a happy life? If the answer to this question is “yes”, then you should contact a specialist - a psychologist, a psychotherapist.

How to avoid stress: advice from psychologists

If anxiety and excitement occur sometimes, under appropriate circumstances, then there are several recommendations and life hacks that will help you. Ziyada Saidutova suggests applying several techniques:

Fake it till you make it. Fake it until you make it true. For example, public speaking: pretend to be someone who is confident, who knows how and what to say. Imagine in detail that you are the hero from the movie. And what will be the successful outcome of the situation? How would someone else, more courageous than you, do it?
Square breathing. Such breathing will reduce stress, restore, relieve tension, transfer the state to a calm one. Do until the state changes to a calmer one. Inhale for four seconds, then hold your breath for four seconds. Exhale for four seconds and again hold your breath for the same time. Repeat exercises.
Symbol of your anxiety, fear, excitement . Choose the symbol of your anxiety if, for example, you are standing on the podium and speaking. It can be: a pen, a bookmark, cufflinks, a ring, etc. Here it is important to notice that you are more than your own experiences, that the excitement is nearby, but despite it, you can perform. You can get in touch with your own excitement. What does anxiety bring? Why is it here? How do you feel about him?
Grounding . Place both feet on the floor if possible. Feel the floor under your feet, feel the support. Feel how the floor connects you to the earth. The contact with the feet and the feeling of being grounded is best used as support and confidence for oneself, for the body.
Breathing through the most intense area . Focus on the sensations in your body. Where is the most stressful place? Notice how it feels. Warm? Cold? Ripple? Make it comfortable - it may be more convenient to sit or stand. Imagine this tension inside, for example, in the abdomen. And breathe, imagining yourself inhaling and exhaling through your belly. As gradually comes relaxation and calmness.

According to psychologist Roman Miroshkin , logical abilities tend to decrease during stress. To restore the possibilities of the cognitive sphere, it is necessary to switch to very simple observational and thought processes. Try to look around and speak out loud and describe the characteristics and signs of everything that you see. List the main points that concern your life: the current calendar date and day of the week, the year and day of your birth, the present time of the year, what time it is at the moment. Try to track and describe your emotions and feelings at a time of great excitement or stress. To do this, listen to yourself, and name at least three or four feelings that you are clearly experiencing at the moment. This will help you better understand your condition and increase your own stress resistance.

In addition, Andrei Smirnov advises not to reproach yourself for mistakes.

“It's good to add a little bit of indifference to yourself. Realize the reason for the excitement and think what will happen if I fail the exam or do not speak well in front of the audience? Will the world turn upside down? Of course not! This is life and many things can be corrected later. The famous psychotherapist Albert Ellis said that man is not God and has the right to make mistakes. It is impossible to do everything 100% perfect in life. Awareness of this simple truth helps to calm down before a responsible event,” says Andrey Smirnov.

How do you avoid work-related stress?

Work takes up most of our lives, we spend all our time on it and, of course, we cannot do without situations that make us nervous. A report not submitted on time, a bad atmosphere in the team, a heavy workload - all this takes a lot of strength and nerves from us. Experts from the business industry shared their tips on how to avoid stress at work.

So, vice-president of financial group QBF Maxim Fedorov notes that, if possible, it is useful to take a short break at a critical moment - drink tea, do some exercises, listen to your favorite tune or any meditative compositions, for example, the sound of the sea.

“I advise you to present any, even the most unpleasant situation in a positive way. For example, if a colleague made a mistake, it is better to focus not on what damage has been done to the common cause, but on the fact that negative experience will make him wiser, that working on correcting shortcomings can open up new opportunities for him. During periods of uncertainty, people begin to wind themselves up, dramatize events, imagine the implementation of the most terrible scenario. At this time, I recommend throwing negative thoughts on paper. This is useful because, firstly, a thesis entry will make you focus on the present moment, stop the flow of consciousness that takes energy. Secondly, the ideas written out usually turn out to be not as unpleasant as they seem to a person who is in the grip of poorly controlled stress, ”comments Maxim Fedorov.

Maxim Fedorov emphasizes that it is easier for those people who constantly monitor their physical and psychological state to survive emotional stress.

“Firstly, good sleep will help to put the nervous system in order. No matter how intense and responsible the work is, you need to rest at least seven to eight hours a day. I recommend going to bed and getting up at the same time. Secondly, regular and balanced nutrition plays a huge role in maintaining the nervous system. Thirdly, work should be alternated with rest: both short breaks during the day and full holidays, allowing you to switch to a different rhythm of life. Fourthly, I advise all employees, and especially specialists who often find themselves in stressful situations, to engage in physical education. It is necessary to choose the activity that gives a person joy - it can be classes in the gym, swimming pool, dancing, just walking in the evenings in park areas. Finally, hobbies allow you to restore your ability to work. You should not deny yourself the opportunity to do what you love, communicate with loved ones, devote weekends to what really allows you to restore the resource,” says Maxim Fedorov.

Natalya Storozheva, General Director of the Perspektiva Center for Business and Career Development notes that three things cause increased stress in business situations.

Interview

If you want to protect yourself from anxiety at an upcoming interview, try to prepare as best you can for it. The better the “homework” is done, the easier it will be for the “control”, that is, the interview itself. Make a list of questions you are likely to be asked. First of all, these are questions about your experience, functionality at your last job (or two), and they will also ask you to talk about your achievements. You may be asked why you want to work for the company you are interviewing for. If you set aside time in advance to look at the company’s website, search for information about it in open sources and generally understand where you are going and what you have to do, this will help you answer questions confidently and calmly, and worry much less.

“Another interesting point. Try to become an internal recruiter, an interlocutor for yourself. What would you ask yourself, what questions would you ask. Surely you know about some difficult moments of your work biography: breaks in work, difficult dismissal, not a very good job, or unflattering recommendations about you. If you think about such matters all the time and fear them, it will cause anxiety. But, if you work out difficult questions in advance and don’t be afraid that they will be asked, but prepare well-thought-out answers with good reasoning, this will relieve you of tension,” says Natalya Storozheva.

It is also very important to support yourself psychologically. To do this, firstly, you need to emotionally tune in, work with yourself. Forgive yourself for possible failure, miss. And give yourself permission to fail the interview. If you go to the interview with a positive attitude and, by allowing yourself to slip up in advance, an unsuccessful answer, giving yourself the right to make a mistake, you will reduce your tension. Image preparation also helps a lot. Try to dress properly. Choose business attire that matches the dress code of the industry in which you work and the company where you are going.

Another recommendation is to calculate the time in advance. If you are late, in a hurry, unable to navigate in an unfamiliar area for you, mix up the street or house number and have to call the company back to clarify the route, this will take additional time. And, going to the interview from home “back to back”, there may not be enough time and this will also become a cause for stress. Spare yourself this. It’s better to leave some extra time, if only to drink a glass of water or a cup of coffee, mentally rehearse your self-presentation, or go through the answers to key questions. A candidate who comes running to an interview red and out of breath does not make a very good impression. And not only does he feel nervous, he looks the same.

Public speaking

The second item Natalia Storzheva notes is a public speaking or presentation.

“Professional announcers, showmen, presenters, artists say that not to experience excitement is just a sign of unprofessionalism, as everyone gets excited before going on stage, even those people who do it professionally. In order for public speaking to go smoothly, your excitement must be manageable, barely noticeable. In this case, it will be felt by the audience as a kind of emotional charge, which will help to arouse sympathy and give the performance a slight charm. To get your excitement under control, it is best to rehearse a public speech in advance,” says Natalya Storozheva.

A home rehearsal is a small performance. It is advisable to have someone from your family or perhaps your friends help you. If there is no one to ask, try doing it in front of a mirror. Rehearse how you will sit or stand, what position is comfortable. Be sure to do this in the clothes and shoes in which you plan to perform in public for a feeling of relaxation and comfort. Because if you wear a T-shirt at a rehearsal at home, and a formal suit at a performance, this will change your physiological sensation of your own body. During the home rehearsal, try to bring the conditions as close as possible to the "combat" ones. Turn on a table lamp and turn it so that the light hits your eyes, stand in the middle of the room (maybe even on a chair) so that it becomes as heavy as it will be in a large hall or under very strong lighting to test the excitement that you will experience in real circumstances. It is very important when speaking in public that your voice sounds good. In order to even out the level of your own voice, try making a home recording of your speech. And listen to your voice. After that, you can make adjustments to your speech: speak a little louder or quieter, faster or slower.

Negotiations

The third situation is negotiations. According to Natalya Storozheva, preparing for negotiations is more difficult than preparing for a presentation and public speaking. In negotiations, only half depends on you, because there is also the other side. And their actions, and questions, you can only guess without knowing for sure. Therefore, the outcome of negotiations is always unknown and it is more difficult to prepare for them. However, the negotiation process itself is easier than public speaking, because in them you can always evade the question, reformulate it, postpone the discussion of one issue until a later time, and switch to the issue that you are more comfortable discussing.

“In negotiations, you can ask for a break - for tea, coffee, a smoke break, to agree on a position with colleagues or senior management. Negotiations are a longer, more flexible and more manageable process. And these aspects, of course, can be used to your advantage. To prepare as well as possible for negotiations, you need to do at least two things. The first is to clearly build your own position in order to understand exactly: what exactly you want, what exactly you are willing to pay for it, what concessions you can make, and where is the very red line that you cannot cross under any circumstances. The second point is to assume and work out the position of your opponent,” explains Natalya Storozheva.

Model the situation, guess what they will insist on, what they will ask for, what they will achieve. And prepare for each of these points your arguments or objections. When you are already in the negotiation process, when there is a dialogue, try to follow not only the logic of the negotiations, but also the emotional background, the state of your counterparts: how aggressive or, on the contrary, calm, how malleable and succumb to your emotions. If possible, try to maintain a leading position in the negotiations: do not press, do not press the interlocutor, but gently and persistently lead him along. This, firstly, will allow you to reduce your own tension, and secondly, to make communication more effective.

At the end of , business psychologist Ruslan Larin gives some advice on how to reduce anxiety before an interview, negotiation or speech.

“The first technique is “landing” – you need to carefully examine objects for a minute. For example, I look at my watch or hands. The focus of attention shifts to material things from a far-fetched experience. The second is to take the “power pose” (to increase testosterone and confidence) before the meeting, stand up or sit down in the pose of a confident person. You must be in this position for at least two minutes. If the anxiety has not passed, then during the meeting you need to openly tell the interlocutor what you are worried about. Speaking anxiety reduces anxiety at times,” sums up Ruslan Larin.

11 signs that you may have a cardiac arrest

Perhaps you urgently need to see a doctor.

You can not only read this article, but also listen to it. If it's more convenient for you, turn on the podcast.

Each year, heart disease kills up to 18 million people of all ages. The lion's share of these deaths could have been prevented if the problem was diagnosed in time and a doctor was consulted.

Unfortunately, it's not that easy. Cardiac failures are often disguised as a slight malaise or features of the body. Here is a list of not always obvious symptoms that indicate possible heart disease.

Attention! Especially vigilant should be people over 60 years old, as well as those who are overweight, have diabetes, hypertension or high cholesterol.

1. Chest discomfort

Experts from the authoritative medical resource WebMD call this the most common sign of heart problems.

It is impossible to describe the sensation clearly. Someone feels a slight pain, someone feels pressure or tightness, others complain of a burning sensation or tingling ... In any case, if you feel something unusual in your chest from time to time, you need to contact a therapist as soon as possible and get a referral on electrocardiogram and ultrasound of the heart.

This is how diseases of the vessels that supply our main organ with blood, or a developing heart attack, make themselves felt.

If the pain is severe and lasts more than a few minutes, call an ambulance immediately.

The good news is that 80-90% of chest pain is not related to the heart. But to make sure of this, it is better to visit a doctor as soon as possible.

2. Loss of appetite, nausea, pain or heaviness in the stomach

Of course, you can have indigestion for many reasons that have nothing to do with the heart. However, sometimes digestive problems are triggered by the fact that the digestive system receives less blood than usual. And poor blood flow is a sign of poor heart function.

If you feel nauseous for no apparent reason, and especially if you experience chest discomfort and other symptoms from this list, a visit to a therapist is a must!

3. Pain radiating to the left arm

Nerves from the heart and nerves from the left arm send signals to the same area of the brain. As a result, the brain does not always correctly understand what exactly hurts - the heart or the limb.

If you overexert your left arm in training, hit it, or simply waved unsuccessfully, discomfort is completely predictable. But if the pain of such localization, and even severe, occurs for no apparent reason, this is a cause for alarm. Doctors call it a classic symptom of a heart attack.

The American Heart Association recommends calling an ambulance if a sudden pain in the left arm does not go away or worsens within a few minutes.

If the sensation is more transient but familiar, be sure to see a doctor.

4. Pain in the teeth or lower jaw

Another example when the brain is not able to accurately identify what exactly hurts - the heart or the teeth. Fortunately, in most cases, tooth or jaw pain has a relatively safe origin: caries, or you pulled your jaw, or you blew ... But if there seems to be no reason, and your teeth ache regularly, you should check with a cardiologist.

In clinical practice, there have been cases of people having tooth after tooth extracted in an attempt to relieve them of pain that was actually a sign of heart problems.

5. Brief dizziness or feeling as if you are losing your bearings in space

There are many causes that can cause momentary weakness. For example, you haven't eaten in a long time. Or getting up too quickly from the couch after sitting for a long time.

But if these feelings occur regularly, try to get to the doctor as soon as possible. They talk about the heart not being able to pump blood to the brain. This may be a symptom of an impending stroke.

6. Constant fatigue

A weak heart cannot provide adequate blood circulation. Because of this, organs and tissues begin to experience a lack of nutrients and oxygen. In order to survive, the body reduces the blood supply to less important organs - primarily the limbs, and directs blood to more important ones - the heart, brain, lungs. And what about the limbs…

It becomes difficult for you to carry out the usual activities - for example, you have no strength to take a shower, it is difficult to wash the dishes, it seems incredibly difficult to climb stairs. And even rest does not bring cheerfulness, still "too lazy to lift a finger."

If this situation is familiar to you and has been going on for several days or longer, consult a cardiologist so that you do not miss the growing heart problems.

7. Edema of the legs

Due to impaired blood circulation in the extremities, the lymphatic flow is also disturbed - the removal of fluid from the tissues. The legs are especially affected. Fluid accumulates under the skin, edema appears.

If swelling of the legs has become your constant problem, a consultation on this topic with a general practitioner or cardiologist is required.

8. Protracted cough

In most cases, a cough is a common companion of a cold. But if you safely got rid of it a couple of weeks ago, and this symptom does not go away, this is a clear indication to see a doctor.

A prolonged cough can be a companion of an allergy or, let's say, bronchitis (which, frankly, is also not fun). But sometimes it is also provoked by heart failure, which makes it difficult for the outflow of moisture from the lungs.

A characteristic sign of a "cardiac" cough is pinkish or white mucus. If you notice something like this - run to the cardiologist!

9.

Unexplained shortness of breath

Shortness of breath is the first sign that there is little oxygen in the blood. The most common cause is physical activity. Muscles need a lot of oxygen to work and they literally suck it out of the blood. To compensate for this loss, the brain instructs the lungs to breathe faster.

Also, shortness of breath can be caused by excess weight, a sedentary lifestyle, stress, being in a stuffy room ...

But if such a symptom appears for no apparent reason and more often than before, and especially if it is accompanied by constant fatigue, chest discomfort and others signs from our list, you definitely need to see a cardiologist.

There is a strong possibility that the lack of oxygen is caused by poor blood circulation, which in turn is caused by irregularities in the functioning of the heart.

10. Loud snoring

Snoring during sleep is generally normal. But if you snore too loudly, it can be a sign of sleep apnea - a short pause in breathing during sleep.

Learn more