When to seek a cardiology appointment?
Cardiovascular diseases represent the main cause of death in Portugal. Sudden death in the population is also mostly due to cardiovascular reasons.
Cardiology contributes to the prevention (through the control of risk factors), screening, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
The main cardiovascular risk factors are:
- Arterial hypertension
- Diabetes mellitus
- Hypercholesterolemia
- Obesity
- Smoking
- OSAS (obstructive sleep apnea syndrome)
- Family history of cardiovascular disease.
Of these, only family history is not changeable.
Arterial hypertension remains very underdiagnosed and uncontrolled, diabetes mellitus, which largely contributes to the prevalence of arterial hypertension, has increasing numbers, hypercholesterolemia continues to present a high prevalence of LDL-cholesterol levels above those adequate for controlling cardiovascular risk , obesity is on the rise and smoking is well recognized as a risk factor. OSAS (obstructive sleep apnea syndrome) is associated with high blood pressure and increased cardiovascular risk. Family history should justify early screening.
Complaints of tiredness and fatigue in a person, generally over the age of 50, may be due to heart failure, particularly if they are accompanied by swollen legs and feet or irregular heartbeats.
Complaints of precordial (chest) pain, particularly triggered by exertion, may be indicative of ischemic heart disease (coronary heart disease).
Palpitations (irregular heart beats), sensation of tachycardia (racing heart) or bradycardia (slow heart), dizziness, episodes of loss of consciousness (fainting), should motivate a clinical evaluation in a cardiology consultation, which, with complementary diagnostic tests , allows you to identify the severity of the problem and treat it effectively.
Most frequent symptoms:
- Fatigue and/or shortness of breath
- Swollen legs and feet
- Chest pain
- Irregular heartbeat
- Very fast or very slow beats
- Dizziness or fainting
- Snoring, waking up during the night, feeling of unrefreshing sleep
Progress in cardiovascular medicine has made it possible to radically modify the prognosis of the population that is diagnosed and treated early.
Specialist Doctors
Prof. Doutor Luiz Menezes Falcão
