r/HeartHealth

I am 30F, and obese (class III), I have been so for a long time. I had an episode of very fast HR at night while lying down, which was not measured with a device but I felt dizzy and sweaty. Got a cardiologist appointment and he ran ECG, resting echo, Holter test, bloodwork. The first three came back normal but labs showed total cholesterol 201. Low HDL, normal LDL but triglycerides at 270. It also showed I’m pre diabetic and my BP can be anywhere around 130/80. I was given a beta blocker and told to manage weight.

Since my last appointment, I've been following advice to increase physical activity. During brisk walking for twenty minutes or climbing a lot of stairs, my heart rate appears to rise to roughly 140 to 170 bpm by phone app estimate, after which I become kind of lightheaded and dizzy and need to stop. This has never happened before. My previous ECG, echocardiogram, and Holter were reported as normal, but these exertional symptoms continue and I'm worried about CAD. No family history so far except maternal grandma and uncle both of wholesome had blocked arteries, I’m South Asian, if that matters.

hello, i'm searching for some advice/experiences.

my bf started having chest pain/low grade fever end of june and after getting checked he was diagnosed with acute pericarditis. after a 5 day hospital stay, he was released and has been on colchicine 2x a day and ibuprofen. he has had good days and bad days, but it just seems like his condition is not going away like we wouldve hoped by now. i am starting to kinda have a theory and this is what i am searching for any feedback about.

he doesnt have the best dental hygiene and he is a smoker. he has needed to go see a periodontist for a while but just hasnt gone because of dentist anxiety and just forgetting about it and such. he was also in a car accident back in may that caused some trauma to the inside of his mouth that he was on a prescription mouthwash for for about a month. straight forward question, is it possible that his lack in dental hygiene and/or the mouth trauma from the accident could be related to contracting this condition and ignoring it could be prolonging it like this? i know this can take a while to get rid of and that it may have not been long enough.

i know that the hospital runs blood tests to find the potential root cause. hes convinced that this is something that stemmed from a virus, but he was not sick before this happened with anything. which is why im going down the route of this maybe being bacterial, even though his blood cultures came back normal i think?? im not sure. but the inflammatory markers in his blood work were high and not really going down as quickly as they were hoping in the hospital. but he still got released anyways because he was not having fevers anymore.

thank you in advance for any feedback. i cant not ask about this theory because i have a strong suspicion that it could be related. and if it could be, i would like to address it so he can get better.

tldr; can bad oral hygiene be a hidden cause of pericarditis and if so how do you address it

I’ve recently relapsed in my eating disorder journey. Today my psychologist told me I need my heart checked because I've had chest pressure on my left side and my heart rate reached two hundred and four while exercising. I also recently started a diuretic. But my mind keep telling me that there is no reason for me to go to the hospital because I’m at a stable weight (even though I’ve lost some weight) and my BMI is currently considered normal. What should I do?

Hello all! I am a 23 year old male who’s been on adhd medication since May. I started on Adderall, now i’m on vyvanse, 40 mg. My father has heart issues, in his early 50s he experienced a stroke that made his entire right side numb. My grandfather had heart issues as well, all connected to smoking. Unfortunately, i’ve been victim to vaping since I was 15, not a regular drinker, but on occasion. I drink a ton of water, eat the best food when I can. My question is, should i be concerned about my heart health? I haven’t had any chest pains, but the occasional discomfort, i’m thinking that’s my lungs.

There’s a health fair at my local church next weekend, and they’re offering a few different screenings, including a carotid ultrasound for around $50. Part of me thinks it might be worth doing, especially since my dad had a stroke a couple of years ago. But I’m also a little skeptical about getting something like that done outside of a regular clinic or hospital. I have no idea what kind of equipment they use or how experienced the person doing the scan is. Has anyone here had one of these mobile or health-fair screenings? If you later had the same thing done through a hospital or regular clinic, were the results pretty similar? I’m mostly trying to figure out whether these screenings are useful or whether I’d just end up worrying about a result that needs to be checked again anyway.

Hi everyone, I’m looking for some cardiologist perspective on my recent screening results.

I’m 41, asymptomatic, a non-smoker, and non-diabetic. My cholesterol is pretty normal, and my history of high blood pressure and sleep apnea is now well-controlled for 6 months. However, my BMI is 40, and my CRP has been chronically high (around 8 - 9) for years.

Test I've had that were normal:

Stress ECG & ECHO - June 2025

ECG - Dec 2025 & July 2026

My coronary artery calcium scan just came back as zero. While I know that is great news, I am still worried. Given my severe obesity, chronic inflammation and years of un-checked BP & Sleep apnea. I'm concerned about aggressive soft plaque hiding in my arteries that the scan couldn't see.

How reassuring is a zero score with my specific profile? Would you still consider me low risk?

Thanks for your time.

I'm a 25M with a history of RF ablation for focal atrial tachycardia down low in the right atrium on March 14th, 2025. Have had intermittent chest pains for over a year since, sometimes exertional. Most notably when getting out of my car and starting to walk I will get an immense pressure in my chest and often sinuses and head. I have already had a normal ekg, echo, and standard treadmill test achieving 10.10 METS. PCP says he can't help me and cardiologist does not think I have a problem but ordered the CTA to allay my fears. Is it worth the risk of radiation and contrast exposure at my age?

Advice would be greatly appreciated as all my doctors have decided they can't help me, including my EP who only monitors my rhythm, which is fine for the most part. I don't have a family history of early heart disease. Does this sound more like orthostatic intolerance? The fear of missing stable angina has sent me into a spiral but I don't want to be exposed to unnecessary testing especially if it won't help me. Again advice would be greatly appreciated as my doctors are done.

I am 34(f) and 6 month post pregnant. I come from a family of heart disease where my father had bypass early 50, paternal aunt at 40 and maternal aunts died of cardiac arrests at 60+. I was always cautious of my cholesterol/diet and this is first time getting lipo/Apo— I feel like I am on a ticking time-bomb now and too anxious. I had vaginal delivery with 3 hours pushing. I feel my heart might have gone through hell shit and might now in the verge of end! I am still breastfeeding my baby - not sure statin works. I am vegetarian all my life and saturated fat consumption was up and down over time, more carb diet. I do oat meal/chia seeds and less on soluble fiber - will work to increase it more. My physician asked to wait for another 6 months, change diet and exercise in the meantime,

I am too anxious right now to think all through this and I want to live for my baby.
Please please share your experience/thoughts. 🙏🏼🙏🏼

Recent test -6 month postpartum:
hdl: 51

Triglycerides: 120(hovering around 180 past 5 years)

ldl: 159 (always hovering over 105 past 5 years)

lipo:189

apo: 135

A1c: 5.9 (less than 5.5 over past 5 years)

BP: normal

A few years ago, maybe six or seven years ago, I started experiencing pain in my heart. It comes and goes many times.
It’s like being on a roller coaster. Sometimes, it feels as if someone is gripping my heart and squeezing it. Other times, it feels like something is tightening around my heart.
Sometimes, it also feels as if my heart is racing.
All of my tests have been normal. My echocardiogram was normal, and my ECG was normal.
I also suffer from digestive problems. Could they be related to these symptoms?
I need someone to help me understand what might be wrong with me.

Im F 21 im a med student ,so funny thing my parents were taking their blood pressures and were like mines higher than yours I jokingly took mine and it was higher than both of theirs 140 by 95

And the next night I jad severe head ache and I measured my bp it was 160/100

Been like this on and off for a few days sometimes 134/80 132/98

I got my blood cp and urea and echo cardiogram done they were normal have to do let's and rats and lipid profile

I have a family history of hyperlipidemia my dad has stents and my mom's side HTN

My dads cardiologist prescribed me a non selective beta blocker been a day since I took it it lowered my bp slightly but my hr was 59

In evening my bp was 143/98 and hrs was 68

Now at night its 124/84 the most normal reading I've had so far

Should I continue the medicine wouldnitnlower my heart rate

And most importantly why is this happening to me im just 21 maybe stress or anxiety because I jave upcoming exams but can't rule out my strong family history now can I

Hello!

Recently dropped my LDL from 160ish to 108 with the portfolio diet. About to start a low does of statin and got my APOB checked first (via a cardiologist). It was 120. I was surprised it was so high.

Any thoughts on that??

I also have a Level 2 autistic third grader.

I went to urgent care last Monday because I had sudden bilateral leg swelling that I initially noticed in my calves. My legs are pretty thin and not particularly muscular. All of a sudden my calves were rather wide and shins were hurting. The swelling spread to my ankles and feet then thighs. I began to have pain in my hamstrings and glutes followed by lower abdominal cramping.

Last week, I went to urgent care because I’m aware enough that this could be a sign of heart-related issues. The NP told me the edema wasn’t bad enough for him to be extremely concerned but to see a cardiologist for possible CHF but he said I’m too young.

Looking back, the 1.5 weeks leading up to it I was abnormally nauseous and vomiting prior to my cycle (negative pregnancy test). The week of, I traveled to see some family (~7 hr road trip) and upon returning stepped on the scale and noticed I had gained 17 lbs.

Two days (Sunday) after returning I woke up with some cold (initially assumed it was allergies) and had taken allergy meds, advil, and chloroseptic spray. I wasn’t feeling better so that night I made some echinacea tea with emergen-c and sleepy time tea which helped me sleep but that’s about it. Monday I still felt a bit rough but was maintaining until that evening with the leg swelling.

I’ve had trouble breathing the entire time but assumed allergies and they something triggered my asthma. My inhaler helps (after about 10 pumps. 😅)

I finally got up the nerve to get a cardio appointment for this Wednesday.

Don’t ask me about fatigue, I’ve been tired for the past 10 years. I just keep going. My activity tolerance over the years has been hit or miss but I’ve tried to be more physically active the past 1+ years.

If you made it this far, thanks 🙏

I guess I’m just looking for other people with (or observations of others with) similar experiences and how it turned out. I’ve also read that life expectancy is ~5 - 10 years which I’m really sad about right now because of my son.

If this is all the case I’m hoping that I can qualify for some type of disability or something to be able to spend as much time with him as possible before the inevitable and/or possibly extend my life expectancy.

I’m also wondering if this is reversible. A low sodium diet isn’t something I’ve heard a lot about until reading recently. Growing up I just thought not adding salt was good enough.