According to the UAE government’s Non-Communicable Disease report, approximately 4,800 people die each year in the UAE from the four main diseases (cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory disease, and diabetes), with cardiovascular diseaseaccounting for 34% of all deaths in the country.
While deaths from heart attack have declined due to better emergency interventions, mortality from heart failure, arrhythmias, and hypertensive heart disease is on the rise.
In this blog, we will uncover the silent but powerful force behind the world’s leading cause of death: heart disease. We’ll take you on a journey through the early warning signs you shouldn’t ignore, common (and uncommon) symptoms, and dive deep into the key causes. You’ll learn how lifestyle choices, genetics, and even stress can influence your heart health.
We’ll also explore the often-overlooked connection between heart disease and stroke, and alcohol use. Most importantly, we’ll share effective prevention strategies, diagnostic insights, and the latest treatment breakthroughs.
Whether you’re managing your own risk or caring for a loved one, this blog will help you understand, prevent, and face heart disease with confidence, powered by medical expertise from Reem Hospital.
Heart Disease Causes & Risk Factors:
Heart disease causes include:
- Hypertension: The Silent Killer
High blood pressure (also known as hypertension) is the most common underlying cause of heart disease. When your blood pressure remains elevated over time, it forces the heart to work harder to pump blood. This extra strain thickens the heart muscle and can lead to hypertensive heart disease, which is responsible for about 25% of all heart failure cases globally. Often symptomless, hypertension is dubbed the “silent killer” because of its hidden damage, making regular monitoring crucial.
- Diabetes:
Living with diabetes—especially type 2—doubles your chances of developing heart disease. High blood sugar levels over time damage the blood vessels and the nerves that control your heart. In fact, many diabetics die from heart disease and stroke, not from diabetes itself. This powerful link underscores the need for blood sugar control not just to manage diabetes, but to protect the heart too.
- Obesity & High Cholesterol:
Obesity, especially abdominal obesity, significantly increases the risk of heart disease. Excess body fat strains the heart and often goes hand-in-hand with high cholesterol and insulin resistance. When bad cholesterol (LDL) levels rise, they lead to plaque buildup in the arteries—a condition known as atherosclerosis. Over time, this narrows the arteries and increases the risk of heart attack or stroke. Combined with a sedentary lifestyle, this becomes a potent and preventable trigger.
- Genetic Factors:
Sometimes, heart disease genetic predisposition plays a bigger role than lifestyle. If a parent or sibling developed heart disease at an early age (before 55 for men or 65 for women), your own risk is significantly elevated. Genetic factors may influence cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and how your body processes fats—all of which affect your cardiovascular health.
- Rheumatic Fever:
While rare, heart disease caused by rheumatic fever remains a serious issue. This condition occurs when strep throat or scarlet fever isn’t treated properly, leading to rheumatic heart disease—a chronic heart valve damage caused by an autoimmune response. This form of heart disease often shows up years later, silently compromising the heart’s ability to function properly.
- Alcohol:
The relationship between heart disease and alcohol is complex. Heavy or chronic alcohol use raises blood pressure, weakens the heart muscle (causing cardiomyopathy), contributes to arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats), and increases triglyceride levels, all leading to heightened cardiovascular risk. Moderation is essential, and for high-risk individuals, complete abstinence is often advised.
Other Major Contributors:
- Smoking: Tobacco damages blood vessels, lowers oxygen in the blood, raises blood pressure, and accelerates atherosclerosis.
- Chronic stress: Long-term stress increases cortisol, blood pressure, and inflammation, raising the odds of a cardiac event.
- Unhealthy diet: Diets high in salt, sugar, and trans fats can raise blood pressure, cholesterol, and weight.
- Air pollution: Emerging studies show a strong correlation between prolonged exposure to polluted air and heart disease, as it promotes inflammation and oxidative stress.
Early Symptoms of Heart Disease:
Many don’t realize that heart disease’s early symptoms extend beyond chest pain. Some subtle signs include:
- Shortness of Breath (Especially When Lying Flat)
Known as orthopnea, difficulty breathing when lying down is a classic early symptom of heart failure. Fluid can accumulate in the lungs due to poor heart function, making it harder to breathe without elevation. If you find yourself needing extra pillows at night or waking up gasping for air, it’s time to get checked.
- Persistent Coughing (Especially at Night)
One of the more unexpected symptoms is chronic coughing, particularly when lying down. This is often due to fluid buildup in the lungs, a sign of congestive heart failure. Known medically as “cardiac cough,” this type of cough is usually dry and persistent, and worsens at night when lying flat.
- Jaw Pain or Discomfort
Heart disease jaw pain is a lesser-known but important symptom, especially common in women. The discomfort can radiate to the lower jaw, throat, or even the teeth. Unlike dental pain, this type of jaw ache often worsens during physical exertion and eases with rest.
- Back Pain
Heart disease back pain is another under-the-radar symptom. While back pain is typically associated with posture or strain, cardiac-related back pain usually appears between the shoulder blades or in the upper back. It may feel deep, pressure-like, andoccur duringexertion or stress.
- Night Sweats, Skin Rash, and Nail Changes
Excessive night sweats—especially if not linked to menopause—can be a red flag for cardiovascular stress. Similarly, unexplained skin rashes and changes in nail color (like a bluish hue or pale nail beds) can indicate oxygen-poor blood flow, signaling cardiovascular strain. Inflammatory markers related to heart conditions sometimes manifest through the skin and nails long before other symptoms appear.
- Chronic Fatigue, Faintness, or Light-headedness
We all feel tired from time to time, but persistent heart disease fatigue—especially if accompanied by weakness, dizziness, or fainting—isn’t normal. It could be your heart struggling to circulate enough oxygen-rich blood. Many patients report a noticeable decline in stamina and energy before more obvious signs like chest pain arise.
- Leg Swelling or Edema: A Late, Advanced Sign, Not an Early One
Swollen ankles, feet, or calves—known as peripheral edema—can be a telltale sign that the heart isn’t pumping efficiently. Poor circulation causes fluid to collect in the lower extremities. This is commonly seen in heart failure patients and should be assessed, especially if it worsens at the end of the day or is accompanied by shortness of breath or fatigue.
Age & Gender Differences: How Heart Disease Doesn’t Affect Everyone the Same Way
Heart disease is not a one-size-fits-all condition—it manifests differently across age groups and between genders. Understanding how these differences impact diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes is critical to improving awareness and care.
Heart Disease and Age:
Aging naturally leads to structural and functional changes in the heart and blood vessels. Arteries stiffen, the heart’s pumping efficiency may decline, and conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes become more common. These factors combine to make older adults, especially those over 65, vulnerable to various forms of cardiovascular disease, including coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, and heart failure.
But heart disease isn’t limited to the elderly. Younger adults with a family history, poor lifestyle habits, or chronic conditions like obesity and diabetes can also be at risk. That’s why early screening and proactive care are important across all ages.
Men vs Women: Mortality Rates and Health Behavior Factors
When it comes to heart disease in women, the symptoms are often more subtle, making diagnosis more difficult and frequently delayed. Unlike the “classic” chest pain that men often report, women may experience:
- Shortness of breath
- Unexplained fatigue
- Jaw pain
- Nausea or indigestion
- Back or neck pain
- Lightheadedness or dizziness
These atypical symptoms can lead to misdiagnosis or being mistaken for conditions like anxiety or menopause, resulting in women not receiving timely or adequate treatment. women are underdiagnosed and often under-treated when it comes to heart conditions.
Hormonal differences also play a significant role. Estrogen is believed to offer some cardiovascular protection during reproductive years, but after menopause, a woman’s risk increases sharply. In fact, postmenopausal women are nearly as likely as men to develop heart disease.
While men are more likely to experience heart disease earlier in life and present with classic symptoms like chest pain. Women tend to have worse outcomes after a first heart attack, often due to delayed recognition and less aggressive treatment.
Men are also more likely to engage in risk-prone behaviors such as smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, but women may have additional risk factors linked to hormonal changes, pregnancy complications, and autoimmune disorders.
Heart Disease in Pregnancy:
Though relatively rare, heart disease in pregnancy can be life-threatening for both mother and baby. Conditions such as peripartum cardiomyopathy, gestational hypertension, and preeclampsia can lead to serious cardiovascular complications. Pregnant women with pre-existing heart disease require close monitoring by both cardiologists and obstetricians throughout pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum. Even healthy women can develop heart-related issues during pregnancy, which is why routine prenatal care should include cardiovascular risk assessment, especially for those with a personal or family history of heart problems.
Heart Diseases Diagnosis: Tools & Tests
Accurate heart disease diagnosis involves:
- Physical exam, medical history, and checking blood pressure and heart rate.
- Blood tests: lipid profile, glucose, cardiac enzymes—key for heart disease blood test.
- Imaging: ECG, echocardiogram, stress tests, angiography.
- Predictive tools: combining family history, lifestyle, and test outcomes to assess heart disease prediction.
Heart Diseases Treatment:
Medications:
Based on your condition, medical history, and diagnostic results, your doctor will prescribe one or more of the following medications:
- Antihypertensives: ACE inhibitors, ARBs, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers
- Statins: To lower LDL cholesterol and stabilize arterial plaque
- Anticoagulants & antiplatelets: Warfarin, NOACs, aspirin, etc.
- Diuretics: Especially to manage fluid retention (edema) in heart failure
- Antiarrhythmics: For managing abnormal heart rhythms
Advanced Therapies & Procedures
Based on your condition and responsiveness to medications, the doctor may recommend any of the following advanced therapies:
- Angioplasty, bypass surgery, stent placement.
- Devices for arrhythmias or heart failure.
- Emerging: gene therapy aimed at heart disease reversal success.
Lifestyle Modifications
- Heart disease diet: rich in fruits, vegetables, low-sodium, lean proteins, and whole grains.
- Limit alcohol, sugars, and processed fats.
- Regular exercise, weight control.
- Stress management—quitting smoking, moderating caffeine.
These are critical for everyone, not only patients with heart disease. This is your manual on how to prevent heart disease.
Conclusion
Heart disease affects every corner of our lives—from breathlessness and fatigue to systemic complications like kidney failure, jaundice, and edema. It touches millions worldwide and remains the leading cause of death yet is largely preventable. By recognizing early signs—coughing, jaw pain, back pain, leg swelling, night sweats, rash, fatigue, or changes in nail color—you can act before serious damage.
With the right guidance, heart disease need not be a life sentence; it can be managed, controlled, and sometimes reversed. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Schedule your heart check‑up, ask about a comprehensive heart disease blood test, and learn how to live with heart health, not fear.
Patient Login
