Baldness may be a sign of heart disease.

Outline

Although age is a risk factor, heart disease can attack at any age.  Specifically, women aged 35 to 54 have been hospitalized for heart attacks more often in recent decades, according to a 2019 Circulation study.  This age group is at higher risk for heart disease due to obesity and high blood pressure, according to the CDC.  In reality, heart disease symptoms are more complex and subtle.

Heart disease signs vs. symptoms

Start with definitions. 

* Heart disease symptoms are bodily sensations, while signs are visible to your doctor.  Shortness of breath and chest pain indicate cardiac disease.  Your doctor will also check for typical heart disease symptoms during an exam or interview.

* Knowing heart disease indicators is crucial since you may have them before symptoms appear.  Telling your doctor about these indications may help you seek heart disease treatment early.

Foot/Lower Leg Swelling

• Fluid retention in the feet and legs is called peripheral edema.  
• Edema can leave "sock marks" on your legs and ankles after a day of tight socks or hose.  Mild peripheral edema is common.  
• Your doctor may check for such swelling by placing a finger on your ankle or shin bone for a depression or dent. 
• Pitting edema may suggest congestive heart failure.
• Edema may indicate heart failure because fluid from blood vessels leaks into surrounding tissues when the heart is not working adequately. 
• Edema often affects the legs and ankles due to gravity.

Also, read https://www.acs-mv.com/blog/the-link-between-edema-and-your-heart.

Manish A. Parikh, MD, Chief of Cardiology at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, says venous insufficiency or varicose veins can cause leg swelling.

When leg veins don't return blood to the heart, the leg feels heavy or swollen.

• Swollen or asymmetrical legs with abrupt pain and tenderness behind the calves or thigh may suggest a blood clot, which requires emergency medical attention, says Dr. Parikh.
• If you experience new or worsening leg swelling, see your doctor because edema might suggest several diseases.  “The swelling has a cause, but medications or lifestyle changes can help,” explains Texas Heart Institute general and interventional cardiologist Briana Costello, MD.

Baldness in Men

• Some evidence links AGA, a prevalent hair loss condition, to heart disease in men.  Men with male pattern baldness lose hair.
• One often-cited 2000 JAMA Internal Medicine study indicated that men with crown hair loss have a 23% higher risk of heart disease than those with full heads of hair.  Men with complete top-hair loss have a 36% higher risk, according to the findings.
• A June 2021 International Journal of General Medicine study linked baldness to heart problems in Chinese men.  Four hundred and two participants aged 28 to 75 with variable hair loss were tested for artery health.  Researchers identified the strongest link between heart disease and significant and early hair loss in men.

 However, scientists caution that other variables may be involved.

• "The relationship between male pattern baldness and heart disease remains unclear."  Dr. Costello says.  Early balding is linked to higher cardiac risk, but it may also be a sign of obesity and diabetes.
• Too much testosterone, which inhibits hair growth and hardens arteries, may be the cause, according to some studies.
• “Nonetheless, the final answer has not yet been reached,” Costello says.
• While baldness may not cause heart problems, it may suggest further evaluation for other symptoms.

Yellow Skin Bumps

• Xanthomas are subcutaneous fat deposits.  They may show as little yellow bumps or flat, wide plaques on elbows, knees, hands, feet, or buttocks.  Xanthelasma palpebrarum is an eyelid xanthoma.  These fat yellow deposits may indicate cardiac trouble.
• “Xanthomas can be a marker of very high blood cholesterol,” Parikh explains.  “This is linked to heart disease because deposits can build up in heart arteries.”

 Gum Disease

• Swollen, painful, or bleeding gums commonly indicate poor oral hygiene but may also indicate heart problems.
• According to Harvard Health Publishing, gum disease increases the risk of heart disease by 2–3 times, but the link is uncertain.
• Inflammation may be driving the relationship, according to a January 2021 Journal of Periodontology study.
• The inflammation caused by periodontal or gum infection can lead to heart problems, says Parikh.  “The same inflammatory process from gums that can cause similar artery or heart deposits.”
• Another possibility is that periodontal disease-causing gum bacteria move to blood vessels and cause inflammation or damage.

Other evidence showed smoking may cause gum disease and heart disease simultaneously.

• A 2018 European Journal of Preventive Cardiology study included over a million participants who had approximately 65,000 cardiovascular events, including heart attacks.  Poor dental health was linked to heart disease somewhat; however, adjusting for smoking status eliminated the link.
• "Work is ongoing to investigate this possible link between gum disease and heart disease, but in the meantime, I encourage all patients to maintain dental health and hygiene and schedule regular cleanings," Costello says.

Emotional Stress

• Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, or broken heart syndrome, is cardiac muscle weakness caused by acute emotional stress, grief, or loss, especially in women.  Surging stress chemicals, especially adrenaline, cause cardiac pain that feels like a heart attack, with heart palpitations, shortness of breath, and flushing.
• Costello says stress-induced cardiomyopathy is not a heart attack because the coronary arteries are not obstructed.  One theory is that an abrupt adrenaline spike "stresses" the cardiac muscle and causes malfunction.

The 2005 New England Journal of Medicine study first described broken heart syndrome.

• In October 2021, the Journal of the American Heart Association reported a sharp surge of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy in older women.  The study found that 88% of broken heart syndrome sufferers are women, and rates are 6 to 12 times higher in women aged 50 to 75.
• The American Heart Association says broken heart syndrome survivors can recover within weeks, but long-term implications are still being explored.

Heart Failure Signs

• Heart failure is poor heart function.  It doesn't indicate heart failure.  Heart failure is sometimes called congestive heart failure (CHF).
• “It is first important to realize that heart failure is a spectrum, and many patients with imperfect heart function may feel just fine,” Costello adds.  “It's also important to remember that heart failure's early signs can be subtle.”

Eventually, heart failure worsens.  Initial warnings may include:

The video explains that weight gain may be a sign of heart disease

* Weight Gain:  Parikh believes edema and abrupt weight gain might result from heart failure.

* Exercise Tolerance Change:  Heart failure may be indicated by a decline in exercise or performance.  Costello says shortness of breath occurs because the heart-pumping function is weakened, and you cannot improve oxygen transport to tissues as efficiently as previously.

* Frequent Urination:  Heart failure reduces kidney blood flow, causing fluid retention.  According to the Cleveland Clinic, this fluid may cause frequent urination.

* Nighttime Cough:  Costello says fluid buildup in the chest with heart failure makes it difficult to lie down owing to shortness of breath.  The condition may cause nighttime coughing.

Conclusion

Remember that these heart disease symptoms may have numerous origins.  They don't indicate heart disease.  They give your doctor the best chance to discover heart disease early and keep you healthy when combined with other heart disease symptoms, blood tests, and family history.