What is cardiovascular disease, and what are the warning signs?

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1. 1

   The Global Burden of Cardiovascular Diseases and Risks

   Journal of the American College of Cardiology (Roth et al.)Published Dec 1, 2020Checked Oct 19, 2026

   “he Guidelines on Accurate and Transparent Health Estimate Reporting (2).The following review from the Global Burden of Disease/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute/Journal of the American College of Cardiology Global Burden of Cardiovascular Diseases Collaboration highlights major findings from the latest GBD study and places them in context as they relate to public policy, clinical practice, and research priorities.In 2019, cardiovascular disease (CVD) was the underlying cause of 9.6 million deaths among men and 8.9 million deaths among women, approximately onethird of all deaths globally.Of these deaths, 6.1 million occurred in people between the ages of 30 to 70 years.The highest number of CVD deaths occurred in China, followed by India, the Russian Federation, the United States, and Indonesia.Despite a 30-year decline in age-standardized CVD mortality rates globally, the GBD 2019 study reveals increasing age-standardized CVD mortality in many locations since 2010 and an overall flattening of the global decline in the past 5 years.These "hotspot" locations show that factors beyond aging and population growth are driving up CVD mortality.The GBD 2019 study provides a ranking”

2. 2

   Global Burden of Cardiovascular Diseases and Risk Factors, 1990–2019

   Journal of the American College of Cardiology (Roth et al.)Published Dec 1, 2020Checked Oct 19, 2026

   “The total number of DALYs due to IHD has risen steadily since 1990, reaching 182 million (95% UI: 170 to 194 million) DALYs, 9.14 million (95% UI: 8.40 to 9.74 million) deaths in the year 2019, and 197 million (95% UI: 178 to 220 million) prevalent cases of IHD in 2019. The total number of DALYs due to stroke has risen steadily since 1990, reaching 143 million (95% UI: 133 to 153 million) DALYs, 6.55 million (95% UI: 6.00 to 7.02 million) deaths in the year 2019, and 101 million (95% UI: 93.2 to 111 million) prevalent cases of stroke in 2019. Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of disease burden in the world. CVD burden continues its decades-long rise for almost all countries outside high-income countries, and alarmingly, the age-standardized rate of CVD has begun to rise in some locations where it was previously declining in high-income countries. There is an urgent need to focus on implementing existing cost-effective policies and interventions if the world is to meet the targets for Sustainable Development Goal 3 and achieve a 30% reduction in premature mortality due to noncommunicable diseases.”

3. 3

   Reducing the Global Burden of Cardiovascular Disease, Part 2

   Circulation Research (Leong et al.)Published Aug 31, 2017Checked Oct 19, 2026

   “In this second part of a 2-part series on the global burden of cardiovascular disease, we review the proven, effective approaches to the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. We specifically review the management of acute cardiovascular diseases, including acute coronary syndromes and stroke; the care of cardiovascular disease in the ambulatory setting, including medical strategies for vascular disease, atrial fibrillation, and heart failure; surgical strategies for arterial revascularization, rheumatic and other valvular heart disease, and symptomatic bradyarrhythmia; and approaches to the prevention of cardiovascular disease, including lifestyle factors, blood pressure control, cholesterol-lowering, antithrombotic therapy, and fixed-dose combination therapy. We also discuss cardiovascular disease prevention in diabetes mellitus; digital health interventions; the importance of socioeconomic status and universal health coverage. We review building capacity for conduction cardiovascular intervention through strengthening healthcare systems, priority setting, and the role of cost effectiveness.”

4. 4

   Public knowledge of risk factors and warning signs of heart attack and stroke

   The Egyptian Journal of Neurology Psychiatry and Neurosurgery (Pallangyo et al.)Published Jan 29, 2024Checked Oct 19, 2026

   “A total of 1759 respondents were enrolled in this study. The mean age was 45.4 years, females constituted over a half of participants and over two-thirds had attained at least secondary school education. Regarding risk factors, just over 2% of participants displayed satisfactory awareness and only stress was recognized by at least half of participants. With regard to warning signs, barely 1% of participants had satisfactory knowledge for either of the conditions while nearly three-quarters of participants failed to mention even a single warning sign for heart attack. Recognized by about two-thirds of respondents, sudden numbness or weakness in face, arm or leg was the most acknowledged stroke symptom; however, other symptoms were familiar to less than a third of participants. Public knowledge of common risk factors and typical warning signs for heart attack and stroke was critically suboptimal. These findings herald an utmost need for public health efforts to increase community awareness of risk factors and typical signs of the two conditions to curb the rising prevalence and associated morbimortality.”

5. 5

   **"Recognizing Heart Attack Symptoms: What You Need to Know — A Comprehensive Review of Clinical Presentation, Early Warning Signs, Atypical Manifestations, and Public Awareness Strategies"**

   Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) (Geruganti)Published Oct 10, 2026Checked Oct 19, 2026

   “The review examines the classic presentation of myocardial infarction, including retrosternal chest pain, radiation to the left arm, neck, or jaw, and associated symptoms such as diaphoresis, nausea, and dyspnea. It also debunks the "sharp, stabbing pain" myth, emphasizing that ischemic cardiac pain is rarely sharp or stabbing and that this misconception leads patients to dismiss their actual symptoms. A substantial portion of the paper is devoted to atypical presentations. These include dyspnea, gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea, vomiting, epigastric discomfort, indigestion), fatigue and weakness, syncope and presyncope, pain in atypical locations (jaw, teeth, neck, back, upper abdomen), and autonomic symptoms. Silent myocardial infarction—myocardial injury and necrosis without any recognizable symptoms—is discussed in detail, with reference to the Framingham Heart Study and more recent imaging-based studies. Sex differences are examined: women are more likely to present without chest pain and to report fatigue, dyspnea, nausea, and back or jaw pain. Age-related differences are”

6. 6

   *"The Body Gives These 8 Dangerous Warning Signs Before a Heart Attack: Recognizing the Prodromal Phase and Preventing Catastrophe — A Comprehensive Review of Unusual Fatigue, Sleep Disturbances, Shortness of Breath, Chest Discomfort, Indigestion, Anxiety, Palpitations, and Atypical Pain as Pre-Myoc

   Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) (Geruganti)Published Oct 10, 2026Checked Oct 19, 2026

   “The paper begins with an introduction that frames the problem: the heart attack that kills without warning is a myth. In clinical reality, the majority of myocardial infarctions are preceded by prodromal symptoms. Yet these warning signs are frequently subtle, non-specific, and easily attributed to benign causes such as stress, aging, indigestion, or musculoskeletal strain. The result is a missed opportunity for prevention—and a heart attack that could have been averted. The review examines the concept of prodromal symptoms, drawing on landmark studies including McSweeney et al. (2003), who found that 95% of women reported at least one prodromal symptom in the weeks before their heart attack, and Hofgren et al. (1994), who reported prodromal symptoms in 65% of patients. The most common symptoms identified in these studies—unusual fatigue (70%), sleep disturbance (48%), shortness of breath (42%), and indigestion (39%)—form the core of”