Living with heart disease means dealing with a variety of symptoms on a regular basis. These are often the more common ones, like chest pain or breathing problems. However, some people experience less common symptoms. If you have these, it might be hard to figure out what is causing them.

Even if you’ve already been diagnosed with some type of heart disease, it can be hard to know if certain symptoms are related to your heart condition. Here are some unexpected symptoms of heart disease, so you can be on the lookout for them.

1. Fatigue

While fatigue is a fairly common symptom of heart disease, it’s on this list because so many other things can cause it as well. Many people miss connecting their excessive tiredness to heart problems. In one study, more than 70 percent of women who had heart attacks experienced significant fatigue in the months before their heart attack. If you're regularly fatigued beyond what is normal for you, talk to your doctor about your concerns. Your fatigue may indicate that your heart isn’t pumping enough blood to your lungs or to the rest of your body.

2. Jaw Pain

Jaw pain can mean that your heart muscle isn’t getting enough blood. Some people experience this as pain that feels like a toothache. One member of MyHeartDiseaseTeam who felt this said, “My heart attacks start as a severe severe jaw ache. … Anyone else?”

Women are more likely to experience this pain than men. If you have jaw pain and you don’t think there’s a problem with your teeth, it may be time to test your heart.

3. Dizziness

Dizziness, or feeling lightheaded, is another symptom that can have a lot of causes. One of them is an unusual heart rhythm. Some people living with heart disease experience this regularly, like one member who explained, “Having heart problems and it’s an everyday thing, every moment of a dizzy spell.”

4. Erectile Dysfunction or Vaginal Dryness

Because the penis is an organ that requires good blood flow to function properly, erectile dysfunction can indicate a problem with your heart. In fact, problems with erections can be an early warning sign of heart disease.

The vagina and clitoris also require good blood flow to work well. When blood isn’t flowing easily, you may experience vaginal dryness or a lack of sensation in the clitoris.

Problems in the bedroom can indicate heart disease. If the arteries that supply blood to the genitals are narrowed, it could mean the arteries that supply the heart muscle are damaged as well. However, most young people with this type of sexual issue have a healthy cardiovascular system, and the problem may not be related to heart disease. It’s important to share these symptoms with your doctor, so they can help you find the cause.

5. Significant Sweating

If you start sweating out of the blue or at times when you usually wouldn’t, it can indicate a heart attack. It’s more likely that you'll experience this alongside other heart attack symptoms, like shortness of breath or pain in the arms, neck, or chest. However, sweating without a reason should be taken seriously and may warrant a visit with your cardiology team — or even a trip to the emergency room to get medical help right away.

6. Nausea or Vomiting

Nausea and vomiting are both symptoms that can have a lot of explanations. If you can’t figure out why you feel this way, or you experience nausea or heartburn regularly, it’s time to have your heart checked. “My strongest symptoms of heart failure are shortness of breath and fatigue, sometimes nausea,” one member of MyHeartDiseaseTeam shared.

Nausea is tied to few heart problems. It can mean that blood and fluids are building up in your body because of heart failure. These can cause nausea. It can also be an early warning sign of a heart attack, especially in women.

7. Swelling in the Legs

Various conditions can cause swelling in your legs and ankles. Heart failure is one of them. When a weakened heart doesn’t pump blood efficiently, it can back up in the veins and cause fluid buildup.

Swollen legs are a sign your doctor should check for heart disease. In some cases, leg swelling can cause leg pain and interfere with daily life. As one member said, “My feet and legs swelling is making it hard for me to get my walk in. I wish something would help stop the swelling.”

8. Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea does not always indicate heart problems, but it can cause them. Because you stop breathing several times a night with sleep apnea, it can put stress on your body, including on your heart. Sleep apnea is also related to metabolic syndrome, which is associated with a risk for heart disease.

People on MyHeartDiseaseTeam see the connections between these conditions in their own lives. One explained, “I have been treating obstructive sleep apnea for years but lately, it seems the apneas and arrhythmias are correlating.”

9. Cramps in Your Calves

If your legs, particularly your calves, cramp when you walk, it could be a sign of a heart condition. Note that this pain usually stops when you stop your physical activity. This symptom most often indicates peripheral vascular disease and may indicate a buildup of plaque in blood vessels.

10. Persistent Coughing

If you have a cough that won’t go away and doesn’t seem to have a cause, ask your doctor about heart disease. When your heart isn’t pumping well, fluid can build up in your lungs. This can make you cough. As one member of MyHeartDiseaseTeam put it, “I have heart disease and have a dry cough that I can’t get rid of.”

Talk With Others Who Understand

On MyHeartDiseaseTeam, the social network for people with heart disease and their loved ones, more than 61,000 members come together to ask questions, give advice, and share their stories with others who understand life with heart disease.

Are you wondering if you’re experiencing symptoms of heart disease? Have you talked to a cardiologist or another health care provider about your heart health? Share your experience in the comments below, or start a conversation by posting on your Activities page.