Heart and circulatory diseases are a major cause of death in the UK. Also known as circulatory disease, they account for around a quarter of all fatalities every year.
Therefore, spotting any of the warning signs could be life saving. Some of the symptoms of heart issues are fairly well, such as chest pain and shortness of breath.
However, others are less so and may seem unlikely. One expert spoke about an unexpected sign of heart disease that can appear on the fingers.
Dermatologist Dr Daniel Sugai warned that finger clubbing can appear in people with the illness. This means that the fingertips become enlarged and the nails curve downwards.
Speaking to his more than one million followers on TikTok he revealed a simple test that can determine whether your fingers are clubbed.
He said: “Finger or nail clubbing, or you have an enlargement of the fingertips and the curvature of your nail goes downward.
“That’s when we worry about heart and lung disease including lung cancer.”
To test for nail clubbing you need to put two fingernails together, one from each hand.
In healthy fingers you should see a diamond-shaped gap at the bottom of the nails, this is known as the Schamroth test.
“If you do this Schamroth test and you put your fingers together, you should see a little diamond window between your fingers like this,” Dr Sugai said.
“If you don’t, then we worry about finger clubbing.”
The British Medical Journal also explains how to carry out this test.
“If two opposing fingers are held back to back against each other, a diamond-shaped space should normally appear between the nail beds and the nails of the two fingers,” it says.
“In clubbing, this space (or window) is missing.”
The reason why finger clubbing is linked to heart disease is because it is often caused by low-blood oxygen levels which can occur if the heart is unable to properly pump blood around the body.
This also means it could indicate lung cancer or another lung condition.
Other signs of heart disease to be aware of include:
- Chest pain (angina)
- Shortness of breath
- Pain throughout the body
- Feeling faint
- Feeling sick (nausea).
A major cause of heart disease is atherosclerosis, which can be caused by unhealthy habits such as smoking, drinking alcohol and eating a high-fat diet.
“Over time, the walls of your arteries can become furred up with fatty deposits,” the NHS explains.
“This process is known as atherosclerosis and the fatty deposits are called atheroma.
“Atherosclerosis can be caused by lifestyle factors, such as smoking and regularly drinking excessive amounts of alcohol.
“You’re also more at risk of getting atherosclerosis if you have conditions like high cholesterol, high blood pressure (hypertension) or diabetes.”