A medic has revealed that a sign of serious heart condition could be spotted in your nails.
Dr Joe, an American emergency response doctor who has 2million followers on TikTok, advised that spotting a red pulsation when pressing down on your nails was a ‘bad sign’.
Medically called Quincke’s sign, Dr Joe explained this is a sign of a potentially serious heart condition with the organ is having to work harder than usual.
‘When the nail is pressed down there’s a pulsation in the nailbed and this is from something called aortic regurgitation,’ he said.
He continued: ‘As the blood is leaving the heart to go to the body a significant portion of it actually backflows into the heart and this can cause a whole host of problems.’
These problems can range from relatively mild issues like shortness of breath and fatigue up to heart failure and even death.
Aortic regurgitation is a relatively common condition in the population with some studies estimating about one in 20 people have some form of it.
However it ranges in severity, with only an estimated one in 200 people estimated to have the more serious levels.
It is most commonly diagnosed among people aged between 40 and 60, with men slightly more at risk. Some 1.5 million people over the age of 65 in the UK estimated to have some form of it, according to NHS estimates.
The condition itself is caused by a weakness in the aortic valves in the heart that means they don’t close properly leading to the regurgitation or backflow of blood into the organ.
Over time it can lead to the heart becoming weaker.
Due to the extra work, and therefore strain, the organ must undergo to pump blood through the these weakened valves.
Causes of the weakening that leads to aortic regurgitation varies.
Sometimes it’s congenital, meaning people are born with it, a consequence of infection weakening the heart, or the direct result of an physical injury to the chest.
In addition to Quincke’s sign, other symptoms of aortic regurgitation include general fatigue, weakness and shortness of breath while exercising, irregular heart beat or palpitations, dizziness or fainting and swollen ankles and feet.
Medically called Quincke’s sign, Dr Joe explained this is a sign of a potentially serious heart condition with the organ is having to work harder than usual. Stock image
People with these symptoms are advised to contact their GP immediately as these are also general signs of a potentially serious heart problem.
Diagnosis for aortic regurgitation typically involves tests that measure the heart’s performance as well as scans that look at its structure.
Treatment varies depending on the seriousness of the condition.
Those on the milder side might only need semi-regular check-ups on their heart health as well as general advice to keep their heart healthy to reduce the risk of the condition worsening.
Some patients may also be prescribed medication to help combat the side effects.
However, those with a more serious grade of aortic regurgitation may need to undergo surgery to repair their aortic valves or even replace them entirely with artificial one.
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