Fatty heart symptoms, causes, and simple, expert-approved tips to keep your heart healthy

Fatty heart symptoms: If you feel tired all the time, your chest feels heavy or if there is dull pain, experience breathlessness while climbing stairs, have irregular or racing heartbeat, get yourself checked for fatty heart problem (Image: Pexels)

Do you sit more than you should, eat heavier than you realise, and move less than ever before? While these may cause you to worry about cholesterol or blocked arteries, doctors are flagging another hidden danger: Fatty heart. Much like fat can build in the liver or belly, it can gather around the heart. If left unchecked, it weakens the organ and raises the risk of heart failure.

The reassuring thing is that with small lifestyle changes and timely checks, you can protect yourself. Says Dr Anil Mishra, Cardiologist, BM Birla Heart Hospital, Kolkata, “Fatty heart is most common in people who are obese or diabetic, but even lean people are not completely safe.”

The main culprits, he says, include:

• Excess weight: Excess fat doesn’t just sit on the tummy; it can coat the heart.
• Diabetes: Disturbs metabolism, making fat stick where it shouldn’t.
• High cholesterol: Clogs arteries and adds fatty layers.
• Heavy drinking: Weakens both liver and heart muscles.
• Sitting too much: No movement means no fat burning.
• Family history: If heart disease runs in your family, risks are higher.

Symptoms of heart disease:

At first, fatty heart often shows no symptoms. But as it worsens, the body gives subtle signals. Cautions Dr Mishra, “Don’t brush off unusual breathlessness or constant tiredness as just age or stress.”

Heart disease symptoms to watch out for include:

• Feeling tired all the time
• Chest heaviness or dull pain
• Breathlessness while climbing stairs
• Irregular or racing heartbeat
• Swelling in legs or stomach
• Struggling to breathe when lying flat at night

How to protect your heart:

The good news: fatty heart can be managed and even prevented. “Small daily habits go a long way in protecting the heart,” says Dr Mishra.

• Move your body daily: Walking, yoga, or light workouts keep fat away.
• Eat smarter: less fried food, sugar, and red meat; more fruits and vegetables.
• Control blood sugar and blood pressure: regular check-ups if you have diabetes or hypertension.
• Cut down alcohol: The less, the better.
• Get heart check-ups: Especially if you already have fatty liver or family history.