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1. You’re feeling exhausted or short of breath for seemingly no reason. Because your heart pumps life-giving oxygen and nutrients to your body, any slowdown in that process can make you feel like you’re trudging through mud. Not only that, but when your heart isn’t functioning correctly (particularly in the case of heart failure), fluid can back up in and around your lungs and make it harder to take a deep breath. Heart disease can show up a little differently depending on who you are, says Nikki Bart, MD, PhD, a heart failure and heart transplant cardiologist at St. Vincent’s Hospital Sydney. “Women are more likely to have more subtle signs,” she tells SELF. “For example, if a woman is going to have a heart attack, she won’t always experience crushing chest pain. She’s much more likely to have shortness of breath and fatigue.” But how can you tell if gasping for air and constant tiredness are due to an underlying heart problem rather than a lung condition, a lingering infection, or ...