Doctor shares ‘red flag’ signs of silent killer in nails, legs and ears

The symptoms can show in your nails, legs and ears

A doctor has shared early warning signs of heart disease that you can see in your nails, legs and ears.

Coronary heart disease is a major cause of death in the UK, with the main symptoms being chest pains, shortness of breath, pain through the body and feeling faint and sick. However, this is in the later stages when it is much harder to reverse.

Taking to TikTok, one doctor has shared some red flag signs that can indicated if you are getting, or have, heart disease. These red flag signs occur in your nails, legs and ear lobes, Wales Online reports.

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Dr Dustin Portela said: “Do you know that dermatologists are trained to look for clues on the skin to tell you if you have heart disease. Dermatologists are trained to look for the signs of internal disease that come out on your skin. Here’s a few that might signal a risk for heart disease.

“First up is swelling of the legs, particularly bilateral edema. This is an example of unilateral edema. But when you have swelling of the legs, it could be a sign of heart failure.”

Edema is swelling caused by too much fluid trapped in the body’s tissues. It can affect any part of the body, but is more likely to show up in the legs and feet.

Medicines and pregnancy can also cause edema. But often, it can be the result of a disease, such as congestive heart failure, kidney disease, venous insufficiency or cirrhosis of the liver.

Dr Portela said the nails could also provide a sign. He added: “Next called clubbing, a downward curve of the nail. While the fingertip gets swollen, this could be a sign of heart disease of a heart infection or of lung disease.”

Nail clubbing, also known as digital clubbing or clubbing, is a deformity of the finger or toe nails associated with a number of diseases, mostly of the heart and lungs.

Dr Portela said there could also be a sign in your ears. He said: “Lastly is something called Frank’s sign, which is a diagonal crease in the ear lobe. That can be an indicator of heart disease. But further studies have shown it’s probably not that highly correlated and it’s more just to do with age.”

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