“Many fairly normal persons with symptoms suggesting heart trouble are sure they have a serious heart disease; and many with serious heart disease have no symptoms suggesting heart trouble. The patients with real cardiac trouble suffer mostly from weakness, shortness of breath, cough, swelling of the feet, and disturbance of the liver, stomach, and bowels. They are seldom conscious of their heart action, no matter how irregular or tumultuous it may be.
Even those with heart blows so loud that they can be heard at a distance look curiously about the room to see where the sound comes from. Those who feel the heart pound (palpitation) or skip or race are usually those nervous patients with fatigue neuroses or those who smoke too much, or who drink too much coffee; and such persons are seldom very ill.”.
