Heart and circulation

Angina — chest pain from reduced blood flow to the heart, stable vs unstable, GTN spray, and when to call 999.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) — irregular heartbeat, palpitations, stroke risk, anticoagulation, and NHS rate control treatments.

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) — leg blood clot symptoms, pulmonary embolism warning signs, diagnosis, and NHS anticoagulant treatment.

How to recognise a heart attack — symptoms in men and women, what to do in an emergency, and reducing your risk.

Heart failure — breathlessness, ankle swelling, causes, diagnosis with echocardiogram, and NHS treatment including ACE inhibitors and diuretics.

High blood pressure rarely causes symptoms but raises heart attack and stroke risk. Get checked from age 40 — treatment works. Reviewed by UK doctors.

A plain-English guide to high cholesterol — what it means, the risks, and how it is managed.

Peripheral arterial disease — narrowed leg arteries, claudication leg pain on walking, diagnosis, and NHS treatment including exercise and statins.

Pulmonary embolism — blood clot in the lung, symptoms including breathlessness and chest pain, emergency treatment, and NHS prevention of recurrence.

How to recognise a stroke — FAST warning signs, what to do in an emergency, and recovery after a stroke.

Transient ischaemic attack (TIA) — warning stroke symptoms, FAST recognition, urgent assessment, and NHS prevention including antiplatelets and lifestyle changes.

What chest pain can mean, the emergency signs to act on immediately, and common non-serious causes.

Fainting (syncope) is a brief loss of consciousness caused by reduced blood flow to the brain — most faints are vasovagal and harmless, but some need checks.

Leg pain is usually caused by muscle strain or cramps, but one-sided swelling can signal DVT. Learn the common causes, self-care and when to get urgent help.

Palpitations are the feeling of your heart pounding, racing or fluttering; they are usually harmless, but chest pain or fainting needs urgent help.

Shortness of breath can be caused by being unfit, anxiety or a chest infection, but can also signal a heart or lung problem. Call 999 if it is sudden or severe.

Swollen ankles are often caused by standing, hot weather or pregnancy, but heart or kidney disease and a DVT can also cause swelling that needs GP review.

Amlodipine is a calcium channel blocker that relaxes blood vessels to treat high blood pressure and angina, sometimes causing ankle swelling.

Aspirin is a medicine that relieves pain and fever at standard doses, and at low daily doses helps prevent heart attacks and strokes in people at risk.

Atorvastatin is a statin medicine that lowers LDL cholesterol and reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke when taken daily exactly as prescribed.

Blood pressure medicines lower the force of blood against artery walls, reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke, and are usually taken long-term.

Propranolol is a beta-blocker that eases anxiety symptoms, prevents migraines, and treats heart conditions such as high blood pressure and angina.

ACE inhibitor for blood pressure, heart failure and kidney protection in diabetes.

What statins are, why they are prescribed, their benefits and side effects, and how they are used.

A cholesterol blood test measures total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglycerides to help assess your risk of heart disease and stroke on the NHS.

An ECG is a painless test that records your heart's rhythm and electrical activity using sticky pads, helping detect arrhythmias and heart attacks.