Heart Disease & Skin Infection Symptoms

There isn't a true link between heart disease and a skin infection. The two are rarely related. However, there is the potential for something that may appear to be a skin infection developing on an individual with heart disease. For the supposed infection to be a true symptom of this cardiovascular condition, other symptoms will most likely be present.

Rash

• When heart disease is because of some sort of infection to the heart's tissue, walls or valves, the symptom of a rash can manifest on the skin. It will appear raised and discolored. A rash because of a skin infection will most likely include some sort of sensation, such as itching or tingling, but it can still be difficult to differentiate between the two.

Spots

• This same type of infection of the heart that results in heart disease may also manifest as red or discolored spots on the skin. This shouldn't be confused with an actual skin infection and is one of the possible symptoms of heart disease.

Fever

• Another shared symptom between heart disease and a skin infection is the presence of a fever. Both will generally be mild, measuring somewhere around 100 degrees F.

Chest Pain

• A symptom of heart disease that sets it apart from a skin infection involves a dull to shooting pain isolated to the chest.

Shortness of Breath

• Another symptom that sets apart these two conditions is a shortness of breath. While an infection can prompt a person to become short of breath, it wouldn't do so when isolated to the skin. Heart disease, however, will usually cause a person to become short of breath.

Heart Rhythm

• Heart disease will often bring with it a change in the rhythm of the heart. A skin infection will not. When present, a person with heart disease may experience irregular or uneven heartbeats, something that may feel like a "flutter" or a rapid heart rate.