25/10/2026
💙 Protecting your respiratory health matters for your heart too
Your heart and lungs work as a team: your lungs bring oxygen into the blood and remove carbon dioxide, while your heart pumps oxygen-rich blood throughout your body. But the connection between respiratory and cardiovascular health goes even further.
Some respiratory and heart conditions can cause overlapping symptoms and signs:
🩺 Shortness of breath
🩺 Low blood oxygen saturation
🩺 Fatigue
🩺 Palpitations
🩺 Dizziness or fainting
If you live with a respiratory condition such as asthma or COPD, some of these may already sound familiar, but did you know they can also occur with cardiovascular conditions, including arrhythmias? Research has shown that COPD and cardiovascular disease often coexist and share risk factors such as smoking. The changes in lung function and airflow can put a strain on cardiac function and affecting gas exchange, highlighting how closely the heart and lungs are connected.
So, what can you do to protect your lungs and heart? Paying attention to respiratory symptoms and lung function can be an important part of taking care of your overall health. Spirometry is a simple, non-invasive lung function test used to assess conditions such as asthma and COPD. While it does not test your heart directly, it can provide valuable information about how well your systems are working.
When was your last respiratory check-up? If you have respiratory symptoms or risk factors, talk to a healthcare professional and book your spirometry now.
[SOURCES: NCBI, GOLD]
