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Mesothelioma is a cancerous disease that people contract due to long periods of exposure to asbestos. Many people live with it without knowing only for them to note later when it is beyond a state that is treatable. It is a rare disease but does not mean that you are completely safe. It is very important that you get tested for the disease if you have been exposed to asbestos for long periods. There are very many ways on how to know if you have mesothelioma.

The progression of the disease is very slow and one can even succumb to other ailments without knowing that he or she had mesothelioma. If you know that you have been exposed to asbestos for more than ten years then you need to get tested for the disease. The first symptoms include falling short of breath when doing strenuous activity or when sleeping. This is brought about by the pleural effusion which is a fluid that collects in between the lungs and the chest cavity.

The other symptom is persistent coughs accompanied by small episodes of breathe loss. The fluid constricts the air supply to the lungs and the coughs are a reaction of the body trying to decongest the lungs. The heart may also be affected and you can possibly feel the fluid inside the chest cavity.

Chest pains are also symptoms to watch out for. When the coughs become persistent you are likely to start feeling pain when coughing. The pain is usually sharp and it is during this stage of the ailment that many patients seek medical advice. Chest pains are common for extreme colds and flu but you should learn to differentiate all the symptoms. People who develop lung cancer also experience chest pains.

It is also possible to have palpitations characterized by a very high heart rate. Before the disease was actually discovered, medical experts used to diagnose the condition as increased blood pressure. The reason behind the increased heart rate was the fluid collecting around the heart constricting the veins and arteries. The heart therefore had to put in more extra effort to pump the required amount of blood to all the body organs therefore resulting in an increased heart rate.

If you feel that you have been exposed to asbestos long enough and you have any of the above symptoms then you should visit a medical institution for a checkup. Mesothelioma is diagnosed using advanced medical tests like CT scans, XRAY and MRI. It can imitate other forms of cancer but can be singled out by carrying out a pathological test. You are always advised to never ignore any medical condition that may be a cause for alarm.