9. Heart disease
Heart disease is an umbrella term for a range of conditions that can impact your heart, including coronary artery disease, arrhythmias, heart infections, and diseases of the heart muscle, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the U.S., per the CDC, making this a condition you don’t want to take lightly.
There are a lot of potential symptoms of heart disease, but fatigue is one of them—particularly with cardiomyopathy (a disease of the heart muscle), heart valve problems, and endocarditis (an infection that affects the inner lining of your heart chambers and heart valves).
Symptoms depend largely on the type of heart disease you have, but can include chest pain, shortness of breath, swelling in your legs, ankles, and feet, and changes in your heart rhythm, along with fatigue.
If your doctor suspects you have heart disease, they’ll likely want to do a blood test and chest X-ray, along with diagnostic tests like an electrocardiogram to measure the electrical activity in your heart and a cardiac MRI to get detailed imaging of your heart, per the Mayo Clinic. Treatments can vary depending on the type of heart disease you have, but may include things like lifestyle changes (specifically focusing on a low-fat, low-sodium diet), certain medications, and even surgery.
10. Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory autoimmune disease that impacts the joints. Those with RA experience chronic joint pain, swelling, weakness, and, you guessed it, fatigue, according to the CDC. The condition may also affect the lungs, heart, and eyes.
According to the CDC, RA symptoms include pain or aching in more than one joint, stiffness in more than one joint, tenderness and swelling in more than one joint, weight loss, fever, weakness, and fatigue. People with RA also often experience the same symptoms on both sides of the body.
A combination of physical exams, blood work, and x-rays are required to diagnose RA. Because RA symptoms can resemble those of other inflammatory joint conditions, it’s important to receive a proper diagnosis from a rheumatologist. There are a variety of medications that can be prescribed to treat RA, per the CDC, and those are often combined with self-management strategies such as staying active and avoiding injury to prevent the disease from progressing.