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Summary
What is heart disease?
Heart disease is a general term that includes many types of heart problems. It's also called cardiovascular disease, which means heart and blood vessel disease.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, but there are ways to prevent and manage many types of heart disease.
What are the types of heart disease?
There are many different types of heart disease. Some you may be born with, called congenital heart disease. Other types develop during your lifetime.
Coronary artery disease (also called coronary heart disease) is the most common type of heart disease. It happens slowly over time when a sticky substance called plaque builds up in the arteries that supply your heart muscle with blood. The plaque narrows or blocks blood flow to the heart muscle and can lead to other heart problems:
- Angina - chest pain from lack of blood flow
- Heart attacks - when part of the heart muscle dies from loss of blood flow
- Heart failure - when your heart can't pump enough blood to meet your body's needs
- Arrhythmia - a problem with the rate or rhythm of your heartbeat
Other types of heart diseases may affect your heart valves or heart muscle (cardiomyopathy).
What causes heart diseases?
The causes of heart disease depend on the type of disease. Some possible causes include lifestyle, genetics, infections, medicines, and other diseases.
Who is more likely to develop heart diseases?
There are many different factors that can make you more likely to develop heart disease. Some of these factors you can change, but others you cannot.
- Age. Your risk of heart disease goes up as you get older.
- Sex. Some factors may affect heart disease risk differently in women than in men.
- Family history and genetics. A family history of early heart disease raises your risk of heart disease. And research has shown that some genes are linked to a higher risk of certain heart diseases.
- Race/ethnicity. Certain groups have higher risks than others.
- Lifestyle habits. Over time, unhealthy lifestyle habits can raise your risk heart disease:
- Eating a diet high in saturated fats, refined carbohydrates, and salt.
- Not getting enough physical activity.
- Drinking too much alcohol.
- Smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke.
- Too much stress.
- Having other medical conditions can raise your risk of heart diseases. These conditions include:
- High blood pressure.
- High cholesterol levels.
- Diabetes.
- Obesity.
- Autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
- Chronic kidney disease.
- Metabolic syndrome.
What are the symptoms of heart disease?
Your symptoms will depend on the type of heart disease you have. You may not have symptoms at first. In some cases, you may not know you have heart disease until you have a complication such as a heart attack.
How are heart diseases diagnosed?
To find out if you have heart disease, your health care provider will:
- Ask about your medical history, including your symptoms
- Ask about your family health history, including relatives who have had heart disease
- Do a physical exam
- Likely run heart tests and blood tests
In some cases, your provider may refer you to a cardiologist (a doctor who specializes in heart diseases) for tests, diagnosis, and care.
What are the treatments for heart disease?
Treatment plans for heart disease depend on the type of heart disease you have, how serious your symptoms are, and what other health conditions you have. Possible treatments may include:
- Heart-healthy lifestyle changes
- Medicines
- Procedures or surgeries
- Cardiac rehabilitation
Can heart diseases be prevented?
You may be able to lower your risk of certain heart diseases by making heart-healthy lifestyle changes and managing any other medical conditions you have.
NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Diagnosis and Tests
- Cholesterol Levels (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- Heart Disease Risk Assessment (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- Heart Health Tests: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- hs-CRP Test (C-Reactive Protein High-Sensitivity)
- Lipoprotein (a) Blood Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- Picturing the Heart (National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering)
Prevention and Risk Factors
- Heart Disease Risk Factors (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- How to Prevent Heart Disease: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- Risks for Heart Disease and Stroke (Department of Health and Human Services)
- Take Action for Your Heart: Get Started! (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - PDF
Treatments and Therapies
- Blood Thinners: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- Chelation for Coronary Heart Disease (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
- Five Things to Know about Omega-3s for Heart Disease (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
- Heart Surgery: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- Herbal Supplements and Heart Medicines May Not Mix (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
- Pacemakers and Implantable Defibrillators: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- Types of Heart Medications (American Heart Association)
Living With
- Cardiac Rehabilitation: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- Coping with Feelings (American Heart Association)
- Healthy Recipes (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- Medication Adherence: Taking Your Meds as Directed (American Heart Association)
- Medication Management (American Heart Association)
- What Is Heart-Healthy Living? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
Related Issues
- Air Pollution, Climate, and Heart Disease (American Heart Association)
- All about Heart Rate (Pulse) (American Heart Association)
- Diabetes, Heart Disease, and Stroke (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
- Flu and People with Heart Disease or History of Stroke (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Illegal Drugs and Heart Disease (American Heart Association)
- Inflammation and Heart Disease (American Heart Association)
- Medication Interactions: Food, Supplements, and Other Drugs (American Heart Association)
- Mental Health and Heart Health (American Heart Association)
- People at Higher Risk of Flu Complications (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
- Take Diabetes to Heart (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - PDF
Specifics
- Black People, Heart Disease and Stroke (American Heart Association)
- Cardiac Amyloidosis (American Heart Association)
- Cardiac Sarcoidosis (Johns Hopkins Medicine)
- Enlarged Heart (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
- Left Ventricular Hypertrophy (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
- Myocardial Bridge (Texas Heart Institute) Also in Spanish
- Myocardial Ischemia (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
- Top 10 Myths about Cardiovascular Disease (American Heart Association)
Genetics
- Familial HDL deficiency: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
- Genetic Testing for Inherited Heart Disease (American Heart Association)
- Tangier disease: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
- Williams syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Videos and Tutorials
- 3 Delicious Heart Healthy Recipes (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
- Blood flow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Cardiovascular system (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Test Your Knowledge
- Heart Palpitations Quiz (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Statistics and Research
- FastStats: Heart Disease (National Center for Health Statistics)
- Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics (American Heart Association)
- Interactive Atlas of Heart Disease and Stroke (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Racial and Ethnic Dispartities in Heart Disease (National Center for Health Statistics) - PDF
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Cardiovascular Diseases (National Institutes of Health)
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Heart Diseases (National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: A proposed technique for predicting heart disease using machine learning algorithms...
- Article: Cardiac macrophages in maintaining heart homeostasis and regulating ventricular remodeling of...
- Article: Characteristics and outcomes of patients with cardiac conditions requiring emergency medical...
- Heart Diseases -- see more articles
Reference Desk
- Heart Anatomy (Texas Heart Institute) Also in Spanish
- Heart Information Center (Texas Heart Institute) Also in Spanish
- How the Heart Works (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
Find an Expert
- American Heart Association
- Find an Interventional Radiologist (Society of Interventional Radiology)
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Children
- Commonly Asked Questions about Children and Heart Disease (American Heart Association)
- Heart Disease (For Kids) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- Ventricular Assist Device (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Men
- About Men and Heart Disease (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Women
- Heart Disease in Women: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Older Adults
- Heart Health (National Institute on Aging)
Patient Handouts
- Aspirin and heart disease (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Being active when you have heart disease (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Electrocardiogram (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Exercise stress test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Heart disease - risk factors (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Heart disease and depression (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Know the Difference: Cardiovascular Disease, Heart Disease, and Coronary Heart Disease (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - PDF
- Understanding cardiovascular disease (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Warning signs and symptoms of heart disease (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish