The Basics
Overview
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. Take steps today to lower your risk of heart disease.
To help prevent heart disease, you can:
- Eat healthy
- Get active
- Stay at a healthy weight
- Quit smoking and stay away from secondhand smoke
- Control your cholesterol and blood pressure
- Drink alcohol only in moderation
- Manage stress
Am I at risk for heart disease?
Anyone can get heart disease, but you’re at higher risk if you:
- Have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or diabetes
- Smoke
- Are overweight or have obesity
- Don’t get enough physical activity
- Don’t eat a healthy diet
Your age and family history also affect your risk for heart disease. Your risk is higher if:
- You’re a woman over age 55
- You’re a man over age 45
- Your father or brother had heart disease before age 55
- Your mother or sister had heart disease before age 65
But the good news is there’s a lot you can do to prevent heart disease.
What Is Heart Disease?
When people talk about heart disease, they’re usually talking about coronary heart disease (CHD). It’s also sometimes called coronary artery disease (CAD). This is the most common type of heart disease.
When someone has CHD, the coronary arteries (tubes) that take blood to the heart are narrow or blocked. This happens when cholesterol and fatty material, called plaque, build up inside the arteries.
Several things can lead to plaque building up inside your arteries, including:
- Too much cholesterol in the blood
- High blood pressure
- Smoking
- Too much sugar in the blood because of diabetes
When plaque blocks an artery, it’s hard for blood to flow to the heart. A blocked artery can cause chest pain or a heart attack.
Credits: https://health.gov/