Heart Disease
The term “heart disease” refers to several types of heart conditions. The most common type of heart disease in the United States is coronary artery disease, which affects the blood flow to the heart. Decreased blood flow can cause a heart attack.
Learn more about heart disease, heart attack, and related conditions:
Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is the most common type of heart disease in the United States. For some people, the first sign of CAD is a heart attack. You and your health care team may be able to help you reduce your risk for CAD.
A Heart Attack, also called a myocardial infarction, occurs when a part of the heart muscle doesn’t receive enough blood flow. The more time that passes without treatment to restore blood flow, the greater the damage to the heart muscle.
Other Related Conditions include: Acute coronary syndrome, angina, stable angina, unstable angina, aortic aneurysm and dissection, arrhythmias, atherosclerosis, atrial fibrillation, cardiomyopathy, congenital heart defects, heart failure and rheumatic heart disease.
Risk Factors
High blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol, and smoking are key heart disease risk factors for heart disease. About half of Americans (49%) have at least one of these three risk factors.
Several other medical conditions and lifestyle choices can also put people at a higher risk for heart disease, including: