Heart Disease: Expert Guides and Resources

Even thinking about heart disease is no fun, but preventing it from happening in the first place (or managing heart disease if you do develop it) is often a matter of controlling your risk factors, eating right, exercising, and generally living a heart-healthy life. Lowering your stress levels comes into play as does knowing the warning signs of heart attack — just in case.

Atherosclerosis results from the gradual buildup of fatty deposits called plaque, or lesions, in the interior walls of large and medium-sized arteries. The disease process starts with small changes in the artery wall and takes years to develop to a point where the narrowing arteries may produce symptoms or negatively affect your health.

When tests reveal that you have narrowing of one, two, or three of the coronary arteries, your physician develops a plan for how best to treat your unstable angina. This plan may include the use of medicines, angioplasty (PCI), or coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG). Medical therapy A variety of medications that decrease the work of the heart or decrease the propensity of blood to clot at the sites of fatty plaques may be used to treat stable and unstable angina.

A stroke occurs when a blood clot or bleeding suddenly interrupts the flow of blood to an area of the brain. When deprived of blood, brain cells lose their ability to function and, if deprived for too long, die. Because brain cells and groups of brain cells have highly specialized functions, the location of stroke damage determines what loss of neurological and bodily function occurs as a result of stroke.

While you're sitting still, your heart is beating at 70 to 80 contractions per minute (unless you're extremely fit). With each contraction, the right ventricle discharges about three-quarters of the blood it contains into the vessels of the lungs where it receives oxygen. At the same time, the left ventricle is discharging about three-quarters of the blood that it contains into the aorta and arterial system to feed the oxygen to all the organs and muscles.

Hypertension isn't called a killer for nothing. High blood pressure is a significant risk factor for developing coronary artery disease (CAD), the leading cause of death in the United States, and it's considered a significant risk for stroke, heart failure, and kidney failure. Anyone with poorly treated hypertension at least doubles his or her risk of developing all of these conditions.

It's no surprise that myths about heart disease often prevail. After all, the heart is a truly mythic organ — the fount of all life. Throughout the world's cultures, heroes and heroines of mythology and legend usually are persons of great heart. The same can be said of persons of great cunning. Their hearts are the embodiment of the courageous lifestyles that inspire the masses.

Heart disease is the most common cause of death in the U.S. Maybe that’s because there are so many facets of heart disease. The heart and its accompanying circulatory system can be injured or damaged — not only by trauma, but also by genetic predisposition, viruses, and lifestyle choices. Deaths from heart disease usually are attributed to heart attacks, but heart attacks can be caused by many factors: Atherosclerosis (blockages in the arteries) Ischemia (lack of oxygen) Thromboembolism (blood clots that travel through the bloodstream and block blood vessels elsewhere in the body) Hypertension (high blood pressure) Atherosclerosis occurs when fats, especially cholesterol, accumulate in the lining of the arteries.

You know that you are carrying more pounds that you ought to. You’re ready to start a weight loss plan. But how overweight are you? How much weight overall should you lose? How can you set interim weight loss goals that will help you see progress quickly and stay motivated? You can use your Body Mass Index (BMI) measurement and a BMI chart (or the BMI calculator link) to help you answer all these questions.