Heart Diseases

On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Living With
• Related Issues
• Specifics
• Genetics

See, Play and Learn

• Videos and Tutorials

Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Reference Desk
• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Men
• Women
• Older Adults
• Patient Handouts

Summary

If you're like most people, you think that heart disease is a problem for others. But heart disease is the number one killer in the U.S. It is also a major cause of disability. There are many different forms of heart disease. The most common cause of heart disease is narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries, the blood vessels that supply blood to the heart itself. This is called coronary artery disease and happens slowly over time. It's the major reason people have heart attacks.

Other kinds of heart problems may happen to the valves in the heart, or the heart may not pump well and cause heart failure. Some people are born with heart disease.

You can help reduce your risk of heart disease by taking steps to control factors that put you at greater risk:

• Control your blood pressure
• Lower your cholesterol
• Don't smoke
• Get enough exercise

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Start Here

• Heart Disease (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• What Are Heart Disease and Stroke? (American Heart Association) Also in Spanish
• Your Guide to Living Well with Heart Disease (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Cholesterol Levels (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• EKGs and Exercise Stress Tests: When You Need Them for Heart Disease -- and When You Don't (ABIM Foundation)
• Heart Health Tests: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• 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 & Stroke (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

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 May Not Mix with Heart Medicines (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Medications: Myths Versus Facts (American Heart Association)
• Pacemakers and Implantable Defibrillators: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Types of Heart Medications (American Heart Association)
• What Is a Ventricular Assist Device? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

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
• Heart-Healthy Living (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

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 Heart Disease and Stroke (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Heart Disease, Stroke, or Other Cardiovascular Disease and Adult Vaccination (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• 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 High Risk for Flu Complications (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Specifics

• African-Americans and Heart Disease, Stroke (American Heart Association)
• Cardiac Amyloidosis (American Heart Association)
• Cardiac Sarcoidosis (National Jewish Health) - PDF
• Enlarged Heart (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Heart Palpitations (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
• 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

• Blood flow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Cardiovascular system (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

• Comparing Heart Disease Treatments (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish
• FastStats: Heart Disease (National Center for Health Statistics)
• Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics (American Heart Association)
• High-Dose Influenza Vaccine Shows No Additional Benefit for Heart Disease Patients (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
• Interactive Atlas of Heart Disease and Stroke (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Racial and Ethnic Dispartities in Heart Disease (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - 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: The Use of Virtual Therapy in Cardiac Rehabilitation of Female Patients...
• Article: An Intervention to Improve Medication Adherence in People With Heart Disease...
• Article: Obstetric Anesthesia and Heart Disease: Practical Clinical Considerations.
• 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)

Find an Expert

• American Heart Association
• 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

Men

• 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
• Understanding cardiovascular disease (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Warning signs and symptoms of heart disease (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish