Heart Diseases (Print Version)

MedlinePlus Health Information: A service of the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health

Heart Diseases

URL of this page: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/heartdiseases.html

Also called: Also called: Cardiac disease

If you're like most people, you think that heart disease is a problem for other folks. 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

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Start Here

Heart Disease(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/HeartDisease/
Heart Disease Risk Questionnaire(Siteman Cancer Center) - http://www.yourdiseaserisk.siteman.wustl.edu/hccpquiz.pl?lang=english&func=start&quiz=heart
Also available in Spanish http://www.yourdiseaserisk.wustl.edu/hccpquiz.pl?lang=spanish&func=start&quiz=heart
Your Guide to Living Well with Heart Disease(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/other/your_guide/living_hd_fs.pdf

Overviews

Cardiovascular Disease 101: Understanding Heart and Blood Vessel Conditions(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/cardiovascular-disease/HB00032/METHOD=print
Heart and Vascular Diseases(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/

Latest News

Older Emphysema Drug Linked to Heart Deaths(09/16/2008, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_69319.html
Plastics Chemical Tied to Heart Disease, Diabetes(09/16/2008, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_69317.html
New Way to Protect Against Heart Damage Explored(09/12/2008, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_69208.html
More News on Heart Diseases http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/alphanews_h.html#heartdiseases

Diagnosis/Symptoms

Cardiac Catheterization(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/cath/cath_what.html
Cardiac CT(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/ct/ct_whatis.html
Cardiac MRI(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/mri/mri_whatis.html
Computer Imaging / Tomography(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4554
Coronary Angiogram and Angioplasty(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/coronaryangiographyandpossibleangioplasty/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/coronaryangiographyandpossibleangioplastyspanish/htm/index.htm
Diagnostic Tests and Procedures(Texas Heart Institute) - http://www.texasheartinstitute.org/HIC/Topics/Diag/
Also available in Spanish http://www.texasheartinstitute.org/HIC/Topics_Esp/Diag/diagtest_sp.cfm
Echocardiogram(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/echocardiogram/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/echocardiogramspanish/htm/index.htm
Echocardiography(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/echo/echo_whatis.html
Echocardiography Stress Test(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/echocardiography/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/echocardiographyspanish/htm/index.htm
Electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG)(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/ekg/ekg_what.html
Heart Disease: Tests(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/conditions/heart-4.html
Invasive Testing(Cleveland Clinic Foundation) - http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/services/tests/invasive/default.aspx
Laboratory Tests(Cleveland Clinic Foundation) - http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/services/tests/labtests/default.aspx
Nuclear Heart Scan(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/nscan/nscan_whatis.html
Stress Testing(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/stress/stress_whatis.html

Treatment

MedlinePlus: Heart Surgery(National Library of Medicine) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/heartsurgery.html
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/heartsurgery.html
What Are Anticoagulants and Antiplatelet Agents?(American Heart Association) - Links to PDF - http://www.americanheart.org/downloadable/heart/1196965757160AnticoagandAntiplat.pdf

Prevention/Screening

Cardiac Risk Assessment(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/cardiac_risk/glance.html
Cholesterol Test(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/cholesterol/test.html
hs-CRP (High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein)(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/hscrp/test.html
Lipid Profile(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/lipid/glance.html
MedlinePlus: Heart Diseases--Prevention(National Library of Medicine) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/heartdiseasesprevention.html
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/heartdiseasesprevention.html

Rehabilitation/Recovery

Cardiac Rehabilitation(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/rehab/rehab_whatis.html
Cardiac Rehabilitation(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/cardiacrehabilitation/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/cardiacrehabilitationspanish/htm/index.htm
Cardiac Rehabilitation: Building a Better Life After Heart Disease(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/cardiac-rehabilitation/HB00017/METHOD=print

Coping

Coping with Feelings(American Heart Association) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3047697

Disease Management

Left Ventricular Assist Device(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4599

Specific Conditions

Enlarged Heart: What Are the Causes?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/enlarged-heart/HQ00623/METHOD=print
Heart Palpitations(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/articles/831.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/articles/831.printerview.html
Heart Tumors(InteliHealth) - http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/8059/11162/275183.html?d=dmtContent
JAMA Patient Page: Pericardial Effusion(American Medical Association) - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/297/16/1844.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/data/297/16/1844/DC1/1
Left Ventricular Hypertrophy(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/left-ventricular-hypertrophy/DS00680/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
Pericarditis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/pericarditis/DS00505/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
Pericarditis(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/peri/peri_whatis.html
Silent Ischemia and Ischemic Heart Disease(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4720

Related Issues

Alcohol, Wine and Cardiovascular Disease(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4422
Also available in Spanish http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3042012
Anesthesia and Heart Disease(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4462
Antibiotics and Your Heart(American Dental Association) - http://www.ada.org/public/topics/antibiotics.asp
Caffeine(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4445
Also available in Spanish http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3041028
Can Patients with Cardiovascular Disease Take Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Drugs?(American Heart Association) - http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/117/17/e322
Cardiovascular Specialists and Your Health Care(American College of Cardiology) - http://www.acc.org/media/patient/cardio.htm
Cholesterol Counts for Everyone(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/chd/
Diabetes, Heart Disease, and Stroke(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/stroke/
Flu Shots: Important If You Have Heart Disease(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/flu-shots/HB00086/METHOD=print
Gum Disease Links to Heart Disease and Stroke(American Academy of Periodontology) - http://www.perio.org/consumer/mbc.heart.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.perio.org/consumer/mbc.sp.heart.htm
Heart Disease Risk Factors(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/HeartDisease/risk_factors.htm
JAMA Patient Page: Acute Emotional Stress and the Heart(American Medical Association) - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/298/3/360.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/data/298/3/360/DC1/1
JAMA Patient Page: Chronic Stress and the Heart(American Medical Association) - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/298/14/1722.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/data/298/14/1722/DC1/1
JAMA Patient Page: Smoking and the Heart(American Medical Association) - Links to PDF - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/299/17/2112.pdf
New Guidelines Regarding Antibiotics to Prevent Infective Endocarditis(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3047051
Platelets and Cardiovascular Disease(American Heart Association) - Links to PDF - http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/reprint/108/13/e88.pdf
Sexual Activity and Heart Disease or Stroke(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4714
Take Care of Your Heart. Manage Your Diabetes(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - Links to PDF - http://www.ndep.nih.gov/diabetes/pubs/TCH_AsAm_flyer_Eng.pdf

Health Check Tools

Heart Disease Risk Questionnaire(Siteman Cancer Center) - http://www.yourdiseaserisk.siteman.wustl.edu/hccpquiz.pl?lang=english&func=start&quiz=heart
Also available in Spanish http://www.yourdiseaserisk.wustl.edu/hccpquiz.pl?lang=spanish&func=start&quiz=heart

Tutorials

Cardiac Rehabilitation(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/cardiacrehabilitation/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/cardiacrehabilitationspanish/htm/index.htm
Coronary Angiogram and Angioplasty(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/coronaryangiographyandpossibleangioplasty/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/coronaryangiographyandpossibleangioplastyspanish/htm/index.htm
Echocardiogram(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/echocardiogram/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/echocardiogramspanish/htm/index.htm
Echocardiography Stress Test(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/echocardiography/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/echocardiographyspanish/htm/index.htm

Games

Play the Electrocardiogram Game(Nobel Foundation) - Requires Flash Player - http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/medicine/ecg/

Anatomy/Physiology

Healthy Heart(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/hearthealth/healthyheart/healthyheart.html
Heart Anatomy(Texas Heart Institute) - http://www.texasheartinstitute.org/HIC/Anatomy/anatomy2.cfm
Also available in Spanish http://www.texasheartinstitute.org/HIC/Anatomy_Esp/anato_sp.cfm
How the Heart Works(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/hhw/hhw_whatis.html

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Cardiovascular Diseases(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Cardiovascular+Diseases%22
ClinicalTrials.gov: Heart Diseases(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Heart+Diseases%22
Learn More about Chelation Therapy and the Study(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/chelation/chelationstudy.htm

Genetics

Genetics Home Reference: Williams syndrome(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=williamssyndrome

Research

Abdominal Fat Distribution Predicts Heart Disease(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3052325
Air Pollution and Cardiovacular Disease(National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences) - http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/impacts/cardiovascular.cfm
Children with ADHD Should Get Heart Tests Before Treatment with Stimulant Drugs(American Heart Association) - http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=398
Developmental Changes in Adolescence Raise Men's Heart Disease Risk(American Heart Association) - http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=400
Family Cardiac Caregivers May Have Higher Heart Disease Risk(American Heart Association) - http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=362
Fatty Liver Disease May Raise Heart Disease Risk in Overweight, Obese Kids(American Heart Association) - http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=452
Heart Disease(National Institutes of Health) - Links to PDF - http://www.nih.gov/about/researchresultsforthepublic/heartdisease.pdf
Inflammation May Explain Why Poor, Uneducated Suffer More CVD(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3051948
Lack of Vitamin D May Increase Heart Disease Risk(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3052800
Link Between Heart Disease, Sleep Apnea Should Be Probed(American Heart Association) - http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=476
New Survey Shows African-Americans Are Concerned with Heart Health but Unaware of Link to Brain Health(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3053663
Poor Teen Sleep Habits May Raise Blood Pressure, Lead to CVD(American Heart Association) - http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=496
Statement Addresses Risks of High Blood Sugar in Heart Patients(American Heart Association) - http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=343

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: Start losing weight and see immediate heart-health benefits. Research shows... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18763363&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Incidental findings on cardiac imaging. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18716123&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Scanning for hidden heart disease. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18711829&tool=MedlinePlus
Heart Diseases -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=heart+diseases[majr:noexp]+NOT+heart+diseases/pc[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+(review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Dictionaries/Glossaries

Cardiac Glossary(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3038158
Deciphering Heart Disease Medspeak(Medical Library Association) - Links to PDF - http://www.mlanet.org/pdf/heart-disease1.pdf

Directories

Find an Interventional Radiologist(Society of Interventional Radiology) - http://members.sirweb.org/eseries/scriptcontent/index_members_search.cfm?section=customer

Organizations

American Heart Association - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1200000
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/

Statistics

FASTATS: Heart Disease(National Center for Health Statistics) - http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/heart.htm
Heart Disease and Stroke Maps(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/giscvh2/
Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics -- 2008 Update(American Heart Association) - Large PDF file - http://www.americanheart.org/downloadable/heart/1200082005246HS_Stats%202008.final.pdf

Children

Cardiovascular Disorders(Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) - http://www.chop.edu/consumer/your_child/condition_section_index.jsp?id=-9282
Children's Health(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1477
Children's Vascular Health Activity Book(Society for Vascular Surgery) - http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/childrensactivitybook/index.html
Heart Disease(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/kid/grownup/conditions/heart_disease.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/kid/en_espanol/adultos/heart_disease_esp.html

Men

Men and Heart Disease(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/DHDSP/library/fs_men_heart.htm

Women

MedlinePlus: Heart Disease in Women(National Library of Medicine) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/heartdiseaseinwomen.html
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/heartdiseaseinwomen.html

Seniors

Aging Hearts & Arteries(National Institute on Aging) - Large PDF file - http://www.niapublications.org/pubs/hearts/Aging_Hearts_And_Arteries.pdf

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Angina - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/angina.html
Arrhythmia - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/arrhythmia.html
Cardiac Arrest - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/cardiacarrest.html
Cardiomyopathy - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/cardiomyopathy.html
Coronary Artery Disease - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/coronaryarterydisease.html
Endocarditis - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/endocarditis.html
Heart Attack - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/heartattack.html
Heart Diseases--Prevention - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/heartdiseasesprevention.html
Heart Failure - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/heartfailure.html
Heart Surgery - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/heartsurgery.html
Heart Valve Diseases - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/heartvalvediseases.html
Blood, Heart and Circulation - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bloodheartandcirculation.html
Seniors - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/seniors.html
Women - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/women.html

The primary NIH organization for research on Heart Diseases is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/

Heart Diseases - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/heartdiseases.html

Date last updated: September 17 2008

Topic last reviewed: July 15 2008