cardio

Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are problems with the structure of the heart. "Congenital" means that that the problems are present at birth. These defects happen when a baby's heart doesn't develop normally during pregnancy. Congenital heart defects are the most common type of birth defect.

Congenital heart defects can change the way the heart pumps blood. They may make blood flow too slowly, go the wrong way, or block it completely.

There are many types of congenital heart defects. They can happen in one or more parts of the heart. The most common types are:

• Septal defects ("hole in the heart") - openings in the wall between the left and right sides of the heart
• Heart valve defects - problems with the valves that control the flow of blood through the heart
• Defects in the large blood vessels that carry blood in and out of the heart

Congenital heart defects can range from very mild problems that never need treatment to life-threatening problems at birth. The most serious congenital heart defects are called critical congenital heart disease. Babies with these defects usually need surgery in the first year of life. But the symptoms of milder heart defects may not show up until childhood or adulthood.

Researchers often don't know what causes congenital heart defects. They do know that changes in a baby's genes sometimes cause a heart defect. The changed genes may come from the parents, or the changes may happen during pregnancy.

Several things may increase the chance that your baby has a congenital heart defect, such as:

• Your health before and during pregnancy, including
  • Having diabetes before pregnancy or developing it in the first 3 months of pregnancy (diabetes that develops later in pregnancy isn't a major risk for heart defects). Carefully controlling your blood sugar before and during pregnancy can lower your baby's risk of congenital heart defects.
  • Having phenylketonuria (PKU), a rare inherited disorder that affects how the body uses a protein in foods. If you have PKU, eating a low-protein diet before getting pregnant can lower your baby's risk of having a congenital heart defect.
  • Having rubella (German measles) during pregnancy.
• Your contact with certain substances during pregnancy, including
  • Smoking or secondhand smoke (breathing smoke from another smoker).
  • Certain medicines, such as angiotensin-converting (ACE) inhibitors for high blood pressure and retinoic acids for acne. If you're pregnant or plan to get pregnant, talk with your health care provider about all the medicines you take.
• Your family history and genetics. In most cases, congenital heart defects don't run in families. But your chance of having a baby with a congenital heart defect does go up if you or the other parent has a congenital heart defect, or if you already have a child with a congenital heart defect.

Congenital heart defects don't cause pain. The signs and symptoms are different, depending on the type and number of defects and how serious they are.

Common signs and symptoms of congenital heart defects include:

• Cyanosis - a bluish color to the skin, lips, and fingernails. It happens when there isn't enough oxygen in the blood
• Fatigue - your baby may be unusually sleepy and may become very tired during feedings
• Poor blood flow
• Fast or difficult breathing
• Heart murmur - an unusual sound between heartbeats

Congenital heart defects don't always cause other problems. If they do, which problems you have would depend on the type and number of defects and how serious the defects are.

Children with congenital heart defects are more likely to:

• Be smaller than other children
• Have problems or delays in mental, and emotional growth, and behavior, such as:
  • Speech and language problems
  • Attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD)

People with congenital heart defects may develop other health conditions, including:

• Endocarditis - an infection of lining of the heart and valves
• Arrhythmia - a problem with the rate or rhythm of your heartbeat
• Heart failure - when your heart can't pump enough blood to the body
• Pulmonary hypertension - high blood pressure in your lungs
• Kidney and liver disease

• Before a baby is born, your provider may use ultrasound pictures of the baby's heart to look for heart defects. This is called a fetal echocardiogram. It's done between weeks 18 and 22 of pregnancy.
• During the first few days after birth, all newborns are checked for congenital heart defects. A pulse oximeter is clipped to your baby's hands or feet to measure blood oxygen. If it shows low levels of blood oxygen, more tests will be needed to find out if your baby has a heart defect.
• To diagnose congenital heart defects in babies, children, and adults, a provider may use many tools, including:
  • A physical exam.
  • Certain heart tests to see how the heart is working.
  • Genetic testing to see if certain gene problems caused the defect.

Treatment depends on the type of congenital heart defect and how serious it is. Possible treatments include:

• Cardiac catheterization to repair simple defects, such as a small hole in the inside wall of the heart. A catheterization uses a thin tube guided through a vein and into the heart.
• Heart surgery may be needed to:
  • Repair defects in the heart and blood vessels.
  • Repair or replace a heart valve.
  • Place a device in the chest to help the heart pump blood.
  • Do a heart transplant.
• Medicine is often used if your baby has a specific type of congenital heart defect called patent ductus arteriosus.

All children and adults who have congenital heart defects need regular follow-up care from a cardiologist (a doctor who specializes in heart diseases) throughout their life, even if their defect was repaired.

Some people may need several heart surgeries or catheterizations over the years. They may also need to take medicines to help their hearts work as well as possible.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Heart failure means that your heart can't pump enough oxygen-rich blood to meet your body's needs. Heart failure doesn't mean that your heart has stopped or is about to stop beating. But without enough blood flow, your organs may not work well, which can cause serious problems.

Heart failure can affect one or both sides of your heart:

• With right-sided heart failure, your heart is too weak to pump enough blood to your lungs to get oxygen.
• With left-sided heart failure, your heart can't pump enough oxygen-rich blood out to your body. This happens when the left side of your heart becomes either:
  • Too weak to pump enough blood.
  • Too thick or stiff to relax and fill with enough blood.

Left-sided heart failure is more common than right-sided heart failure.

Heart failure can start suddenly after a medical condition or injury damages your heart muscle. But in most cases, heart failure develops slowly from long-term medical conditions.

Conditions that can cause heart failure include:

• Arrhythmia (a problem with the rate or rhythm of your heartbeat)
• Cardiomyopathy
• Congenital heart defects or other types of heart diseases that you are born with
• Coronary artery disease
• Endocarditis
• Heart attack
• Heart valve diseases
• High blood pressure
• A blood clot in your lung
• Diabetes
• Certain severe lung diseases, such as COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
• Obesity

Over time, left-sided heart failure can lead to right-sided heart failure.

Heart failure can happen at any age. It happens to both men and women, but men often develop it at a younger age than women. Your chance of developing heart failure increases if:

• You're 65 years old or older. Aging can weaken and stiffen your heart muscle.
• Your family health history includes relatives who have or have had heart failure.
• You have changes in your genes that affect your heart tissue.
• You have habits that can harm your heart, including:
  • Smoking
  • Eating foods high in fat, cholesterol, and sodium (salt)
  • Having an inactive lifestyle
  • Alcohol use disorder (AUD)
  • Illegal drug use
• You have other medical conditions that can affect your heart, including:
  • Any heart or blood vessel conditions, including high blood pressure
  • Serious lung diseases
  • Infection, such as HIV or COVID-19
  • Obesity
  • Diabetes
  • Sleep apnea
  • Chronic kidney disease
  • Anemia
  • Iron overload disease
  • Cancer treatments that can harm your heart, such as radiation and chemotherapy
• You are African American. African Americans are more likely to develop heart failure and have more serious cases at younger ages than people of other races. Factors such as stigma, discrimination, income, education, and geographic region can also affect their risk of heart failure.

The symptoms of heart failure depend on which side of your heart is affected and how serious your condition has become. Most symptoms are caused by reduced blood flow to your organs and fluid buildup in your body.

Fluid buildup happens because the flow of blood through your heart is too slow. As a result, blood backs up in the vessels that return the blood to your heart. Fluid may leak from the blood vessels and collect in the tissues of your body, causing swelling (edema) and other problems.

Symptoms of heart failure may include:

• Feeling short of breath (like you can't get enough air) when you do things like climbing stairs. This may be one of the first symptoms you notice.
• Fatigue or weakness even after rest.
• Coughing.
• Swelling and weight gain from fluid in your ankles, lower legs, or abdomen (belly).
• Difficulty sleeping when lying flat.
• Nausea and loss of appetite.
• Swelling in the veins of your neck.
• Needing to urinate (pee) often.

At first you may have no symptoms or mild symptoms. As the disease gets worse, your symptoms will usually bother you more.

Fluid buildup and reduced blood flow to your organs can lead to serious problems, including:

• Breathing problems from fluid in and around your lungs (also called congestive heart failure)
• Kidney or liver damage including cirrhosis
• Malnutrition if fluid buildup makes eating uncomfortable or if your stomach doesn't get enough blood flow to digest food properly
• Other heart conditions, such as irregular heartbeat and sudden cardiac arrest
• Pulmonary hypertension

To find out if you have heart failure, your doctor will:

• Ask about your medical history, including your symptoms
• Ask about your family health history, including relatives who have had heart failure
• Do a physical exam
• Will likely order heart tests and blood tests, including a brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) test

In some cases, your doctor may refer you to a cardiologist (a doctor who specializes in heart diseases) for tests, diagnosis, and care.

Your treatment will depend on the type of heart failure you have and how serious it is. There's no cure for heart failure. But treatment can help you live longer with fewer symptoms.

Even with treatment, heart failure usually gets worse over time, so you'll likely need treatment for the rest of your life.

Most treatment plans include:

• Taking medicine
• Eating less sodium and drinking less liquid to control fluid buildup
• Making other changes, such as quitting smoking, managing stress, and getting as much physical activity as your health care provider recommends
• Treating any conditions that may make heart failure worse

You may need heart surgery if:

• You have a congenital heart defect or damage to your heart that can be fixed.
• The left side of your heart is getting weaker and putting a device in your chest could help. Devices include:
  • An implantable cardioverter defibrillator.
  • A biventricular pacemaker (cardiac resynchronization therapy).
  • A mechanical heart pump (a ventricular assist device (VAD) or a total artificial heart).
• Your heart doctor recommends a heart transplant because your heart failure is life-threatening and nothing else is helping.

As part of your treatment, you'll need to pay close attention to your symptoms, because heart failure can worsen suddenly. Your provider may suggest a cardiac rehabilitation program to help you learn how to manage your condition.

You may be able to prevent or delay heart failure if you:

• Work with your provider to manage any health conditions that increase your risk of developing heart failure
• Make healthy changes in your eating, exercise, and other daily habits to help prevent heart disease

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Heart valve disease happens when one or more of your heart valves don't work well.

Your heart has four valves: the tricuspid, pulmonary, mitral, and aortic valves. The valves have flaps that open and close. The flaps make sure that blood flows in the right direction through your heart and to the rest of your body. When your heart beats, the flaps open to let blood through. Between heartbeats they close to stop the blood from flowing backwards.

If one or more of your heart valves doesn't open or close correctly, it can affect your blood flow and strain your heart. Fortunately, treatment helps most valve diseases.

Heart valves can have three basic kinds of problems:

• Regurgitation, or backflow, happens when the flaps of a valve don't close tightly. This allows the blood to leak backwards. A common cause of regurgitation is prolapse, where the flaps of the valve flop or bulge back. Prolapse most often affects the mitral valve.
• Stenosis happens when the flaps of a valve become thick, stiff, or stuck together. This prevents the heart valve from opening all the way. Not enough blood can pass through the valve. Aortic valve stenosis is a common type of stenosis. It affects the valve that controls blood flow into the large artery that carries blood out of the heart to the body.
• Atresia happens when a heart valve did not form properly and does not have an opening for blood to pass through.

Sometimes a valve can have both regurgitation and stenosis.

Some people are born with heart valve disease. This is called congenital heart valve disease. It can happen alone or along with other congenital heart defects. Heart valve disease can also develop over time as you get older or have certain conditions that affect the heart.

Your chance of having heart valve disease is higher if:

• You are older. With age, the heart valves can become thick and stiff.
• You have or have had other conditions that affect your heart and blood vessels. These include:
  • Rheumatic fever. An untreated strep throat can become rheumatic fever, which can harm the heart valves. The damage may not show up for years. Today, most people take antibiotics to cure strep throat before it can cause heart valve damage.
  • Endocarditis. This is a rare infection in the lining of the heart and heart valves. It is usually caused by bacteria in the bloodstream.
  • A heart attack.
  • Heart failure.
  • Coronary artery disease, especially when it affects the aorta (the large artery that carries blood from the heart to the body).
  • High blood pressure.
  • High blood cholesterol.
  • Diabetes.
  • Obesity and overweight.
  • Lack of physical activity.
• A family history of early heart disease:
  • A father or brother who had heart disease younger than 55.
  • A mother or sister who had heart disease younger than 65.
• You were born with an aortic valve that wasn't formed right. Sometimes this will cause problems right away. Other times, the valve may work well enough for years before causing problems.

Many people live their whole lives with a heart valve that doesn't work perfectly and never have any problems. But heart valve disease may get worse slowly over time. You may develop signs and symptoms, such as:

• Shortness of breath (feeling like you can't get enough air)
• Fatigue
• Swelling in your feet, ankles, abdomen (belly), or the veins in your neck
• Chest pain when you're physically active
• Arrhythmia, a problem with the rate or rhythm of your heartbeat
• Dizziness or fainting

If you don't get treatment for heart valve disease, the symptoms and strain on your heart may keep getting worse.

When the valves don't work well, your heart has to pump harder to get enough blood out to the body. Without treatment, this extra workload on your heart can lead to:

• Heart failure
• Stroke
• Blood clots
• Sudden cardiac arrest or death

Your health care provider may listen to your heart with a stethoscope and hear that your heart makes abnormal sounds, such as a click or a heart murmur. These sounds may mean a valve isn't working normally. The provider will usually refer you to a cardiologist, a doctor who specializes in heart diseases.

The doctor will also listen to your heart and will do a physical exam. You will also likely need to have one or more heart tests.

Most heart valve problems can be treated successfully. Treatment may include:

• Medicines to control your symptoms and keep your heart pumping well
• Heart-healthy lifestyle changes to treat other related heart conditions
• Surgery to repair or replace a valve

It's possible that you may need surgery, even if you don't have symptoms. Fixing the valve can help can prevent future heart problems.

There are many ways to do heart valve surgery. You and your doctor can decide what's best for you, based on your valve problem and general health. Heart valve repair surgery has fewer risks than heart valve replacement. So, when repair is possible, it's preferred over valve replacement.

In some cases, valve replacement is necessary. There are 2 types of replacement valves:

• Biologic valves made from pig, cow, or human tissue. These valves tend to wear out after 10 to 15 years, but some may last longer.
• Mechanical (human-made) valves usually don't wear out. But with a mechanical valve, you usually have to take blood thinners for the rest of your life to prevent blood clots. And your risk of endocarditis (a heart infection) is higher than with a biologic valve.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Heart diseases are the number one killer in the U.S. They are also a major cause of disability. If you do have a heart disease, it is important to find it early, when it is easier to treat. Blood tests and heart health tests can help find heart diseases or identify problems that can lead to heart diseases. There are several different types of heart health tests. Your doctor will decide which test or tests you need, based on your symptoms (if any), risk factors, and medical history.

Cardiac catheterization is a medical procedure used to diagnose and treat some heart conditions. For the procedure, your doctor puts a catheter (a long, thin, flexible tube) into a blood vessel in your arm, groin, or neck, and threads it to your heart. The doctor can use the catheter to:

• Do a coronary angiography. This involves putting a special type of dye in the catheter, so the dye can flow through your bloodstream to your heart. Then your doctor takes x-rays of your heart. The dye allows your doctor to see your coronary arteries on the x-ray, and to check for coronary artery disease (plaque buildup in the arteries).
• Take samples of blood and heart muscle
• Do procedures such as minor heart surgery or angioplasty, if your doctor finds that you need it

A cardiac CT (computed tomography) scan is a painless imaging test that uses x-rays to take detailed pictures of your heart and its blood vessels. Computers can combine these pictures to create a three-dimensional (3D) model of the whole heart. This test can help doctors detect or evaluate:

• Coronary artery disease
• Calcium buildup in the coronary arteries
• Problems with the aorta
• Problems with heart function and valves
• Pericardial diseases

Before you have the test, you get an injection of contrast dye. The dye highlights your heart and blood vessels in the pictures. The CT scanner is a large, tunnel-like machine. You lie still on a table which slides you into the scanner, and the scanner takes the pictures for about 15 minutes.

Cardiac MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is a painless imaging test that uses radio waves, magnets, and a computer to create detailed pictures of your heart. It can help your doctor figure out whether you have heart disease, and if so, how severe it is. A cardiac MRI can also help your doctor decide the best way to treat heart problems such as:

• Coronary artery disease
• Heart valve problems
• Pericarditis
• Cardiac tumors
• Damage from a heart attack

The MRI is a large, tunnel-like machine. You lie still on a table which slides you into the MRI machine. The machine makes loud noises as it takes pictures of your heart. It usually takes about 30-90 minutes. Sometimes before the test, you might get an injection of contrast dye. The dye highlights your heart and blood vessels in the pictures.

A chest x-ray creates pictures of the organs and structures inside your chest, such as your heart, lungs, and blood vessels. It can reveal signs of heart failure, as well as lung disorders and other causes of symptoms not related to heart disease.

Coronary angiography (angiogram) is a procedure that uses contrast dye and x-ray pictures to look at the insides of your arteries. It can show whether plaque is blocking your arteries and how severe the blockage is. Doctors use this procedure to diagnose heart diseases after chest pain, sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), or abnormal results from other heart tests such as an EKG or a stress test.

You usually have a cardiac catheterization to get the dye into your coronary arteries. Then you have special x-rays while the dye is flowing through your coronary arteries. The dye lets your doctor study the flow of blood through your heart and blood vessels.

Echocardiography, or echo, is a painless test that uses sound waves to create moving pictures of your heart. The pictures show the size and shape of your heart. They also show how well your heart's chambers and valves are working. Doctors use an echo to diagnose many different heart problems, and to check how severe they are.

For the test, a technician applies gel to your chest. The gel helps sound waves reach your heart. The technician moves a transducer (wand-like device) around on your chest. The transducer connects to a computer. It transmits ultrasound waves into your chest, and the waves bounce (echo) back. The computer converts the echoes into pictures of your heart.

An electrocardiogram, also called an ECG or EKG, is a painless test that detects and records your heart's electrical activity. It shows how fast your heart is beating and whether its rhythm is steady or irregular.

An EKG may be part of a routine exam to screen for heart disease. Or you may get it to detect and study heart problems such as heart attacks, arrhythmia, and heart failure.

For the test, you lie still on a table and a nurse or technician attaches electrodes (patches that have sensors) to the skin on your chest, arms, and legs. Wires connect the electrodes to a machine that records your heart's electrical activity.

Stress testing looks at how your heart works during physical stress. It can help to diagnose coronary artery disease, and to check how severe it is. It can also check for other problems, including heart valve disease and heart failure.

For the test, you exercise (or are given medicine if you are unable to exercise) to make your heart work hard and beat fast. While this is happening, you get an EKG and blood pressure monitoring. Sometimes you may also have an echocardiogram, or other imaging tests such as a nuclear scan. For the nuclear scan, you get an injection of a tracer (a radioactive substance), which travels to your heart. Special cameras detect the energy from the tracer to make pictures of your heart. You have pictures taken after you exercise, and then after you rest.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Heart surgery can correct certain heart problems when other treatments haven't worked or can't be used.

In some cases, heart surgery may be a medical emergency. For example, surgery for a severe heart attack may need to be done right away. In other cases, you can plan heart surgery ahead of time. Some heart surgeries are major operations, such as heart bypass surgery for blocked arteries in the heart. Other surgeries are more minor heart procedures, such as putting in a pacemaker.

There are different types of heart surgery that can help treat many heart conditions:

• An implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) to help prevent sudden cardiac arrest.
• A biventricular pacemaker to coordinate the heart's pumping action so it's more powerful.
• A ventricular assist device to help the heart pump blood.
• A total artificial heart to pump blood for the heart.

The approach a surgeon uses to do heart surgery depends on your heart problem, your general health, and other factors. Approaches to heart surgery include:

• Open-heart surgery (also called traditional heart surgery) is when the surgeon cuts the chest open to reach the heart. Because it's difficult to operate on a beating heart, medicines are used to stop the heart. A heart-lung bypass machine keeps oxygen-rich blood pumping through the body during the surgery.
• Off-pump heart surgery is open-heart surgery on a beating heart without using a heart-lung bypass machine. The surgeon holds the heart steady with a device. Surgeons may use off-pump heart surgery to do coronary artery bypass grafts (CABG), but only in certain cases.
• Minimally invasive heart surgery uses small cuts between the ribs. The cuts may be as small as 2 to 3 inches. The surgeon inserts tools into the chest through the cuts. This type of heart surgery may or may not use a heart-lung bypass machine.
• Robotic-assisted surgery is a type of minimally invasive surgery. The surgeon uses a computer to control tools on the arms of a robot. This allows the surgeon to be very accurate when doing difficult operations.

Like all surgery, heart surgery has risks even though the results are often excellent. The risks include:

• Bleeding
• Infection, fever, and swelling
• A problem from anesthesia (medicine that makes you sleep during surgery)
• Arrhythmia
• Damage to the heart, kidneys, liver, and lungs
• Stroke

The risks of heart surgery tend to be higher if:

• The surgery is an emergency.
• You have other medical conditions, including:
  • Diabetes
  • Kidney diseases
  • Lung diseases
  • Peripheral artery disease (PAD)

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Heart disease is the leading cause of the death in the United States. It is also a major cause of disability. There are many things that can raise your risk for heart disease. They are called risk factors. Some of them you cannot control, but there are many that you can control. Learning about them can lower your risk of heart disease.

• Age. Your risk of heart disease increases as you get older. Men age 45 and older and women age 55 and older have a greater risk.
• Sex. Some risk factors may affect heart disease risk differently in women than in men. For example, estrogen provides women some protection against heart disease, but diabetes raises the risk of heart disease more in women than in men.
• Race or ethnicity. Certain groups have higher risks than others. African Americans are more likely than whites to have heart disease, while Hispanic Americans are less likely to have it. Some Asian groups, such as East Asians, have lower rates, but South Asians have higher rates.
• Family history. You have a greater risk if you have a close family member who had heart disease at an early age.

Fortunately, there are many things you can do to reduce your chances of getting heart disease:

• Control your blood pressure.High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease. It is important to get your blood pressure checked regularly - at least once a year for most adults, and more often if you have high blood pressure. Take steps, including lifestyle changes, to prevent or control high blood pressure.
• Keep your cholesterol and triglyceride levels under control. High levels of cholesterol can clog your arteries and raise your risk of coronary artery disease and heart attack. Lifestyle changes and medicines (if needed) can lower your cholesterol. Triglycerides are another type of fat in the blood. High levels of triglycerides may also raise the risk of coronary artery disease, especially in women.
• Stay at a healthy weight. Being overweight or having obesity can increase your risk for heart disease. This is mostly because they are linked to other heart disease risk factors, including high blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Controlling your weight can lower these risks.
• Eat a healthy diet. Try to limit saturated fats, foods high in sodium, and added sugars. Eat plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, and whole grains. The DASH diet is an example of an eating plan that can help you to lower your blood pressure and cholesterol, two things that can lower your risk of heart disease.
• Get regular exercise. Exercise has many benefits, including strengthening your heart and improving your circulation. It can also help you maintain a healthy weight and lower cholesterol and blood pressure. All of these can lower your risk of heart disease.
• Limit alcohol. Drinking too much alcohol can raise your blood pressure. It also adds extra calories, which may cause weight gain. Both of those raise your risk of heart disease. Men should have no more than two alcoholic drinks per day, and women should not have more than one.
• Don't smoke. Cigarette smoking raises your blood pressure and puts you at higher risk for heart attack and stroke. If you do not smoke, do not start. If you do smoke, quitting will lower your risk for heart disease. You can talk with your health care provider for help in finding the best way for you to quit.
• Manage stress.Stress is linked to heart disease in many ways. It can raise your blood pressure. Extreme stress can be a "trigger" for a heart attack. Also, some common ways of coping with stress, such as overeating, heavy drinking, and smoking, are bad for your heart. Some ways to help manage your stress include exercise, listening to music, focusing on something calm or peaceful, and meditating.
• Manage diabetes. Having diabetes doubles your risk of diabetic heart disease. That is because over time, high blood sugar from diabetes can damage your blood vessels and the nerves that control your heart and blood vessels. So, it is important to get tested for diabetes, and if you have it, to keep it under control.
• Make sure that you get enough sleep. If you don't get enough sleep, you raise your risk of high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes. Those three things can raise your risk for heart disease. Most adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. Make sure that you have good sleep habits. If you have frequent sleep problems, contact your health care provider. One problem, sleep apnea, causes people to briefly stop breathing many times during sleep. This interferes with your ability to get a good rest and can raise your risk of heart disease. If you think you might have it, ask your doctor about having a sleep study. And if you do have sleep apnea, make sure that you get treatment for it.

Cardiac rehabilitation (rehab) is a medically supervised program to help people who have:

• A heart attack
• Angioplasty or coronary artery bypass grafting for coronary heart disease
• A heart valve repair or replacement
• A heart transplant or a lung transplant
• Angina
• Heart failure

The goal is to help you return to an active life, and to reduce the risk of further heart problems. A team of specialists will create a plan for you that includes exercise training, education on heart healthy living, and counseling to reduce stress. You will learn how to reduce your risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, depression, and diabetes. Being overweight, having obesity, smoking, and not exercising are other risk factors.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common type of heart disease. It is the leading cause of death in the United States in both men and women.

CAD happens when the arteries that supply blood to heart muscle become hardened and narrowed. This is due to the buildup of cholesterol and other material, called plaque, on their inner walls. This buildup is called atherosclerosis. As it grows, less blood can flow through the arteries. As a result, the heart muscle can't get the blood or oxygen it needs. This can lead to chest pain (angina) or a heart attack. Most heart attacks happen when a blood clot suddenly cuts off the hearts' blood supply, causing permanent heart damage.

Over time, CAD can also weaken the heart muscle and contribute to heart failure and arrhythmias. Heart failure means the heart can't pump blood well to the rest of the body. Arrhythmias are changes in the normal beating rhythm of the heart.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Diabetes is a disease in which your blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels are too high. Glucose comes from foods you eat. The cells of your body need glucose for energy. A hormone called insulin helps the glucose get into your cells.

With type 1 diabetes, your body doesn't make insulin. With type 2 diabetes, your body doesn't make or use insulin well. Without enough insulin, glucose builds up in your blood and causes high blood sugar levels.

Diabetic heart disease is a term for heart disease in people who have diabetes. If you have diabetes, you are much more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke than people who don't have diabetes. And you may start having these problems at a younger age.

Over time, the effects of high blood sugar from diabetes can include damage to the blood vessels and nerves in your heart. This damage increases your chance of developing heart diseases, including:

• Coronary artery disease (CAD). It happens slowly as a sticky material called plaque builds up in the arteries that supply your heart muscle with blood.
• Heart failure. With this condition, your heart can't pump enough oxygen-rich blood to meet the needs of your body.
• Cardiomyopathy. This is a group of diseases in which the heart muscle may become thick or stiff.

Diabetes puts you at serious risk for heart disease. It also makes you more likely to develop other conditions that raise your risk even more, including:

• High blood pressure
• High blood levels of LDL "bad" cholesterol
• High triglycerides (a type of fat in your blood) with low blood levels of HDL "good" cholesterol

Your risk for heart disease is also higher if you

• Are male
• Smoke
• Have obesity
• Have too much belly fat around your waist, even though you're at a healthy weight:
  • For men, that's a waist more than 40 inches
  • For women, that's a waist more than 35 inches
• Have a family history of heart disease
• Have chronic kidney disease

In the early stages, heart disease usually doesn't have any symptoms. But if your heart disease worsens, you can have symptoms. Your symptoms will depend on the type of heart disease you have. They might include:

• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue
• Dizziness or fainting
• Arrhythmia (problem with the rate or rhythm of your heartbeat)
• Swollen feet and ankles
• Chest pain

It's important to know that people with diabetes may not feel chest pain. That's because diabetes can damage the nerves in your heart. If you have any symptoms that could be heart disease, talk with your health care provider.

To find out if you have diabetic heart disease, your provider will:

• Ask about your medical history, including your symptoms and other health conditions you may have
• Ask about your family history, to find out if you have relatives who have or had heart disease
• Do a physical exam
• Likely run some tests to help understand your personal risk for heart disease, including:
  • Blood tests to check your cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar levels
  • A blood-pressure check
  • Heart tests, if needed

Depending on your risk level, your provider may send you to a cardiologist (a doctor who specializes in heart diseases) for care. If you do have heart disease, treatment will depend on the type of heart disease you have.

You may be able to prevent heart disease or keep it from getting worse by working with your provider to:

• Control your blood sugar levels
• Manage other conditions you may have that can raise your risk for heart disease
• Take any medicines your provider prescribed
• Make heart-healthy habits part of your daily life
• Follow a healthy eating plan for diabetes

NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Each year almost 800,000 Americans have a heart attack. A heart attack happens when blood flow to the heart suddenly becomes blocked. Without the blood coming in, the heart can't get oxygen. If not treated quickly, the heart muscle begins to die. But if you do get quick treatment, you may be able to prevent or limit damage to the heart muscle. That's why it's important to know the symptoms of a heart attack and call 911 if you or someone else is having them. You should call, even if you are not sure that it is a heart attack.

The most common symptoms in men and women are:

• Chest discomfort. It is often in center or left side of the chest. It usually lasts more than a few minutes. It may go away and come back. It can feel like pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain. It also can feel like heartburn or indigestion.
• Shortness of breath. Sometimes this is your only symptom. You may get it before or during the chest discomfort. It can happen when you are resting or doing a little bit of physical activity.
• Discomfort in the upper body. You may feel pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, shoulders, neck, jaw, or upper part of the stomach.

You may also have other symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and lightheadedness. You may break out in a cold sweat. Sometimes women will have different symptoms then men. For example, they are more likely to feel tired for no reason.

The most common cause of heart attacks is coronary artery disease (CAD). With CAD, there is a buildup of cholesterol and other material, called plaque, on their inner walls or the arteries. This is atherosclerosis. It can build up for years. Eventually an area of plaque can rupture (break open). A blood clot can form around the plaque and block the artery.

A less common cause of heart attack is a severe spasm (tightening) of a coronary artery. The spasm cuts off blood flow through the artery.

At the hospital, health care providers make a diagnosis based on your symptoms, blood tests, and different heart health tests. Treatments may include medicines and medical procedures such as coronary angioplasty. After a heart attack, cardiac rehabilitation and lifestyle changes can help you recover.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute