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GoodRx Guide

Heart Disease

Sophie Vergnaud, MDKarla Robinson, MD
Written by Sophie Vergnaud, MD | Reviewed by Karla Robinson, MD
Updated on February 2, 2024

Basics

Cardiovascular disease is a common diagnosis that includes conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels. Almost half of all adults in the U.S. live with some form of cardiovascular disease.

Heart disease is one type of cardiovascular disease, and it's the leading cause of death in the U.S. But most people don’t realize how big of an impact this has. To put it in perspective, heart disease causes 1 in every 5 deaths in the U.S. (that’s 695,000 deaths in total).

The term “heart disease” often refers to coronary heart disease or coronary artery disease. But it can also include the wide range of conditions that affect the heart, from problems with how the heart beats (arrhythmias) to diseases of the heart muscle, valves, and blood vessels.

Causes

The most common type of heart disease is coronary heart disease, or coronary artery disease. It is responsible for conditions like:

Coronary heart disease is caused by atherosclerosis. When you have atherosclerosis, a fatty plaque builds up within your arteries — the blood vessels that take blood throughout the body.

Over time, atherosclerosis makes the arteries narrower and stiffer, often causing high blood pressure. The rough surface of the fatty plaque can also break off and cause blood vessel blockages downstream.

Atherosclerosis can happen to arteries anywhere in the body. When it happens to arteries in the neck and brain, it can cause strokes. Atherosclerosis in the arms and legs causes peripheral artery disease. And when the arteries that supply the heart (coronary arteries) narrow and stiffen, it causes angina and heart attacks.

Sometimes, people are born with heart conditions (congenital heart disease), and sometimes heart disease can’t be avoided (such as with infections that cause heart disease).

Risk factors

More commonly, there are medical conditions or life triggers that increase risk for heart disease. Examples include:

But that’s not all — other factors play a part too, including your:

Symptoms

Symptoms of heart disease are different for each person and for every diagnosis. But common symptoms of heart disease include:

  • Chest tightness

  • Chest pain

  • Difficulty breathing

  • Palpitations

  • Fatigue

  • Leg swelling

  • Passing out

Related Health Conditions

Prevention

Many types of heart disease — and their risk factors — are silent early on. That’s why it’s so important to learn about heart disease, your own personal risk, and how to balance that risk. Prevention will often include lifestyle changes such as:

Heart disease prevention may also include treatments to manage underlying conditions that may increase your risk of heart disease, like:

View All References (4)

Benjamin, E. J., et al. (2019). Heart disease and stroke statistics—2019 update: A report from the American Heart Association. Circulation.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). About heart disease.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). Heart disease facts.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). Know your risk for heart disease.

GoodRx Health has strict sourcing policies and relies on primary sources such as medical organizations, governmental agencies, academic institutions, and peer-reviewed scientific journals. Learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate, thorough, and unbiased by reading our editorial guidelines.

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