Health Information > Heart Disease[ What is Heart Disease | Exercises for Heart Patients | Nutrition for Heart Disease ] What is Heart DiseaseDefinitionThis information item focuses upon heart disease resulting from atherosclerotic changes - the changes that occur because of the build up of plaques or fatty streaks on the interior walls of the blood vessels that supply oxygenated blood to the heart muscle. This is also known as coronary artery disease. [ back to top ] DescriptionThe heart is a muscular pump in the chest. Throughout life it beats continuously and rhythmically to send blood to the lungs and the rest of the body. The normal heart weighs approximately 10 1/2 ounces and is about the size of your fist. It beats 60 to 120 times a minute, depending on whether you are excited or resting. The average blood cell makes a round trip through the body's arteries and veins every 60 seconds, and can hit speeds of up to 10 mph. The heart pumps your five quarts of blood around your body 500 times a day. When the arteries become clogged with deposits made up of "bad" cholesterol, plaque, scar tissue, or calcium, the heart has a harder time circulating blood. This clogging causes a myriad of heart problems from angina pectoris (chest pain) to heart failure to a heart attack. [ back to top ] Causes and Risk FactorsThe primary risk factors for the development of atherosclerotic heart disease are smoking, sedentary lifestyle, hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and a genetic predisposition to the disease. [ back to top ] |