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Las investigaciones indican que la enfermedad coronaria comienza cuando ciertos factores lesionan las capas internas de las arterias coronarias. La acumulación de placa o los coágulos de sangre pueden estrechar gravemente o bloquear las arterias coronarias, lo cual reduce el flujo de sangre rica en oxígeno que llega al corazón.

Your doctor will diagnose a heart attack based on your signs and symptoms, your medical and family histories, and results from one or more tests: electrocardiogram (EKG), blood tests, and coronary angiography.

Lowering your risk factors for coronary heart disease—through heart-healthy lifestyle changes and ongoing medical care—can help you prevent a heart attack.

Heart conditions and other disorders, age-related changes, rheumatic fever, or infections can cause acquired heart valve disease. These factors change the shape or flexibility of once-normal heart valves. The cause of congenital heart valve disease isn't know.

To prevent heart valve disease caused by rheumatic fever, see your doctor if you have signs of a strep infection. Heart-healthy eating, physical activity, other heart-healthy lifestyle changes, and medicines aimed at preventing a heart attack, high blood pressure, or heart failure also may help prevent heart valve disease.

People at greatest risk for metabolic syndrome have high abdominal obesity, an inactive lifestyle, and insulin resistance. Some racial and ethnic groups in the United States are at higher risk for metabolic syndrome than others.

Lifestyle changes can help you control your risk factors for metabolic syndrome and reduce your risk for coronary heart disease and diabetes. If you already have heart disease or diabetes, lifestyle changes can help you prevent or delay complications. Seek regular medical care if you are living with metabolic syndrome.

The exact cause of mitral valve prolapse is not known; however, most people are born with the condition. Mitral valve prolapse tends to run in families and is more common in people who are born with connective tissue disorders, such as Marfan syndrome.

Many people who have peripheral artery disease do not have any signs or symptoms. When people do have signs and symptoms of peripheral artery disease, they can include intermittent claudication, weak or absent pulses in the legs or feet, sore or wounds on the toes, feet, or legs that heal slowly, a pale or bluish color to the skin, a lower temperature in one leg compared to the other leg, poor nail growth, and erectile dysfunction.

Controlling certain risk factors by staying physically active, following a heart-healthy eating plan, quitting smoking, and losing weight if you’re overweight or obese can help prevent or delay peripheral artery disease and its complications. By following these recommendations, you can also prevent and control other conditions associated with peripheral artery disease, such as coronary heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and stroke.