Understanding Heart Disease

The heart is the center of the body's cardiovascular system. Throughout the body's blood vessels, the heart pumps blood to all of the body's cells. The blood carries oxygen, which the cells need. Heart disease is a group of medical problems that occur when the heart and blood vessels aren't working the way they should.

Heart disease is not contagious so it cannot be caught like the common cold or the everyday flu. There are certain things that can increase a person's chances of getting cardiovascular disease, also known as Heart disease. These are commonly known as risk factors. Some of these risk factors a person are not able to do anything about, such as getting older or having people in their family who have the same heart problem. Risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, being overweight, and not exercising enough can increase the risk of getting heart disease.