Heart disease is women's No. 1 killer. It's also a leading cause of disability among women.  The good news is that heart disease can be managed and even prevented.  Your first step in arming yourself against it is to understand it.

The coronary arteries are the blood vessels that bring blood to the heart.  When these arteries become hard and narrowed, the blood supply to the heart becomes reduced.  Arteries usually harden and narrow because they get clogged with a fatty substance called plaque.  This build-up of plaque in a blood vessel is called atherosclerosis.  The plaque itself can block the flow of blood through the blood vessel.  Or, the plaque can rupture or tear and a blood clot can form, which can also block the blood vessel.  When the vessel is a coronary artery, a heart attack can result.

A heart attack means the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart has been so drastically reduced that cells in the heart die.  The more severe the heart attack, the more of the heart that dies.  The heart is essentially a muscle whose main job is to pump blood to all parts of the body, bringing needed nutrients and oxygen and removing waste products. The technical name for the heart muscle is the myocardium, and the most widely used technical term for a heart attack is myocardial infarction.  But you may also hear the terms "coronary thrombosis" or "coronary occlusion." 

Some other terms to know:  "Cardiovascular disease" or CVD refers to conditions or diseases of the heart and blood vessels in general, including coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, and stroke.  "Coronary artery disease" or CAD refers specifically to atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries. "LDL-cholesterol," commonly called "bad cholesterol" or simply "cholesterol," is a fat made up of several substances that is a major component of plaque in the arteries and therefore a major cause of atherosclerosis.  "Ischemia" is a general term that means the flow of blood (and therefore oxygen) to a part of the body has been reduced; "cardiac ischemia" means not enough blood and oxygen are flowing into the heart. 

Stroke is related to heart disease.  Just as a heart attack results from an interruption of blood flow to the heart, a stroke is the interruption of the flow of blood to any part of the brain.  Just as a heart attack damages or destroys heart tissue, a stroke damages brain tissue.  And just as a heart attack can be caused by atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries, a stroke can be caused by atherosclerosis of the carotid arteries – the arteries that supply blood to the brain. Therefore, the steps taken to prevent heart attack can also help prevent stroke.  Get more information by looking at our Second Opinion section on Stroke, Episode 205.