What can go wrong with your heart

When something goes wrong with your heart, it could be related to blood flow, how your heart pumps, your heart rhythm, with the blood vessels, the valves, or a birth defect.

Problems with your heart getting enough blood

Coronary artery disease - Coronary arteries are blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood to your heart. Over time, cholesterol and calcium can build up on the inside of your artery walls. These fatty deposits, or plaque, are like sludge building up inside a water pipe. With the plaque build-up, the arteries become hardened and narrowed, preventing your heart from getting enough blood and oxygen. This process is called atherosclerosis (or stenosis) and can cause angina or a heart attack.
Angina - Angina occurs when your heart doesn't get enough blood. The temporary decrease in blood flow happens when the blood vessels cannot get enough oxygen. This lack of oxygen is called ischemia. Angina causes a pressure or a squeezing pain in your chest; pain in your shoulders, arms, neck, jaw or back; and other symptoms such as indigestion, nausea, cold sweats and anxiety. Remember, not all chest pain or discomfort is angina. Have all chest pain checked by your health care provider.
Heart attack (myocardial infarction) - a heart attack occurs when plaque and a blood clot nearly or totally cuts off the blood flow to your heart. A blocked artery can cause part of your heart muscle to be permanently damaged. A scar forms at the site of the heart attack. The size and location of the scar affects how well your heart can pump.

A heart attack is a life-threatening event. Get help quickly if you have heart attack symptoms. Early treatment can help save your
heart — and your life. (About half of the people who die from heart attacks do so within 1 hour at the start of the symptoms, before reaching the hospital.)

Problems with how well your heart pumps

Heart failure - Heart failure occurs when your heart cannot supply your body with enough blood. Because your heart isn't able to pump the normal amount of blood out of your ventricles, your lungs (and, sometimes, the blood vessels leading into to your heart) can become congested or "backed up" with blood. Your heart may be damaged and pump with less force. When your heart cannot pump enough, your heart gets larger, so it can hold more blood. Your heart muscle begins to wear out as it tries to pump this increased blood. Eventually, parts of your body hold extra fluid that isn’t being circulated very well by your heart. This is called congestion and is why this condition is sometimes called "congestive heart failure."
High blood pressure - Blood pressure is the force of the blood pushing against the walls of your arteries. Blood pressure is measured with two numbers. The top number (systolic) shows the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats. The bottom number (diastolic) shows the pressure in your arteries when your heart rests. High blood pressure (hypertension) causes your heart to pump with greater than normal force to push blood through your blood vessels. High blood pressure is higher than 140/90. (Normal blood pressure is less than 120/80.) Known as "the silent killer," high blood pressure usually has no symptoms.
Valve disease - Valve disease occurs if one or more of your heart valves does not open or close properly. Valve disease can be caused by age, a congenital (birth) defect, or disease that damages valves (like rheumatic fever).
Cardiomyopathy - Cardiomyopathy occurs when the muscle wall of your heart stretches and weakens, or thickens and weakens. The weakened heart muscle has problems pumping blood to your body. This disease can be caused by a virus (germ), heart attack, severe high blood pressure or by drinking too much alcohol. Sometimes the cause is unknown or inherited (in your family history).

Problems with the rhythm of your heart

If your heart's electrical system doesn't function properly, you may have an irregular heartbeat. This condition is called arrhythmia or dysrythmia. There are different kinds of irregular heartbeats.

Problems with the blood vessels in the rest of your body

Rather than a specific heart problem, you may have circulation problems with the blood vessels throughout your body. You may feel aches, pains, cramps, numbness or muscle fatigue during exercise.

These feelings may be caused by:

arteriosclerosis (thickening and hardening of the arteries). The artery walls become less elastic (flexible) so the blood cannot flow as well as it should through these vessels.
atherosclerosis, or peripheral artery disease (PAD), in your arm or leg blood vessels. These terms all mean that plaque is collecting on the insides of the walls of your blood vessels. The walls thicken and less blood moves through your blood vessels. It is most common for this to occur in the blood vessels of the legs.