What is cardiovascular disease?

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) encompasses various diseases of the heart and blood vessels, and is one of the most common causes of death globally. Atherosclerotic CVD (ASCVD) is the most common. It involves the deposition of cholesterol plaques along artery walls, a process that starts early in life and that can lead to blood vessel blockage in the heart, causing heart attack (or angina with a partial blockage). ASCVD that causes an acute blockage in blood vessels in the brain can lead to stroke (or a transient ischemic attack when the blockage is temporary); when ASCVD affects blood flow to the extremities it can lead to peripheral artery disease (PAD).

Some other diseases of the heart include cardiac dysrhythmias (irregular heart beat), valvular heart disease, cardiomyopathy, and heart failure.^[1]