You know how important your heart is, so it's no wonder people
worry when they hear someone has heart problems. Heart disease,
also called cardiovascular (say: kar-dee-oh-VAS-kyoo-lur)
disease, mainly affects older people and means that there are
problems with the heart and blood vessels. You might know
someone who has cardiovascular disease because more than 60
million Americans have some form of it. This disease includes a
variety of problems, including high blood pressure, hardening of
the arteries, chest pain, heart attacks, and strokes. What Is
Heart Disease? The heart is the center of the cardiovascular
system. Through the body's blood vessels, the heart pumps blood
to all of the body's cells. The blood carries oxygen, which the
cells need. Cardiovascular disease is a group of problems that
occur when the heart and blood vessels aren't working the way
they should. Here are some of the problems that go along with
cardiovascular disease: Arteriosclerosis (say: ar-teer-ee-oh-
skluh-ROW-sus): also called har