Heart disease
Our cardiovascular team specializes in preventing, diagnosing, and treating heart disease — conditions that affect your heart or blood vessels.
What is heart disease?
Heart disease is a general term for conditions involving your heart and blood vessels. It’s the No. 1 killer of men and women in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The most common type of heart disease in the U.S. is coronary artery disease, caused by a buildup of a waxy substance called plaque inside your coronary arteries (arteries leading to your heart). Over time, the plaque buildup narrows your arteries — called atherosclerosis — restricting blood flow to your heart. A heart attack happens when blood flow to your heart is severely limited or stops.
Heart disease also refers to conditions such as:
- Cardiac arrest (your heart stops pumping)
- Congenital heart disease (heart abnormalities present at birth)
- Congestive heart failure (your heart doesn’t pump blood as it should)
- Heart arrhythmia (heartbeat irregularities)
- Heart valve disease (problems with heart valve structure or function)
- Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (thickened heart muscle)
Coronary artery disease symptoms
Many people don’t have symptoms in the early stages of coronary artery disease. But as plaque builds up inside your blood vessels, reducing blood flow to your heart, you may experience:
- Chest pain or discomfort, also called angina
- Difficulty breathing
- Dizziness
- Tiredness
For some people, the first sign they have heart disease is a heart attack. If you notice heart attack symptoms , call 911 right away.
Helping you prevent heart disease
Although you can’t control some heart disease risks, such as family history or age, you can take action to lower your risk — and our cardiovascular care team is here to help. We offer expert care to help you manage conditions that can lead to heart disease, including high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes.
Our team of cardiologists, cardiac nurses, dietitians and exercise specialists provide guidance and support to help you develop heart-healthy habits, including:
- Eating a heart-healthy diet
- Exercising regularly (30 to 60 minutes daily)
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Managing stress
- Quitting smoking
- Sleeping well, including treatment for sleep disorders
Trusted heart disease care
The Heart & Vascular Institute at Portsmouth Regional Hospital offers complete care for all types of heart disease, including specialized heart care for women. Our advanced cardiac catheterization lab allows our heart specialists to find heart disease at the earliest stages and restore blood flow.
We offer a full range of heart disease treatments — including minimally invasive procedures that use small incisions and result in less pain, scarring and recovery time. Whether you need heart surgery or a vascular procedure to open blocked blood vessels, you can count on our advanced expertise.
As the first and only facility to offer complete cardiovascular care on the Seacoast, we provide leading-edge care close to home. From diagnosis through treatment and cardiac rehabilitation, you receive personal attention and expert care every step of the way.
