Your heart is a muscle that acts as a pump to circulate oxygen and nutrients in your blood to the rest of your body. Like other muscles, it needs oxygen and nutrients, too.

 

But when the arteries in your heart become diseased, the heart can’t get the blood it needs to pump efficiently.

 

You can greatly reduce your risk of heart disease — or slow its progress — by taking prevention to heart. Making small, gradual changes can make a big difference in your health.

 

When you know your risk, you can:

• do something good to protect your heart every day
• use My health manager to work closely with your doctor
• make heart-healthy changes using our free online programs

Your heart’s in the right place

 

Research by Kaiser Permanente cardiologist Eleanor Levin, MD, shows that lifestyle changes and medications that reduce risk factors contribute to lowering heart disease rates by as much as 25 to 30 percent.

 

Our research groups pioneer new heart treatments, so your care benefits from the most recent medical advances. Your primary doctor and care team are connected, so they coordinate all your treatments and can work with you on a treatment plan that can help prevent heart attacks and keep you healthy.

 

Reviewed by Eleanor Levin, MD, FACC, August 2013Additional Kaiser Permanente reviewers