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Heart & Home: Heart Health Guide Learn how to lower your risk of heart disease in the NWHRC's Heart Health Guide. The Heart & Home campaign is sponsored by Bed Bath & Beyond, REDBOOK magazine and the NWHRC: Partnering to help women get heart healthy.

Healthy From the Heart Learn about the treatment options for coronary artery disease in our Healthy From the Heart brochure. Disponible en Español.

1. Atherosclerosis is often the first stage of coronary heart disease.

2. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), diseases caused by atherosclerosis are the leading cause of illness and death in the US.

3. Atherosclerosis occurs when your arteries narrow and become less flexible because cholesterol, fatty substances, cell waste products, calcium and fibrin—collectively called plaque—collect on their inner walls. The arteries respond to the build up by becoming inflamed, causing scar tissue and other cells to form in the affected areas, further narrowing the artery.

4. What causes plaque to begin building up isn't known. Some experts think plaque begins to accumulate in places where the inner layer of an artery becomes damaged, possibly by elevated cholesterol levels, elevated triglyceride levels, high blood pressure, or cigarette smoke.

5. A woman's risk of developing atherosclerosis and heart disease increases as she ages. Prior to menopause, estrogen produced in the ovaries provides some protection from heart disease. Estrogen keeps arteries free from plaque by improving the ratio of LDL (low-density lipoprotein) and HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, and increasing the amount of HDL cholesterol, which helps clear out LDL cholesterol. However, hormone replacement in women after menopause does not reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. And remember that women with diabetes or those who smoke are at risk for heart disease throughout their lives.

6. Atherosclerosis can affect medium and large arteries anywhere in your body, restricting blood flow and limiting the amount of oxygen available to organs.

7. Smoking accelerates the development of atherosclerosis, increases blood pressure and restricts the amount of oxygen the blood supplies to the body.

8. Changing lifestyle habits remains the single most effective way to stop the atherosclerosis from progressing. Changing your diet to one low in fat, especially saturated fat, and cholesterol helps reduce high blood cholesterol, a primary cause of atherosclerosis.

9. If you're overweight, losing weight can help lower blood cholesterol. It is the most effective lifestyle change for reducing high blood pressure, another risk factor for atherosclerosis and heart disease.

10. High blood pressure, smoking, high cholesterol, elevated triglycerides, obesity, diabetes and lack of exercise jeopardize the function of the major heart arteries and are particularly threatening to women's health.