For some, lifestyle changes and medicine can make a huge difference in improving your health.

For others, you may need surgery to make your ticker work well again.

With CAD, you may get blockages in your coronary arteries -- the vessels that supply blood to your heart.

That can lead to a decrease in the flow of blood to your heart muscle, keeping it from getting the oxygen it needs.

The disease usually starts as a result of atherosclerosis, a condition sometimes called hardening of the arteries.

Serious arrhythmias often develop from other heart problems but may also happen on their own.

It is usually caused by coronary artery disease, but it can also happen because you have thyroid disease, high blood pressure, heart muscle disease ( cardiomyopathy ), or certain other conditions.

A defect could make it hard for a valve to open and close the right way.

When that happens, your blood flow could be blocked or blood can leak.

It often happens if you already have valve problems.

Antibiotics can usually cure it, but the disease is life threatening without treatment.

If your heart valves are seriously damaged as a result of endocarditis, you may need valve replacement surgery.

But doctors are now able to prevent it by using antibiotics to treat the diseases that lead to it.

If you do get it, the symptoms usually show up many years after the infection.

One of the more common diseases is pericarditis or inflammation of the pericardium.

The heart defect sometimes leads to problems right after birth, but other times there arent any symptoms until you become an adult.

A narrow valve causes a decrease in the flow of blood to your lungs.

When this happens, some blood leaks back into the pulmonary artery, which puts strain on your heart.

Doctors can treat this with surgery or sometimes with medication.

WebMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

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