After learning you have heart disease, have you worried about having a heart attack?

Sure, it's a risk, but it's not certain to happen to you.

Many people who have heart disease never have a heart attack.

And there's a good chance you can prevent one because there's so much you can do.

So ... let's start with learning how heart disease happens.

It begins with damage to heart arteries.

You may have heard your doctor call this damage atherosclerosis ... or hardening of the arteries.

With atherosclerosis, a substance called plaque narrows and hardens arteries.

Plaque is made of cholesterol, other fats, and other materials.

If this plaque builds up, less blood flows to your heart.

And that can cause symptoms like chest pain or discomfort.

Now ... if a plaque breaks open, the body tries to fix it by forming a clot around it.

If the clot completely blocks the artery, it causes a heart attack.

But here's the thing.

With lifestyle changes and medicine, you can put the brakes on heart disease and help prevent a heart attack.

You can do this by taking your heart medicines, not smoking, being active, eating heart-healthy foods, staying at a healthy weight, and lowering stress.

It's true that making changes can be hard.

But no one expects you to do it all at once.

Just take it a step at a time.

Now, picture your new healthy future.

See yourself as someone who is healthy and confident, doing all you can to keep your heart healthy.

Because if you believe in a healthy future, it will help you do the things that are good for your heart.