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If you have been diagnosed with coronary heart disease, it is important that you continue treatment plan. Get regular follow-up care to control your condition and prevent complications.

Congenital heart defects happen because the heart does not develop normally while the baby is growing in the womb. Doctors often do not know why congenital heart defects occur. Researchers do know that genetics can sometimes play a role.

Long-term exposure to lung irritants—smoke, air pollution, chemical fumes, or dusts—that damage the lungs and the airways usually is the cause of COPD. A rare genetic condition called alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency can also cause the disease.

Damage to the lung’s air sacs—called alveoli—causes ARDS. Fluid from tiny blood vessels leaks through the damaged walls of the air sacs and collects, limiting the lungs’ normal exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. The damage also causes inflammation that leads to the breakdown of surfactant—a liquid that helps keep your air sacs open.

Breathing involves two phases: breathing in and breathing out. Your lungs deliver oxygen and remove carbon dioxide from your blood in a process called gas exchange. Gas exchange happens in the capillaries surrounding the alveoli, where the oxygen that is breathed in enters the circulatory system and carbon dioxide in the blood is released to the lungs and then breathed out. If you have problems breathing, gas exchange may be impaired, increasing the risk of serious health problems.

Atherosclerosis is a disease in which plaque builds up inside your arteries. Arteries are blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood to your heart and other parts of your body.

Angina is chest pain or discomfort that occurs if an area of your heart muscle does not get enough oxygen-rich blood. It is a common symptom of ischemic heart disease, which limits or cuts off blood flow to the heart.

The body’s muscles and nervous system help control your breathing. The lungs are like sponges; they cannot move on their own. Muscles in your chest and abdomen contract, or tighten, to create space in your lungs for air to flow in. The muscles then relax, causing the space in the chest to get smaller and squeeze the air back out. Your breathing usually does not require any thought, because it is controlled by the autonomic nervous system, also called the involuntary nervous system.

Mild cases of myocarditis and pericarditis may go away without treatment. To treat heart inflammation, your doctor may recommend medicines to fight the infection or control the inflammation, and possibly surgery for certain cases.

Your doctor may recommend a stent to provide support inside an artery that has become narrowed by plaque buildup from atherosclerosis, or for lung airways that have narrowed due to other medical conditions. Your doctor will discuss the risks and benefits of the procedure with you. Sometimes, a stenting procedure is not recommended or another procedure is recommended instead. Learn more about the use of stents in the following conditions.