Your heart is a vital organ that keeps your body functioning. Unfortunately, many people don't treat it that way. They may not realize that their daily habits and lifestyle can overwork and damage their heart. So, take care of your heart and yourself. Start by making the following lifestyle changes.

Atherosclerosis can be devastating, causing strokes, heart attacks and death. The good news is that you can take steps to protect yourself from this disease.

Heart disease is a killer, but you can do plenty to reduce your risk and prolong your life. Research shows that making lifestyle changes can decrease your risk of cardiovascular heart disease and help you control it if you already have it.

Surveys show fewer than one in 10 women perceive heart disease as their greatest health threat. But it's the nation's number one killer, and women are its prime target.

Millions of people diagnosed with heart disease enjoy active, satisfying lives. Instead of looking on their diagnoses as sentences to be invalids, they have used them as catalysts to make positive changes in their lives.

Strokes occur when something interferes with the normal flow of blood to the central nervous system. Stroke is the third-leading cause of death in the United States after heart disease and cancer.

A ministroke, or transient ischemic attack (TIA), is a brief episode of stroke symptoms caused by temporary interruption of blood flow to the brain. Most people suffer TIAs without realizing it.

Strokes often result in long-term health problems, and sometimes death. But there are steps you can take to help prevent them.

If you walk or do other similar physical activity for an hour per day, you can cut your risk for stroke by nearly 50 percent.

Each day that your blood pressure is too high, your chances of having a stroke are increased.

The most common form of heart disease is atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. Cholesterol joins with calcium and scar tissue and builds up in the arteries. When cholesterol levels are too high, the circulatory system becomes choked—and the result is a dam of plaque that narrows the channels the blood flows through.

A stroke can cause problems with speech, vision, memory, balance or coordination. It can leave part of the body weakened or paralyzed, among other physical problems.

Stroke may cause physical and mental difficulties. But the good news is that you can recoup some or all of your previous abilities.

About 80 percent of people who have a stroke can benefit from some form of rehabilitation.

Here's what to do: Get more exercise. Cut back on salt. Have more fruits and vegetables. Limit your drinking. Choose which is easiest, and do it first.

Although aspirin is a common over-the-counter medication, it’s not appropriate for everyone.

These medications are life-giving and powerful. It's important to take them just as your doctor has prescribed.

Women are more likely than men to have "silent" or unrecognized heart attacks. Not all heart attacks begin with sudden, crushing chest pain, the way they are often shown in the movies and on TV.

For many women, a heart attack may feel like a strange discomfort in the back or some other easily ignored sign, instead of crushing chest pain.