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Certain traits, conditions, or habits may raise your risk for the disease. Major risk factors include unhealthy blood cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, smoking, insulin resistance, diabetes, being overweight, lack of physical activity, an unhealthy diet, older age, and family history of early heart disease.

Changes, either from genes or the environment, in the body’s normal functions may cause high blood pressure, including changes to kidney fluid and salt balances, the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, sympathetic nervous system activity, and blood vessel structure and function.

Although the exact cause of atherosclerosis isn't known, studies show that atherosclerosis is a slow, complex disease that may start in childhood. It develops faster as you age.

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.

HHS Comment, Privacy, and Link Policies

It’s always a good time to resolve to eat better, be more active, and lose weight. For the more than 2 out of 3 Americans who are either overweight or obese, there’s now a free, research-based tool to help you reach your goals: the NIH Body Weight Planner.

About 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. has high blood pressure, but many don’t realize it. High blood pressure is sometimes called a “silent killer,” because it usually has no warning signs, yet it can lead to life-threatening conditions like heart attack or stroke. The good news is that high blood pressure, or hypertension, can often be prevented or treated.

The frosty air of winter can be invigorating. But cold air can also pose threats to your health, whether you’re indoors or outside. If your body temperature drops too low, it can lead to a serious, sometimes deadly condition known as hypothermia. Learn to recognize the signs of this condition, and take steps to keep yourself and your family warm and safe during this chilly season.

It can be a labor of love, and sometimes a job of necessity. A total of about 43 million U.S. adults provide unpaid care for someone with a serious health condition each year. These often-unsung heroes provide hours of assistance to others. Yet the stress and strain of caregiving can take a toll on their own health. NIH-funded researchers are working to understand the risks these caregivers face. And scientists are seeking better ways to protect caregivers’ health.

NIH respects copyright and has put procedures in place that help it to avoid infringing the rights of third parties, and alerts members of the public who may wish to use the material of any limitations on such use. This is to ensure that the public can easily distinguish between materials that are free to use without limitation and those limited to a fair use, the agency has developed guidance for accomplishing both improving openness and ensuring protections.

The majority of competing applications now require electronic application submission. The Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to which you are applying will identify whether you must submit electronically or use paper submission. Note that paper submissions require use of the PHS 398 application form, while electronic submission requires the SF424 (R&R) application.

Around the Nation and Worldwide NIH conducts clinical research trials for many diseases and conditions, including cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, allergy and infectious diseases, and neurological disorders. To search for other diseases and conditions, you can visit ClinicalTrials.gov.

NOMID, or neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease, is a rare disease that is often fatal. This video tells the story of Kayla Martínez, who was diagnosed with NOMID as a baby. It also tells the story of a treatment for NOMID that was discovered by Dr. Raphaela Goldbach-Mansky at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases at the National Institutes of Health.