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Metabolic syndrome is the name for a group of risk factors that raises your risk for heart disease and other health problems, such as diabetes and stroke. The term "metabolic" refers to the biochemical processes involved in the body's normal functioning.

Peripheral artery disease is more common in blacks than any other racial or ethnic group. The major risk factors for peripheral artery disease include smoking, older age, and diseases and conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, coronary heart disease, stroke, and metabolic syndrome.

The major types of stroke are ischemic (when an artery to the brain becomes blocked) and hemorrhagic (when an artery in the brain leaks blood or breaks open).

For most people with high blood pressure, a doctor will develop a treatment plan that may include heart-healthy lifestyle changes alone or with medicines. Heart-healthy lifestyle changes, such as heart-healthy eating, can be highly effective in treating high blood pressure.

There are no specific symptoms of overweight and obesity. The signs of overweight and obesity include a high body mass index (BMI) and an unhealthy body fat distribution that can be estimated by measuring your waist circumference.

The most common cause of high blood cholesterol is an unhealthy lifestyle. However, the genes that you inherit from your parents, other medical conditions, and some medicines may also cause high blood cholesterol.

Common sleep apnea signs and symptoms are snoring or gasping during sleep; reduced or absent breathing, called apnea events; and sleepiness. Undiagnosed or untreated sleep apnea prevents restful sleep and can cause complications that may affect many parts of your body.

Changes to the heart’s tissue and to its electrical signals most often cause atrial fibrillation. When the heart’s tissue or signaling is damaged, the regular pumping of the heart muscle becomes fast and irregular.

In all types of sickle cell disease, at least one of the two abnormal genes causes a person’s body to make hemoglobin S. When a person has two hemoglobin S genes (hemoglobin SS), the disease is called sickle cell anemia. This is the most common and often most severe type of sickle cell disease. Hemoglobin SC disease and hemoglobin S? thalassemia are two other common types of sickle cell disease. Hemoglobin SD and hemoglobin SE are much less common.

It may be possible for your doctor to diagnose your bleeding disorder, its severity, and whether it is inherited or acquired based on your signs and symptoms, risk factors, medical and family history, a physical exam, and blood tests.