Overview
The muscular organ that pumps blood throughout your body is your heart. Your organs and tissues receive the essential nourishment and oxygen from this activity.
Heart disease makes it difficult for your heart to function properly and can have major health consequences. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) [1], heart disease causes 1 out of every 4 deaths that occur in the United States each year.
If untreated, cardiac diseases such as heart attack and heart failure can have a major negative influence on your health. These are not the same thing, though, and the two circumstances differ significantly in a number of important ways.
The distinctions between heart attacks and heart failure are described below, along with precautions you can take to protect your heart.