Chest pain, arm tingling, shortness of breath, being more tired and fatigued with usual activities - all may be signs that blood flow to your heart is becoming restricted or blocked.  

The cause may be a build-up of fatty deposits, or plaque (pronounced "plak"), inside your arteries - the blood vessels that carry oxygen and nutrients from the heart to your body.  When arteries become partly or completely blocked with plaque, atherosclerosis (pronounced ath-ERO-skla-RO-sis) occurs.  It may be called hardening of the arteries.

When plaque builds up in arteries, it narrows the channel through which blood flows.  When blood flow is restricted or completely blocked, the oxygen and nutrients your muscles and organs need to function are also restricted.  And when muscles or the heart that are deprived of oxygen are placed under additional stress, such as during exertion, you may feel discomfort.  

So when you feel chest pain or discomfort, which your doctor may call angina or angina pectoris, it may be because the heart muscle is not receiving sufficient blood flow