Each year, heart disease is at the top of the list of the country’s most serious health problems. In fact, statistics show that cardiovascular disease is America’s leading health problem, and the leading cause of death. Consider the most recent statistics released by the American Heart Association:
Approximately 84 million people in this country suffer from some form of cardiovascular disease, causing about 2,200 deaths a day, averaging one death every 40 seconds.
Almost one out of every three deaths results from cardiovascular disease.
The direct and indirect costs of cardiovascular disease and stroke are about $315 billion. This figure is increasing every year.
An estimated 15 million U.S. adults have coronary heart disease.
Approximately 78 million U.S. adults have high blood pressure, and an estimated 20 million have diabetes.
It is estimated that an additional 8 million adults have undiagnosed diabetes and 87 million have pre-diabetes.
Heart failure affects well over 5 million U.S. adults.
Cardiovascular disease is the cause of more deaths than cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, and accidents combined.
It is a myth that heart disease is a man’s disease. In fact, cardiovascular diseases are the number one killer of women (and men).
About one-third of cardiovascular disease deaths occurred before age 75.
On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds.
Stroke is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability that accounts for more than half of all patients hospitalized for a neurological disease.
Women have a higher lifetime risk of stroke than men.
Approximately 20 percent of U.S. adults smoke cigarettes, costing $193 billion per year.
An estimated 68 percent of U.S. adults are overweight or obese.
When compared with previous trends, the cardiovascular disease death rates have declined, but there are more people suffering from diabetes and obesity.