Preventing Heart Disease and Stroke

Heart disease and stroke—the principal components of cardiovascular disease—are the first and third leading causes of death in the United States, accounting for more than 40% of all deaths.

• About 950,000 Americans die of cardiovascular disease each year, which amounts to one death every 33 seconds.
• Although heart disease and stroke are often thought to affect men and older people primarily, it is also a major killer of women and people in the prime of life.

Looking at only deaths due to heart disease or stroke, however, understates the health effects of these two conditions:

• About 61 million Americans (almost one-fourth of the population) have some form of cardiovascular disease.
• Coronary heart disease is a leading cause of premature, permanent disability among working adults.
• Stroke alone accounts for the disability of more than 1 million Americans.
• Almost 6 million hospitalizations each year are due to cardiovascular disease.

Costs

The economic effects of cardiovascular disease on the U.S. health care system grows larger as the population ages. In 2003, the cost of heart disease and stroke is projected to be $351 billion: $209 billion for health care expenditures and $142 billion for lost productivity from death and disability.