New statistics from the American Heart Association's 2016 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update show that one of every three deaths in the U.S. in 2013 were from heart disease. The statistics also show that heart disease and stroke remain the No. 1 and No. 2 killers worldwide.
Some of the key statistics from this new data include:
- Cardiovascular diseases claimed 801,000 lives;
- Heart disease killed more than 370,000 people;
- Stroke killed nearly 129,000 people;
- About 116,000 of the 750,000 people in the U.S. who had a heart attack died;
- About 795,000 people had a stroke, the leading preventable cause of disability;
- Among African-Americans adults, 48 percent of women and 46 percent of men have some form of cardiovascular disease; and
- African-Americans have nearly twice the risk for a first-ever stroke than whites
David S. Siscovick, MD, MPH, Chair of AHA's Council on Epidemiology and Prevention and senior vice president for research at the New York Academy of Medicine in New York City said that cardiovascular disease is not just the top killer in the U.S. but worldwide and that hypertension, obesity and diabetes are global epidemics.
Global statistics show that:
- 31 percent of all deaths were from cardiovascular disease, with 80 percent occurring in low- and middle-income countries as of 2013;
- Stroke accounted for 11.8 percent of all deaths, and;
- 16.9 million people worldwide had a first stroke in 2010
By tracking health factors and behaviours known to contribute to good cardiovascular health i.e. AHA's Life's Simple 7, it was found:
See also: 'Life's Simple 7' Programme Reduces Risk of Heart Failure
- Nearly 19 percent of men and 15 percent of women in the U.S. were cigarette smokers in 2014, despite a 30 percent drop in cigarette smoking since 1998;
- About one in three U.S. adults in 2014 reported no physical activity outside of work;
- The proportion of people consuming an ideal diet increased from 0.2 percent to 0.6 percent in children, and from 0.7 percent to 1.5 percent in adults between 2003 - 2004 and 2011 - 2012;
- Nearly 160 million people in the U.S. were overweight or obese: 69 percent of adults and 32 percent of children in 2009-2012;
- 13 million U.S. adults, about 17 percent, were obese in 2009-2012;
- About 43 percent of Americans had total cholesterol of 200 mg/dL or higher from 2009-2012;
- About 80 million U.S. adults, 33 percent, had high blood pressure in 2009-2012;
- Among African-American adults, 46 percent of women and 45 percent of men have high blood pressure; and
- About 9 percent of Americans have diagnosed diabetes and 35 percent have pre-diabetes.
Source: American Heart Association
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