Heart Disease Statistics

According to the American Heart Association, heart related diseases are the reason for more mortality than the next 5 causes of death put together which are accidental deaths, deaths due to diabetes, chronic lung diseases, flu, pneumonia and cancer. Every year heart related diseases top the list of America’s most serious health problems. There are many different heart related illnesses and according to the Heart Disease Statistics of American Heart Association, these illnesses together form the number one cause of mortality in America.

Latest Heart Disease Statistics

Some of the most recent statistics that were released by American Heart Association states that at least 80 million people suffer from some cardiovascular related disease. One out of three deaths is related to cardiovascular disease. More than 2500 American people die daily as a result of some cardiovascular disease (CVD). On an average, there is one death every thirty seven seconds due to CVD. These include the following major groups of illnesses.

• Hypertension - 65 million
• Coronary heart disease - 13 million
• Congenital cardiovascular defects - 1 million
• Congestive heart failure - 5 million
• Stroke - 5.5 million

In addition to above, mortality statistics by rheumatic heart disease and rheumatic fever are in the range of 3,000 people every year.

Link between CVD and Cigarettes

Cardiovascular diseases not only affect men but it is also the number one cause of death for women. According to statistics, half a million women die each year due to heart diseases. One third of deaths due to cardiovascular diseases occurred before the age of seventy five. Coronary heart disease is second biggest killer among the heart disease statistics. This is closely related with cigarette smoking. The chemicals in cigarette smoke cause the formation of plaque in the arterial walls, which causes them to become hard and rigid. The toxins in the cigarette smoke cause scarring and thickening of the arterial walls, resulting in atherosclerosis. It can cause formation of clots that can lodge themselves in one of the smaller blood vessels of the brain or heart. This results in stroke and heart attacks since the clot will obstruct the blood flow to these organs and cause organ damage. Cigarette smoking is the number one cause of cardio vascular diseases in USA. Cigarette smoking has a strong association with sudden and rapid death because smoking induced heart diseases may cause congestive heart failure. Heart Disease Statistics indicate that around 4.6 million Americans suffer from congestive heart failure and around 43,000 people die because of it each year.

Risk Factors of Heart Diseases

According to American Heart Association’s latest reports 33.5% of American adults who are over 20 years and above have hypertension. This is one of the primary illnesses that cause cardio vascular related fatalities. Out of this large percentage, over 80% of them have knowledge of their condition. However, less than half have their pressure under control. Table here indicate the main risk factors in developing heart disease risks in USA.

According to the same report, 23.1% men and 18.1% women are cigarette smokers and 19.5 % students in classes from 9 to 12 admit using tobacco.15% of adults above the age of 20 have total serum cholesterol levels more than 240mg/dl. More than 67% of people are obese and in the last 30 years and the prevalence of obesity is on the rise in children. Ethnicity is also a major risk factor for CVD and some ethnic groups are at greater risk of developing heart diseases than others.

Current Trends in Heart Disease Statistics

According to the Heart Disease Statistics 2011 of American Heart Association, death figures from heart related problems are going down however the risk factors and the financial and social burdens from it are on the rise. The estimated cost for health expenses and loss productivity from cardiovascular diseases is still higher compared to all other diagnostic groups. According to AHA although America is winning the battle against heart diseases it is still losing the war. Journal of AHA cites Heart Disease Statistics 2011 stating that death rates from heart problems have gone down from 27.8%from 1997 to 2007. During the same time cardiovascular procedures and inpatient operations increased by 27%. This may indicate that more and more people are becoming more aware of the disease and choosing to undergo remedial treatment, including surgical procedures.