Heart Disease Fact Sheet
Heart Disease Facts
- Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. More than half of the deaths due to heart disease in 2015 were in men.1
- About 630,000 Americans die from heart disease each year—that’s 1 in every 4 deaths.1
- Coronary heart disease is the most common type of heart disease, killing about 366,000 people in 2015.1
- In the United States, someone has a heart attack every 40 seconds. Each minute, more than one person in the United States dies from a heart disease-related event.2
- Heart disease is the leading cause of death for people of most racial/ethnic groups in the United States, including African Americans, Hispanics, and whites. For Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders and American Indians or Alaska Natives, heart disease is second only to cancer.3
- Heart disease costs the United States about $200 billion each year.1 This total includes the cost of health care services, medications, and lost productivity.
Risk Factors
High blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol, and smoking are key heart disease risk factors for heart disease. About half of Americans (49%) have at least one of these three risk factors.5
Several other medical conditions and lifestyle choices can also put people at a higher risk for heart disease, including:
- Diabetes
- Overweight and obesity
- Poor diet
- Physical inactivity
- Excessive alcohol use
CDC’s Public Health Efforts Related to Heart Disease
For More Information
For more information on heart disease, visit the following Web sites.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- American Heart Association
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Resources
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Multiple Cause of Death 1999-2015 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released December 2016. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999-2015, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed at http://wonder.cdc.gov/mcd-icd10.html.
- Heron M. Deaths: Leading causes for 2014. [PDF-4.4M] National vital statistics reports. 2016;65(5).
- Benjamin EJ, Blaha MJ, Chiuve SE, Cushman M, Das SR, Deo R, et al. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics—2017 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2017;135:e1–e458. DOI: 10.1161/CIR.0000000000000485.
- Heidenriech PA, Trogdon JG, Khavjou OA, Butler J, Dracup K, Ezekowitz MD, et al. Forecasting the future of cardiovascular disease in the United States: a policy statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2011;123(8):933–44.
- CDC. Million Hearts™: strategies to reduce the prevalence of leading cardiovascular disease risk factors. United States, 2011. MMWR 2011;60(36):1248–51.
- Page last reviewed: August 23, 2017
- Page last updated: August 23, 2017
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