Heart Disease Data/Statistics

Heart disease is the leading killer across most racial and ethnic minority communities in the United States, accounting for 27% of all deaths in 2005.

African American men are 30% more likely to die from heart disease than non-Hispanic white males. This occurs despite the fact that 10% of African Americans have heart disease vs. 12% of whites. Some 31.6% of African Americans have hypertension compared to 22.4% of whites, in 2006.

Mexican Americans, who make up the largest share of the U.S. Hispanic population, suffer in greater percentages than Whites from overweight and obesity, two of the leading risk factors for heart disease. Premature death was higher for Hispanics (23.5%) than non-Hispanics (16.5%). In 2005, the Asian and Pacific Islander community, 29.5 percent of deaths are caused by heart disease. In 2001, the number of premature deaths (<65 years) from heart disease was greatest among American Indians or Alaska Natives (36%) and lowest among whites.

Quick Facts

• African Americans are 1.4 times as likely as non-Hispanic whites to have high blood pressure.
• American Indian/Alaska Native adults are 1.3 times as likely as White adults to have high blood pressure.
• Overall, Asian/Pacific Islander adults are less likely than white adults to have heart disease and they are less likely to die from heart disease.
• Mexican American women are 1.2 times more likely than non-Hispanic white women to be obese.

  For more statistics on African Americans and heart disease, please click here

  For more statistics on American Indians/Alaska Natives and heart disease, please click here

  For more statistics on Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders and heart disease, please click here

  For more statistics on Hispanic Americans and heart disease, please click here