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• Heart Disease Facts
• Online Statistical Resources
• Heart Disease Statistical Reports

Heart Disease Facts and Statistics

Heart Disease Facts

• Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both women and men in the United States.¹
   
• In 2005, 652,091 people died of heart disease (50.5% of them women). This was 27.1% of all U.S. deaths. The age-adjusted death rate was 222 per 100,000 population.¹
   
• Heart disease is the leading cause of death for American Indians and Alaska Natives, blacks, Hispanics, and whites. For Asians and Pacific Islanders, cancer is the leading cause of death (accounting for 27.5% of all deaths), heart disease is a close second (25.0%).²
   
• Heart disease crude death rates per 100,000 population for the five largest U.S. racial/ethnic groups are as follows: Hispanics, 69.2; Asians and Pacific Islanders, 73; American Indians, 82.5; blacks, 189.8; and whites, 235.5.²
   
• In 2005, the age-adjusted death rates for diseases of the heart was 211.1 deaths per 100,000 for all Americans. The age-adjusted death rate for whites was 207.8, and 271.3 for African Americans. Age adjusted rates are used to compare populations with differeing age distributions.²
   
• By state, age-adjusted death rates per 100,000 for diseases of the heart ranged from 141.1 (Minnesota) to 306.8 (Mississippi) in 2005.¹
   
• Coronary heart disease is the principal type of heart disease. In 2005, 445,687 people that died from coronary heart disease. That is about 68.3% of all heart disease deaths.⁵
   
• It is estimated that about 47% of cardiac deaths occur before emergency services or transport to a hospital.⁴
   
• In 2009, heart disease is projected to cost more than $304.6 billion, including health care services, medications, and lost productivity.⁵
   
• Worldwide, coronary heart disease killed more than 7.6 million people in 2005.⁶
   
• Risk factors for heart disease among adults (for years 2003–2004 unless noted, age-adjusted):³
  
  Percentage of persons aged 20 years and older with hypertension or taking hypertension medications: 32.1%
  Percentage of persons aged 20 years and older with high blood cholesterol: 16.9%
  Percentage of persons aged 20 years and older with physician-diagnosed diabetes: 10.0%
  Percentage of persons aged 20 years and older who are obese: 32.0%
  Percentage of adults aged 18 years and older who are current cigarette smokers (2004-2006): 18.4%
  Percentage of adults aged 18 years and older who engage in no leisure-time physical activity (2006): 39.5%
   
• In 2003, approximately 37% of adults reported having two or more of six risk factors for heart disease and stroke (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, current smoking, physical inactivity, and obesity).⁷
   
• Timely access to emergency cardiac care and survival is partly dependent on early recognition of heart attack symptoms and immediate action by calling emergency services. In a 2005 survey, most persons (92%) recognized chest pain as a heart attack symptom, but only 27% correctly classified all symptoms and knew to call 9–1–1 when someone was having a heart attack.⁸
   
• Studies among people with heart disease have shown that lowering high blood cholesterol and high blood pressure can reduce the risk of dying of heart disease, having a nonfatal heart attack, and needing heart bypass surgery or angioplasty.
   
• Studies among people without heart disease have shown that lowering high blood cholesterol and high blood pressure can reduce the risk of developing heart disease.
  
  

Online Statistical Resources

Interactive Maps

CDC's interactive maps present heart disease and stroke death rates, county–by–county, for the state, selected racial/ethnic group, and gender of your choice. Go to the Interactive State Maps.

National Heart Disease Mortality Maps

National heart disease mortality maps are available for the period 1996–2000 by ethnic group. Each map contains a link below it to view a larger version in PDF format.

• All Groups Aged 35 Years and Older, by County
• American Indians and Alaska Natives Aged 35 Years and Older, by County
• Asians and Pacific Islanders Aged 35 Years and Older, by County
• Blacks Aged 35 Years and Older, by County
• Hispanics Aged 35 Years and Older, by County
• Whites Aged 35 Years and Older, by County

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

Estimates of the prevalence of self–reported risk factors for heart disease by state can be computed online from CDC's state–based Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

FASTATS

The National Center for Health Statistics provides CDC's statistics on a number of health topics from its national databases. See http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/.

Download Software for Epidemiologic Analysis

Epi Info is software that helps public health professionals develop a questionnaire or form, customize the data entry process, and enter and analyze data. Go to the Epi Info Web site.

Global Cardiovascular Infobase

An interactive Web site that features country profiles of heart diseases and stroke in the world. Go to Global Cardiovascular Infobase.*

Heart Disease Statistical Reports

One or more of the following files are available in Portable Document Format (PDF). Learn more about PDFs.

From the CDC

• Health, United States, 2007 with Chartbook on Trends in the Health of Americans [PDF-6M]

• Also see our other various Resources about heart disease.

From the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

• Morbidity and Mortality Chartbook

From the American Heart Association

• Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update*

• Statistical Fact Sheets*

• Heart and Stroke Facts (PDF 533K)*

References

Please see the following Web sites which have additional information about medical conditions:

1. Kung HC, Hoyert DL, Xu J, Murphy SL. Deaths: final data for 2005. National Vital Statistics Reports. 2008;56(10).
2. CDC. Deaths: leading causes for 2004. National Vital Statistics Reports. 2007;56(5).
3. CDC. Health, United States, 2007 with chartbook on trends in the health of Americans. Hyattsville; National Center for Health Statistics: 2007.
4. Zheng ZJ, Croft JB, Giles WH, Ayala C, Greenlund K, Keenan NL, Neff L, Wattigney WA, Mensah GA. State specific mortality from sudden cardiac death: United States, 1999. MMWR. 2002;51:123–126.
5. American Heart Association. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-2009 Update. Dallas; AHA:2009. Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Circulation. 2008 Dec 15.
6. World Health Organization. The Global Burden of Disease: 2004 Update. Geneva; WHO:2008.
7. Hayes DK, Greenlund KJ, Denny CH, Keenan NL, Croft JB. Disparities in multiple risk factors for heart disease and stroke, 2003. MMWR. 2005;54:113–116.
8. Fang J, Kennan NL, Dai S, Denny C. Disparities in adult awareness of heart attack warning signs and symptoms-14 states, 2005. MMWR. 2008:57(7):175-179.

* Links to non-Federal organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. Links do not constitute an endorsement of any organization by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. The CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at this link.