One In Three US Deaths Directly Linked To Heart Disease

22 December 2015, 7:17 am EST By Katherine Derla Tech Times

American Heart Association’s 2016 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update found nearly 31 percent of all deaths worldwide are linked to cardiovascular disease. Among these deaths, about 80 percent occurred in countries with low and middle incomes. The update also tracked behaviors and health factors linked to the cardiovascular deaths.  ( Alexandre Vanier | Pixabay )

According to the 2016 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update from the American Heart Association (AHA), one in every three U.S. deaths in 2013 were linked to stroke, heart disease and various cardiovascular diseases. The update also concluded heart disease as the No. 1 leading cause of death worldwide while stroke holds the No. 2 spot.

AHA President Mark Creager stressed the importance of the statistics, particularly the data on risk factors and deaths. Creager, who is also Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center's Heart and Vascular Center director, emphasized that the data enables AHA to monitor and measure how effective their initiatives are. Unfortunately, despite improved efforts in reducing the number of patients dying from stroke and heart disease, the mortality rate is still very high.

2016 U.S. Data on Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics

• 801,000 deaths are already linked to cardiovascular disease.
• Over 370,000 patients died from heart disease.
•  Approximately 129,000 people died from stroke.
•  Out of 750,000 Americans who had a heart attack, approximately 116,000 died.
•  About 795,000 Americans had a stroke. In the U.S., stroke is the No. 1 preventable cause of disability.
•  About 46 percent of African-American men and 48 percent of African-American women have some type of cardiovascular disease.
•  Compared to whites, African-Americans have almost twice the risk of experiencing an initial stroke.
• 2016 Global Data on Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics

•  As of 2013, about 31 percent of all deaths worldwide are linked to cardiovascular disease. Among these deaths, about 80 percent occurred in countries with low and middle incomes.
•  About 11.8 percent of all deaths are linked to stroke.
•  In 2010, about 16.9 million people around the world experienced their first stroke.
• The Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update started to include various information on risk factors, health differences and the cardiovascular disease's global impact. The update now includes the behaviors and health factors that contribute to the development of cardiovascular diseases.

AHA refers to this as "Life's Simple 7" which cover updates on blood sugar, cholesterol management, blood pressure, body weight, fitness activity, healthy diet and smoking status.

2016 Update on Life's Simple 7

•  In the U.S., almost 19 percent of males and 15 percent of females smoked cigarettes in 2014. The data reflected a 30 percent drop from 1998's smoking data.
•  In 2014, one in three adult Americans said they had no fitness or physical activities outside of the workplace.
•  Between 2003 to 2004 and 2011 to 2012, data on healthy diet consumption showed progress among children (0.2 to 0.6 percent) and adults (0.7 to 1.5 percent).
• About 45 percent of African-American males and 46 percent for African-American females had high blood pressure.
• Around 35 percent of people in the U.S. were pre-diabetic while 9 percent were diagnosed with the illness.
• U.S. Figures from 2009 to 2012

•  Almost 160 million Americans were either obese or overweight. These included both kids (32 percent) and adults (69 percent).
•  About 17 percent (13 million) of American adults were obese.
•  Approximately 43 percent of people in the U.S. had 200 mg/dL or higher total cholesterol levels.
•  About 33 percent (80 million) American adults suffered from high blood pressure.

"We need to maintain our vigor and resolve in promoting good cardiovascular health through lifestyle and recognition and treatment of risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and smoking," said Creager who emphasized that the battle against cardiovascular disease is not yet won.

Since 1958, AHA has been producing the global statistics update on stroke and heart disease. AHA is in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health and various government sources for the compilation of most recent data.

The full update was published in the AHA's journal Circulation on Dec. 16.