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An updated guide to the latest research on heart disease and stroke is filled with crucial data for experts fighting those debilitating problems.

But to those responsible for the guide, the “: A Report of U.S. and Global Data From the ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ” is about more than lines on charts.

“The data provided in the statistics update may look like just numbers to many,” Dr. Stacey E. Rosen, the ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ’s volunteer president, said in a . “But to the ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ, they are lives on the line.”

The update, which the Association has produced annually since 1927, was published Jan. 21 in the journal Circulation.

Here are highlights that might help you understand the scope of the fight – and what you can do to protect yourself and your loved ones.

Heart disease is by far the leading cause of death in the U.S.

Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the U.S., while stroke has moved up to No. 4, replacing COVID-19, which fell to No. 10, according to the update.

Together, heart disease and stroke accounted for more than a quarter of all deaths in the U.S. in 2023, the most current year for which data is available.

Cardiovascular diseases, including all types of heart disease and stroke, claim more lives in the U.S. each year than the No. 2 and No. 3 causes — cancer and accidents — combined. Someone died of cardiovascular disease every 34 seconds on average in 2023.

The actual number of heart disease and stroke deaths has declined

“The good news is that, overall, fewer people are dying from any cause, and death rates are improving as life expectancy continues to rebound after the COVID‑19 pandemic,” said Dr. Latha P. Palaniappan, a professor of cardiovascular medicine at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. She led the committee in charge of the statistical update.

• In 2023, there were 915,973 deaths from cardiovascular disease, including heart disease, stroke, hypertension and heart failure. That was down from 941,652 in 2022.


• Coronary heart disease, which affects heart arteries and often leads to a heart attack, was the underlying cause for 349,470 U.S. deaths in 2023, down from 371,506 in 2022.


• Stroke was the underlying cause for 162,639 U.S. deaths in 2023, down from 165,393 in 2022.


• Adjusted for age, the rate of cardiovascular disease deaths in 2023 was 218.3 per 100,000 people, compared to 224.3 per 100,000 in 2022.

“It’s encouraging to see that total deaths from heart disease and stroke declined,” said Rosen, who is also senior vice president of women’s health and executive director of the Katz Institute for Women’s Health of Northwell Health in New York City. “The past five years appear to have been an anomaly given the huge impact the pandemic had on all health during that time.”

But while the total number of stroke deaths dropped for the first time in several years, stroke deaths increased among younger and older age groups. Among people 25 to 34 years old, the unadjusted stroke death rate increased 8.3% between 2013 and 2023. The rate increased 18.2% among people older than 85.

And about half of all adults in the U.S. continue to have some form of cardiovascular disease, Palaniappan said. “Those rates are still higher than they were before the pandemic, and persistent increases in common conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity continue to drive the risk.”

The trends in root issues are troubling

Palaniappan called the growing prevalence of health conditions that contribute to cardiovascular disease worrisome.

Comparing data from 2017 to 2020 with data from 2021 to 2023:

• About 125.9 million adults in the U.S. – roughly 47.3% – have high blood pressure, compared to 122.4 million, or 46.7%, previously.


• Nearly 29.5 million adults have diagnosed diabetes, compared to 29.3 million previously. Only 43.5% of adults being treated for Type 2 diabetes have their condition under control.


• While the levels of adults with obesity or severe obesity declined to about 50% from 51.1%, numbers have risen among people age 2 to 19 — from 25.4% previously to 28.1% now.

CKM syndrome a concern for younger adults

This year’s update added a chapter on cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome, a disorder that connects heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes and obesity. Nearly 90% of U.S. adults have some level of CKM syndrome, and more than 80% of young and middle-aged adults show early risk.

“These numbers should ring alarm bells, particularly among young adults, because that’s a snapshot into our future,” said Dr. Sadiya S. Khan, Magerstadt Professor of Cardiovascular Epidemiology and an associate professor of cardiology and preventive medicine at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. She was vice-chair of the group that wrote the update.

Despite the problems, encouraging signs

“Even though these rising numbers can feel discouraging, the advances in our diagnostic and therapeutic arsenal provide hope,” Khan said. “We can detect warning signs before events occur, and we now have many tools to prevent events. Prevention is our most powerful way to have the greatest impact, and the more we use it, and the sooner we use it, the more lives we can save.”

Several studies in the update looked at the effects of a set of basic factors that affect heart health known as Life’s Essential 8.

Among the findings:

• In the United States, optimal Life’s Essential 8 scores could prevent up to 40% of annual all-cause and cardiovascular deaths among adults.


• A review of 59 studies from 2010 to 2022 found that people who had ideal cardiovascular health as measured by Life’s Essential 8 had a 74% lower risk of cardiovascular events compared with those who had poor cardiovascular health.


• Better cardiovascular health was associated with younger brain age, slower cognitive decline and reduced dementia risk.

Life’s Essential 8 includes health behaviors (eat better, be more active, quit tobacco and get healthy sleep) and health factors (manage weight, control cholesterol, manage blood sugar and manage blood pressure) that are key for improving and maintaining cardiovascular health.

Palaniappan noted that few people adhere to those measures. Only 1 in 4 adults in the U.S. meets national physical activity guidelines, for example. Among 6- to 17-year-olds, only 1 in 5 is physically active for 60 minutes or more every day.

Rosen said she hoped the information in the statistical update could serve as a guide for communities to unite for change and for individuals to take personal action.

“We know that as much as 80% of heart disease and stroke is preventable with lifestyle changes, and many chronic health conditions that contribute to poor cardiovascular health are manageable,” Rosen said. “Improving your cardiovascular health is possible. However, it will take a concerted effort.”

Find more information, including translated materials, about the latest ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ statistics for heart disease and stroke at heart.org/statistics.