Prevalence & Frequency
· Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., affecting men, women, and most racial and ethnic groups (CDC, The Global Statistics).
· Every 40 seconds, someone in the U.S. has a heart attack; annually, around 805,000 Americans experience one—605,000 of those are first-time attacks, and 200,000 are repeat events (CDC, New York State Department of Health).
· Approximately 1 in 5 heart attacks occur silently—without noticeable symptoms (CDC).
Mortality & Death Toll
· In 2022, 702,880 people in the U.S. died of heart disease—about 1 in 5 deaths, accounting for approximately 17.4% of all mortality (The Global Statistics, CDC).
· Someone dies from cardiovascular disease (CVD) every 33–34 seconds (CDC, The Global Statistics).
· While heart attacks remain deadly, mortality has decreased sharply over recent decades—by 89% over the past 50 years—thanks to medical advances, public health efforts, and improved emergency care (Vox, New York Post, People.com, Health).
Trends & Emerging Risks
· Heart attacks now account for a smaller share of heart disease deaths; chronic conditions like heart failure, arrhythmias, and hypertensive heart disease are on the rise—with arrhythmia-related deaths up around 450%, heart failure by 146%, and hypertensive heart disease by 106% since 1970 (New York Post, People.com, San Francisco Chronicle).
· The drop in heart attack fatalities reflects gains in prevention, emergency response, and treatment—but evolving lifestyles and chronic disease management remain critical (Vox, Health).
Economic Cost
· Between 2020 and 2021, cardiovascular disease cost the U.S. approximately $417–422 billion, including health services, medications, and lost productivity (CDC, North American Community Hub).
· Treatment of heart attacks alone is especially costly—estimated at about $11.5 billion per year (Healthline, Wikipedia).
· Looking ahead, as prevalence of CVD increases, related costs could surge to $1.1 trillion by 2035 (Healthline).
Risk & Follow-up Conditions
· About 5% of U.S. adults aged 20 and older have coronary artery disease (CAD)—the most common form of heart disease (The Cardiology Advisor, The Global Statistics).
· Heart failure affects around 5.8 million Americans, with 550,000 new cases each year; nearly half of people diagnosed with heart failure die within five years (Wikipedia).
· Hypertension is a leading contributor: it increases heart failure risk two- to three-fold and precedes heart failure in 90% of cases (Wikipedia).