Heart Disease Remains Leading Cause of Death in US: Daily Dose

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Patient Care brings primary care clinicians a lot of medical news every day—it’s easy to miss an important study. The Daily Dose provides a concise summary of one of the website's leading stories you may not have seen.

On January 27, 2025, we reported on a statistical update on cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke published by the American Heart Association in Circulation.

The study

In the AHA Heart Disease and Stroke Statistical Update, investigators gathered data on a range of cardiovascular and circulatory diseases, including stroke, brain health, complications of pregnancy, kidney disease, congenital heart disease, rhythm disorders, sudden cardiac arrest, and more. The Epidemiology and Prevention Statistics Committee, part of AHA, monitors and evaluates data on heart disease and stroke in the US in order to provide the most up-to-date statistical data for the year prior to writing. In the 2025 update, AHA provides reviews of data and published literature for 2024, contributed by clinicians, scientists, government professionals, and AHA staff. Specifically, investigators focused on health equity in 7 domains including approximately 3000 new data sources.

The findings

Investigators noted that CVD was the leading cause of death in the US and stroke is the fifth-leading cause of death. In 2022 (the most recent year for which final data is available), the overall number of CVD-related deaths in the was 941 652, an increase of more than 10 000 from the 931 578 in 2021.

The age-adjusted mortality rate for CVD was 224.3 per 100 000 population, with the highest rate among non-Hispanic Black men (379.7 per 100 000) and the lowest among Asian women (104.9 per 100 000).

In 2022, the researchers reported hypertension prevalence of 28.5% among people aged 20 to 44 years; 58.6% among those aged 45 to 64 years; and 76.5% among those aged at least 65 years. Also, CVD remains the leading cause of death among individuals with diabetes, with fewer than 20% achieving recommended levels for HbA1c, blood pressure, and lipid control.

Authors' comments

"Certainly, any medical or clinical therapy that can treat the risk factors that contribute to CVD are essential. More importantly, I would say that we need to stop these risk factors in their tracks, keep people healthy throughout their lifespan. That will only be possible with a strong emphasis on early prevention and equitable health access for all."

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