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7.9.1: Current Rates in the U.S.

  • Page ID
    103713
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    • Mortality: 

      • Approximately 919,032 Americans died from CVD in 2023 - approximately ⅓ of the deaths recorded (CDC, 2025b). 

      • Although CVD is the leading cause of death for all racial and ethnic groups, the highest percentages of deaths caused by CVD are found in Black Americans (22.6%) (CDC, 2025b).

    • Morbidity:

      • It is estimated that 5% of American adults currently have coronary artery disease (CDC, 2025b). 

      • Someone in the U.S. has a heart attack about every 40 seconds (CDC, 2025b).

    The good news is that heart disease mortality has decreased since the 1970s, likely due to advances in medicine and other public health efforts to manage risk factors like smoking and high blood pressure. People are living longer after one or more heart attacks. Still, other types of heart disease like heart failure and arrhythmias are claiming more lives (King et al., 2025).


    This page titled 7.9.1: Current Rates in the U.S. is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Erin Calderone.

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