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Cardiovascular diseases carry a heavy financial burden and the cost of premature death, lost productivity, hospital admissions and prescriptions is estimated at $199.6 billion. Coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease are the predominant reasons for this disturbingly high number.
Prevalence of cardiovascular disease in the US
Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the most common form of cardiovascular disease and accounts for around 360,000 deaths in the U.S. each year. Effective treatments can lower this number significantly and since 2000 there has been a 40 % reduction in deaths from heart disease in people under 75, but still CHD is the biggest killer in the US. Roughly 92.1 million Americans are currently living with CHD.
Heart attacks are the most common reason for CHD deaths, with roughly 790,000 episodes each year. It is estimated that there is roughly 406,000 men and over 389,000 women in the U.S. who have had a heart attack. 200,000 of these are under the age of 75. Sadly, heart attacks come without warning and one in three people who experience a heart attack die before they arrive at the hospital.
Cerebrovascular disease is the second most common CVD and it is estimated that there are 795 ,000 episodes of strokes annually in the US. More than 133,000 of these cause death.
These numbers could be significantly reduced by own effort, since 80 % of cerebrovascular disease and coronary heart disease are caused by behavioral risk factors such as unhealthy living, smoking and alcohol consumption.
Last updated: 9/13/17
