Staggering Heart Facts
February 3rd, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Here are some disturbing statistics published by the American Heart Association. Much of this is taken from Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics – 2009 Update.
Did you know?
* Nearly 2,400 Americans die of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) each day, an average of one death every 37 seconds.
* Preliminary mortality data for 2006 show that CVD accounted for 34.2% of all 2,425,900 deaths in 2006, or 1 of every 2.9 deaths in the United States.
* Good news: From 1995 to 2005, death rates from CVD declined by 26.4%.
* Cardiovascular disease claims about as many lives each year as cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, accidents and diabetes mellitus combined.
* Half of adults 50 and younger with low 10-year risk of CVD have high lifetime risk (News Release Jan. 13, 2009).
* One in three female adults has some form of cardiovascular disease.
* Since 1984, the number of CVD deaths for females has exceeded those for males.
* In 2005, CVD was the first listed diagnosis of 3,023,000 females discharged from short-stay hospitals. Discharges include people both alive, dead or of unknown status.
* More than 150,000 Americans killed by CVD in 2005 were less than 65 years of age.
* In 2009, an estimated 785,000 Americans will have a new coronary attack, and about 470,000 will have a recurrent attack. It is estimated that an additional 195,000 silent first myocardial infarctions occur each year.
* Each year, about 795,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke. On average, every 40 seconds someone in the US has a stroke. Good news: From 1995 to 2005, the stroke death rate fell 29.7% and the actual number of stroke deaths declined 13.5%.
Yikes!!
Are you at risk for heart disease? Do you know what to do in the event of a heart attack? Are you up to date on the latest CPR Myths & Tips?
Read 5 Ways to Celebrate American Heart Month for more information on how to prevent cardiovascular disease.
Here’s a Power Point Presentation for 2009 American Heart Org Stats in case you want to present these facts to your family, school or group.
About the Author: Valerie Paxton
Valerie Paxton is a co-founder of AllegroMedical.com and lives in Phoenix, AZ. In 1997 she set out with her business partner, Craig Hood to form Allegro Medical - a company dedicated to helping people lead more independent and healthy lives. They poured their knowledge and experience into AllegroMedical.com and now have more than 1 million cu ... (more)
Vivek
February 4th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Wow, I had no idea CVD was this big an issue. Thanks for the insightful article… keep ‘em coming!
You mentioned that between 1995 to 2005, death rates declined. Did they decline *to* 26.4% [of the overall mortality rate] or *by* 26.4%?
Would you know why? Perhaps because of better research and overall health care improvement?
Valerie Paxton
February 4th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Hey Vivek, thanks for your question. It’s been enlightening to research these articles, to say the least. It is a huge issue! Did you know that an estimated 80,000,000 adults (approximately 1 in 3) have 1 or more types of CVD? Staggering.
As for the decline of death rates, the answer is that they declined *by* 26.4% of the overall. I will clarify that in my blog. The reasons for the decline are varied, but I’m sure that better research and overall heath care play a big role.
The data comes from a comprehensive American Heart Association Journal, if you’d like to read more. http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/reprint/CIRCULATIONAHA.108.191261. It is their 2009 update.
I hope you are taking care of your heart! -v